A Legend of Zelda fan has whittled an adorable Maiamai from A Link Between Worlds. The game, released in 2013 for the 3DS, is commonly described as a spiritual successor to A Link To The Past, although it isn't a direct sequel as some other Zelda games are.
During the course of A Link Between Worlds, Link finds himself being asked to undertake a side quest by Mother Maiamai, a strange being who looks to be a cross between a squid and a snail. Unfortunately, Mother Maiamai has lost her children, who have found themselves scattered all across Hyrule and Lorule. Link's task is to find the lost Maiamais and return them to their mother. In exchange, Mother Maiamai will reward Link for every ten Maiamais he finds, providing him with upgrades to his various items. There are a grand total of 100 Maiamai to find, somewhat similar to Breath of the Wild's notorious 900 hidden Koroks, albeit on a much smaller scale. A full set of 100 Maiamai will even earn Link a genuinely useful ability in the Great Spin attack, as opposed to something like Hestu's own rather dubious prize for finding all the Koroks.
Now one skilled fan has produced a brilliant tribute to Mother Maiamai's unfortunate children. Reddit user philohendron has made a post showing off an adorable little wooden carving of one of the Maiamais. The whittled figure features an impressive level of detail, which includes some extremely delicate-looking shell spikes. Philohendron has also painted their Maiamai to match the in-game model, including the multicolored shell. The finished product looks like it could start calling for its mother at any moment. Similar creations produced in the past by Zelda fans have included a detailed rendition of Majora's Mask in clay.
Zelda Fan Demonstrates Exquisite Detail In Maiamai Carving
For those fans curious to see more of Philohendron's process, the artist has previously uploaded a brief demonstrative video to their Instagram account, rt.craftywoodworks. This video shows the whittler's progress in carving the Maiamai from start to end, beginning with a cube of wood (noted as being basswood, a whittling staple), and finishing with a 360-degree view of the completed Maiamai. This allows viewers to more clearly see the exquisite color gradient of the shell, which transitions from a brilliant blue to a soft pink as it curls around and upwards. This was accomplished with gouache, an opaque watercolor paint that can be blended and softened with subsequent applications of paint and water. The tiny Legend of Zelda model is a perfect replica of a Maiamai, which is sure to impress fans.
This model is a somewhat unusual creation in some respects; not many fans will choose woodwork as their medium of choice, after all. However, this is not to say that the choice of material here is a poor one; on the contrary, this small wooden Maiamai looks absolutely perfect. The paintwork is precise and works to bring the carving to life. And although the Maiamais seem to be much less popular than the Koroks on the whole, this particular one seems set to win the hearts of Legend of Zelda fans regardless. This is one Zelda side quest character that shouldn't be missed.