You might not have heard of Jim'll Paint It — but you've probably seen his work. His real name is James Murray, and he's an artist from Bristol whose chosen medium is... MS Paint. Yeah, the one from your school's creaky old Windows computer that you used to draw terrible squares with.
If you think to yourself, "there's no way that someone can make good art with MS Paint," you'd largely be right — but Jim'll Paint It has built an entire business off of taking requests, the more specific the better, for him to draw in Paint. His latest request is an intriguing mash-up between seminal 3D Zelda game, Ocarina of Time, and cosy British archaeology show, Time Team. Ocarina of Time Team. Get it?
It's not the first time that Jim'll Paint It has referenced video games with terrible puns — we've also got Coronation Street Fighter, and Eastenders' Barry-O-Kart:
If you like Jim's work, you can get it on your walls or on your bod from his shop. Fair warning to any non-Brits — most of these are indecipherable references to British culture. I mean, look at this one. It's Colin the Caterpillar as a Kaiju. I bloody love it.
And if you're still wondering what the heck Time Team is, then get ready to educate yourself, friends — they've got their own YouTube channel. You're welcome:
Comments (24)
Jim'll Paint It is an absolute treasure! Been following his stuff for years! Some real gems!
Never heard of him before, but his art is awesome! Especially when you know he did it with MS Paint! More articles like these please
That is good, but that is child link who they are digging up as he has the Goron bracelet on, so guessing he got killed by Ganon before he had time to get to the Temple of Time Team
The how-do-ken on the corrie painting is quite possibly the greatest pun I've ever seen. Outstanding stuff.
That dude can squat!
Jim'll Paint It? Yikes, at least he's not fixing things....
@Andy_C444 Now that sends a chill down my spine.
He’s been doing this art for I can’t even tell you how long. Featuring him here now is kinda pointless.
My mate Rhys suggested Coronation Street Fighter. I have the Alan Partridge GTA one on my wall
I used to be insanely good with Microsoft Paint, creating complex shadowing and such, but this is on a level I can't really comprehend.
I've never heard of him before, but I'm about to take a deep dive through his archive.
I have a giant folder of MS Paint drawings and absolutely love using it as a limited medium to work within its weird little boundaries. This is something else, though.
That is beautiful, might be my new PC wallpaper.
@Andy_C444 There were a couple children's show characters I've never heard of before, but for the most part I'm familiar with the political jokes from all the Brexit coverage a few years back, and I've watched enough British sitcoms on late night PBS (the sesame street channel) that I was able to fully appreciate the Brian Blessing, Steve Coogan, and Mary Berry references. Once again, my insomnia proves to be helpful.
@Bunkerneath in his old age, Link found himself using the goron bracelet again to give his old joints a helping hand.
(In case you wonder why didn't he use the gauntlets instead, the short answer is: he developed a rash)
Didn't know he was a fellow Bristolian! I'll have to check out his wares.
Why are they smiling? Seeing Link in a grave is heartbreaking! I've got one tower to go in BotW and don't want it to end...
Cracking stuff anyway - I've seen a lot of great MS Paint art over the years, so it's good to see people are still using it. Any canvas will do if you've got that talent.
I like the look of Coronation Street Fighter despite not being a fan of the soap.
@AlexHarford Don't worry. BotW doesn't "end" quite so easily. There's hundreds of Korok seeds to collect, a bunch of armor sets to fully upgrade, and a big chunk of DLC. You'll be alright as long a you have that completionst itch to guide you.
Been following Jim on FB for a while, always found his works compelling...but I didn't know he works in MS Paint!
I thought the dude hovering over the bones was John Madden.
Goodness how I’ve managed to get this far in life without ever seeing Coronation Street Fighter II! How-do Ken!
Jim'll Paint It and Cold War Steve rarely miss the mark.
@tatchy
They are both amazing.
@KateGray - I was gonna link to my post from earlier this year where I posted to a Nintendo-themed Jim'll paint it (Goldie and Brian Blessed drunk riding Hoovers on Rainbow Road), but it was delete as spam!
I saw this the other day as I have followed Jim for years. Never once did I think NL would be making an article about it, but here we are. Any affiliate links to his online store?
Thank you, Kate. I ended up watching a whole episode of Time Team within a Nintendo Life article. Never did I think this day would come.
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