Fan Artist Feature - Rachel J Corey

Hey Summoners! For our next Fan Artist Feature we’re speaking with Rachel J Corey, a 2D concept artist from Seattle who has an amazing portfolio of League of Legends fan comics. You may have seen her featured on The Summoner Showcase in last week's episode of /All Chat (embedded below).



Follow her on Twitter and Tumblr to see more of her work! If you know someone that you'd like to recommend for a future Fan Artist Feature, please let us know here.

How did you get started creating League of Legends fan art?

August 10th 2011! I had played a few games with my pal Ian and Skarner just came out and I thought his design was so cool I had to draw him. Then Riven came out and her ult looked cool so I had to draw that…. The cycle continued.

What's been your favorite piece to create, and why?

Hmm that’s a tough one! I loved doing all of them equally, otherwise I never would have finished them! I think the top spot would have to be the Playtime With Gnar comics, specifically the goofier ones that had me giggling before I finished them. (the Azir, Darius and Fiddlesticks ones spring to mind) I just couldn’t wait to show my friends and see their reactions. Drawing this mini follow-up comic was also extremely fun.

I have to also say that drawing this, and reading the comments in this thread is one of my best memories of League, ever. (Warning: Bikini Draven...)

Do you have a dream project you’d like to work on?

Ooh, this is also tough! Because in my mind, if I had a clear vision of a “dream project” I probably would go out and just start on it right away! That’s mostly my problem, is nailing down exactly what I want to do so I can start getting excited about it.

Pedantry aside, there was a champion I worked on during my concept art contracts with Riot who is absolutely freaking incredible and the best. SO much story potential!!! And the interactions with other champions!! *swoooon!* If that champion were to ever come out, I would instantly drop all personal projects and passionately create a comic about them.

There were a couple of comic ideas (okay, a lot of them) I had that I could never quite figure out the extra spark that would make me want to finish them. Some of them included little Shyvana accidentally setting a bird’s nest on fire, so she goes to school and tries to build a replacement birdhouse with popsicle sticks, and ends up making friends with little Vayne, who is also an outcast nerd because she is obsessed with vampires.

Or Quinn and Lux meeting in some sort of political Demacia palace waiting room and making friends; there would be a lot of humor in this one like Lux trying to “talk bird” to Valor like Quinn is able to, but offending Valor and having him fly off in a huff. Then there were some other lore stories I got temporarily engaged in, like Talon meeting Du Coteau and Riven learning to use her huge sword in the Noxus army.

I also had an idea for a mini comic where Pool Party Leona wakes up Diana bright and early, and Diana seeks revenge, so she becomes Slumber Party Diana and wakes up Leona in the middle of the night for slumber party activities. Maybe I should re-visit that one. :p

Who’s your inspiration? Do you have any favorite League fan artists?

Oooh, soooo manyyyyyy. For all-around artistic influences that have made a lasting impact, I’ll just quickly say a few: Claire Wendling, Heather Campbell, Der-Shing Helmer, Heinrich Kley, Jhonen Vasquez, and my friend Paul Richards, who has had a profound impact on my artistic confidence.

For League artists, you should all check out these amazing folks!!
Suqling – Not only are her paintings gorgeous, but she has a killer imagination and penchant for storytelling.
Rin – Adorable, and the sweetest Yordle.
Genevieve Tsai – Just looking at anything she draws sends me into a depressive spiral from its magnificence, so I have to be careful with that.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the community?

I actually just got my dream job working at an indie game studio here in Seattle called Atomjack!!! I’ll be painting backgrounds and concept art for our game. I can’t even articulate how excited I am.

I would have never achieved that, or my huge leaps and bounds of improvement without the constant encouragement of the LoL community. It’s you guys, who send me emails or leave comments saying how much they enjoy the efforts I put into my comics, that really pushed me to improve. Thank you!!!!!!!!!