 |
| armello characters by nobby-art Source [1] |
Salutations, warriors…and welcome to this week’s Art of the Day collection. Today’s gallery revolves around that most venerable ancient weapons–the sword.
Swordplay might not have shown up in Zootopia, but it’s been part of the Disney repertoire since even before Mickey Mouse, going all all the way back to 1929 and the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short, Oh, What a Knight. Since then, swords have played an important part in many a Disney animated-feature, including (but not limited to) Peter Pan, The Sword in the Stone, Aladdin, and most spectacularly, in the climactic battle-scene of Sleeping Beauty.
Oh, and there was plenty of swashbuckling swordplay to be found in Zootopia’s spiritual ancestor, Disney’s Robin Hood.
And with that, my Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemammals, we present, for your entertainment, our Monday Art of the Day collection. Enjoy…and don’t forget to show the original artists some love by clicking on the source-links.
——————————————————————
We open with an image of little Nick and Judy, dishing it out with a pair of cardboard-tube swords. Hmmm, looks like the bunny’s taking this one, (but then she DOES have the high ground.)
 |
| Cardboard Sword Duel by foxefuel (color by anothercolouranon) Source [2] |
Moving on, we present a gallery of crossover pics, depicting a somewhat irregular history of the sword.
We begin with an image of Nick holding a Khopesh, an ancient Egyptian sickle-sword that dates all the way back to the Bronze age.
 |
| Prince Nicholas of the Wilde Throne by TheWyvernsWeaver, commissioned by Blueberryandhoney Source [3] |
We, who are about to hustle, salute you. Here, we see Nick raising a Gladius, the standard-issue short-sword of the Roman soldier.
 |
| Proud by StarfangsSecrets Source [4] |
And here he is again, this time as a Byzantine horse-soldier, armed with both a sword and bow.
 |
| Byzantine Nick Wilde by ohs688 Source [5] |
And now we move into a somewhat more familiar period of swordplay, the medieval era.
Ahhhh, what a bunny; even in full armor, she still looks sexy.
 |
| Bunny Knight by 0l-Fox-l0 Source [6] |
Here are Nick and Judy as a pair of city guards; the closest thing to a police-force in the middle ages.
 |
| City Guards by @ACA_Draw Source [7] |
When it comes to depicting the medieval era, it’s hard to beat Ziegelzeig. Here we see Judy wearing the cross of the Knights Templar, while Nick appears to be a mercenary soldier, or Fleming as they were known in the vernacular of the time. (Note the bandage on our favorite fox’s right leg, a nice touch.)
 |
| The Cursed Crusade by ziegelzeig Source [8] |
After the battle. This time Judy’s shield is emblazoned with the cross of the Knights Hospitaller.
 |
| Medieval Theme by anothercolouranon Source [9] |
If you’re going to mention the Knights of the Crusades, it’s only right that you bring up their adversaries as well, (especially since they won.) On the far left, we see Finnick as a scimitar-wielding Jihadi.
 |
| Zootopia Dressup by JackOrJohn Source [10] |
How about a medieval version of Gideon Grey? The blade held by the wolf on his right is a Great Sword, (or Claymore, as it was known in Scotland.)
 |
| Gideon and Gifre Progess by 6SpiritKings Source [11] |
And now, let’s move on to the Renaissance. Here’s Judy with a latter-day version of the Great Sword, a Zweihänder.
 |
| Great Sword Judy by spiffydoodles Source [12] |
Taking a BIG jump in history here. While the sword was eventually made obsolete by the advent of gunpowder, it continued to remain in use all the way up through the last half of the nineteenth century–and even beyond.
 |
| Dance Of Swords by Akiric Source [13] |
Leaving the West behind for the moment, we present a gallery of Katana-themed Zootopia fanart.
 |
| Way of the Samurai by 杯具螺旋丸 Source [14] |
I-I-I wouldn’t call this bunny cute, if I were you.
 |
| Samurai Hopps by nauyaco Source [15] |
Here’s Nick Wilde as Samurai Jack
 |
| Samurai Nick by ookamiden Source [15] |
Nick might seem to have the advantage here, but looks can be deceiving. The No-Dachi he’s carrying, (the samurai version of the Great Sword,) is going to take a lot longer to draw from its scabbard than Judy’s Katana. If she can get in close before he has it ready, she’ll be able to make fox-sashimi out of him.
 |
| Kitsune-Usagi. by @monmokamoko Source [16] |
Awww, we had to have at least ONE Usagi-Yojimbo crossover pic in this gallery.
 |
| Jack Savage Yojimbo by nobby-art Source [17] |
The most recent piece of Samurai-themed Zootopia artwork.
 |
| Samurai Cosplay Nick by @mochicco_ZPD Source [18] |
Next up, a couple of pirate-themed sword-pieces.
 |
| The Golden Jaguar by @SamurShalem Source [19] |
A real cutlass was actually mite shorter than the one Judy’s holding; most shipboard combat in the age of piracy was conducted at close quarters. (‘Course, we must take into account the different species sizes in the Zootopia universe.)
 |
| Pirate Bunny by @okisidol Source [20] |
Wrapping things up, we present a motley collection of sword-based Zootopia fanart; AU, video-game, fantasy, crossover etc.
Fanfic cover art.
 |
| Crimson Dusk by TheWyvernsWeaver Source [21] |
We’re not sure what this is related to, but what a great piece of artwork; it almost perfectly captures the Disney Princess vibe.
 |
| April Shower by Fuyukichi Source [22] |
More fanfic artwork; based on a mashup of several video-games, according to the artist.
 |
| The Path of Destinies by TheWyvernsWeaver Source [24] |
Yep, there were swords featured in Attack on Titan, too.
 |
| Attack on Zootitan by Ziegelzeig Source [25] |
And also in the video-game, ‘Dishonored’.
 |
| A commission for bioazard. by ziegelzeig Source [26] |
No WAY can we leave Game of Thrones out of a collection like this.
 |
| Dumb Stark by UncleScooter Source [27] |
Just a random image of Judy with a sword; the hilt suggests that she’s armed with either a foil or a rapier.
 |
| Random Outfit by maiz-ken Source [28] |
Well, what’s Sword without a little Sorcery?
 |
| Swords and Sorcery by @Oak_Thorn Source [29] |
The next thing he says is, “Two out of three?”
 |
| A Playful Sword Fight by feverwildehopps Source [30] |
Bellwether and her lil’ frien’ from Animal Crossing.
 |
| The mayor and her hound by TysonTan Source [31] |
And finally…
Sometimes Judy carries this ‘make the world a better place’ thing just a wee bit too far.
 |
| Judy’s New Work Outfit by @PrinceOfDingos Source [32] |
[16] I think Judy is carrying a wakizashi, aka: shorter katana. there is the tanto and chisa (I think that’s what’s its called? I’m not an expert) that are even shorter, but I have trust Judy could carrying something slightly bigger.