Self-Directed Brief: "A childish mind will turn to noble ambition..."

My starting point for this would be to first identify my target audience and find out what they are reading, also what sort of things they respond to, along with some of their favourite things, as to incorporate their interests, to appeal to as many within the age bracket.
Me being me, and reasonably obsessed with computer games, I thought of 2 games that are reasonably similar in plot, but come from 2 different areas of culture, have a diverse storyline that sticks to the fundamentals of adventure,  whimsy and wonder, but leaves the player with a real emotive connection with the antagonist, be it empathy or sympathy.


I start with the Zelda series, it was initially inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto (The Godfather of Nintendo) as a young boy he would explore the hillsides surrounding his childhood home in Kyoto, Japan. He ventured off into forests with secluded lakes, caves, and rural villages. One of his most memorable experiences was the discovery of a cave entrance in the middle of the woods, after some hesitation, he apprehensively entered the cave and explored the depths with only a lantern, which became one of the key features of the Zelda series.
The back history draws from a plethora of pre-biblical references, both linguistic and image respectively, especially to the pre-diluvial age (before the great event known throughout the majority of religious text as the Great Flood) 

Basically the plot revolves around the balance of the world based upon a cycle of simulacrum(every 300 years the Evil would rear its head) to assume control over the idolization of the 3 dominant forces that drive humanity but also hold the fabric of our conscious existence; the Triforce (see above) which represents courage, power and wisdom. The Goddesses that created existence derive from the Sumerian's deities, which represented the Heavens (Air), The Deep Waters (Water), and the Earth. These are represented by the main races depicted in Zelda, these are Zoras, Gorons, Kokiri, Hylians and Hyrulians. (Expand)

The particular examples I have chosen are from Zelda: Wind Waker, as the style is relative to the sort of illustration I would like to do for my book. Bright, bold colours, with a possibility to test my digital illustration skills would be something fun and challenging.