Fan Artist Feature - FF Sade
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How did you get started creating League of Legends fan art?
After quitting competitive Smash Bros in 2011, I decided to try out League. This was the patch when Wukong came out, Pantheon’s ultimate was no longer global, and Corki’s Phosphorus Bomb no longer blinded. After all, my hometown friends were all playing it and it was surprisingly extremely popular within the Smash community.
By the time I hit level 30, I was addicted. I started doodling random champion faces including my favorite champion Rumble. I was pretty scared of posting to a huge place like Reddit and I was sure people would ready up the pitchforks. But the community welcomed it, gave worthwhile feedback, and maybe one person even used a picture as an avatar. At this point, I realized that this was something I’d continue doing.
What's been your favorite piece to create, and why?
“Doom Bots of Doom” was insanely fun to create, since the entire concept was absurd. The idea was a Team Rocket and Super Sentai-esque squad of villains led by their bloodthirsty commander, Annie Bot. It was also a crazy adventure. During the early stages of the project, the house cat named Fiend (name is relevant) shut off my computer before I saved, and later a power outage completely corrupted my file. Though these were huge setbacks, I felt like each redraw improved the quality from the original version. It was a great learning experience, and I’d love to do something like that again. #worth
Do you have a dream project you’d like to work on?
Eventually, I’d like to try creating a comic. It’s incredibly time consuming and I respect people like Kirrys (Leona/Diana and Jayce/Viktor comics) a ton for their unrelenting dedication. The lore of League is vast, so skipping out on a mini-comic would be nothing short of a missed opportunity. It’d be a huge boss battle, but I’d want to do my best in trying to create something the community would like to read.
Who’s your inspiration? Do you have any favorite League fan artists?
There are too many inspirations to name! To name a few: Sky Williams, who has come so far since his Smash Bros days. My English teacher, who in a letter of recommendation questioned why I didn't pursue art at the time. Neil Gaiman, whose “Make Good Art” speech I listen to on a monthly basis. And my father, who being a national champion at martial arts and an excellent physician, still had faith in me and my ridiculous endeavors.
Art inspirations include (but are not limited to): PK/Zeronis, IronStylus, Hayao Miyazaki, Satoshi Kon, and a fictional character named Eiji Nizuma. In terms of League fan artists, I was first introduced to Rin the Yordle ’s and Artsed ’s works when I started posting art. Their stuff was amazing and I can’t express how much I fangirled. Since then they've improved exponentially, and they step up their game every time they post. Uguubear , Kalcedonyx , QQChrystal, and OhNips I met later, but I have to mention them because they've helped me by being an inspiration and putting up with my dumb art questions. They’re all super driven to succeed. We’re all locked into this endless goal of self-improvement, and seeing others alongside me is really motivating.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with the community?
It’s almost unbelievable how impactful League and its players are. It’s thanks to support from you - the League community - that I was able to receive so many opportunities: meeting incredible people like the artists I wrote about, developing my art, and helping me shape who I am now. Art has always been my passion, but for the longest time, I was just that person who was afraid of showing it. At one point in time, it was nothing more than chicken scratch that I doodled on the back of my homework (which I’d get in trouble for). And it all started changing after a few comments from the League community. The least I can do is to continue to make works that you’ll (hopefully) enjoy. So if you like drawing, don’t be afraid to share with the rest of us! It’s never too late. And to everyone else... keep being awesome, and thanks for sticking with me on this crazy journey!
You can also catch FF Sade in the /All Chat – LCS Party episode where she makes a quick guest appearance!
is AMAZING!!!
in your future drawings. The rest of your drawings are tremendously amazing and well-thought out.
Team pose looks like this:
? :-)