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Between Two Turrets - Come chat with Riot Keyserito! [COMPLETE]

RiotA Small Man··18 votes·83,462 views


Welcome to the latest installment of Between Two Turrets, a Q&A series through which we connect you with various Rioters to chat about League, life, and anything in between. You can expect an installment every two weeks or so, with Rioters from all over jumping in to spend some time with you on the Boards.

This week, we've got Skins Team VFX Artist Jason “Riot Keyserito” Keyser!

Oh hey, guys! I'm Jason Keyser. I make stuff explode on the skins team. My job description is making shiny sparkly things: fireballs, water splashes, dust poofs, electric beams, magic blasts, and all the other elements. Since I started last year, I've worked on all kinds of different skins. Most recently, I was on PROJECT: Leona, then Spirit Fire Brand. You can see my work here:

Youtube channel (includes a bunch of quick tutorials for you aspiring artists)
Website
Twitter

My favorite champion is Lulu, so making all the bubbles for her Pool Party skin was pretty much the best ever. For better or worse, I'm drawn to all things adorable, sparkly, and epic. This has led to many evenings watching kids' shows with my wife, including Gummy Bears, Phineas and Ferb, Powerpuff Girls, Star vs the Forces of Evil, Adventure Time, Avatar (Airbender and Korra), Slugterra, Ben 10, Transformers Prime, and many others, including MLP:FIM. Cutie Mark Crusaders OP!

The game I've been most obsessed with recently (aside from League) is Terraria. I'm still recovering from getting wrecked by the awesomeness of Patch 1.3.

Outside of shows and games, I'm into food, which is nice, because LA has some fantastic places to eat, which is bad, because I've been getting fat since moving here from Utah. Any questions you've got, feel free to fire away!

380 Comments

RiotKindlejack11 votes

How do you maintain your cool yet charming demeanor while being approachable and great to work with?

Which characters did you reference for Arcade Blitzcrank?

RiotRiot Keyserito5 votes

XD

While working on Battle Boss Blitz, I was looking at one of my favorite childhood games: Megaman X. I was especially inspired by Spark Mandrill, Armored Armadillo, Storm Eagle, and of course, that green mini boss that kinda looks a lot like Blitz. lol.

Shibiko2 votes

YES! I love Megaman X and the music is one of the best in the series in my opinion. Here is a really good cover of storm eagle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQmCmr1QbyQ

RiotRiot Keyserito3 votes

So good! oh man. Takes me back... Makes me want to do a whole set of arcade skins RIGHT NOW!!!

RiotRiot Fairy Flan4 votes

Can confirm, he's very cool yet charming guy! Lulu

PixTron11 votes

Are you gonna make Dodgeball Syndra anytime soon? :D

And if you are, could you make it a Legendary Skin like Dunkmaster Darius?

And the main question relating to the two: Do you also work on ideas for the skins as well as making the awesome particle effects for them?

(and another thing:) Did you also have anything to do with the PROJECT skins' effects?

Thanks!

-PixTron

Soliris9 votes

How do you generally go about starting concepts for a new skin & where do you draw your inspiration from? Furthermore how long does it take for a concept to be seen tested in game? Lastly, are you working on any skins at the moment that you are excited about? Thank you for your time!

RiotRiot Keyserito7 votes

Great question! VFX inspiration can come from just about anywhere--soap bubbles in the kitchen sink, cracks in the sidewalk, even dog pee on a tree trunk (more than once, I've gotten really funny looks for taking awkward photos in public).

For a specific thematic, It really depends on the skin. When I was working on SG Lux, you better believe I was watching magical girl reference like crazy (yes, including Power Puff Girls Z). Other times, I'll look to movies, comic books, or all the amazing artwork you can find with a google search.

I've started using Pinterest like crazy, gathering all the VFX reference I can into one place.

Ignis05 votes

What is one skin that you really want create but haven't yet for various reasons?

yonggon5 votes

Why isn't there a Ready to Rumble! Rumble Skin as a wrestling announcer with a taunt saying "Lets Get Ready to Rumble!."

Aphanopanop4 votes

Hey Riot Keyserito, what type of schooling did you go through to get to where you are at?

RiotRiot Keyserito3 votes

There's a growing number of good schools to go to. There's also some fantastic online resources these days. Which one you choose really depends on the discipline you want to focus on: Character design, character animation, environment design, etc etc. Very few schools teach more than one or two classes on VFX, so I recommend getting involved in the online community for now. Bill Kladis did some great tutorials in the Unreal Engine. I'm also trying to get the word out in VFX education on my YouTube channel.

As for my personal journey, I was lucky to attend a university with a great animation program. Within that program, I specialized in effects, which led me down the path I'm on today. When choosing a program, my #1 advice is to make sure the faculty have been successful in the industry (holding the same jobs you want to get) and that the graduating students are consistently getting the jobs you want to get. If those schools are out of your price range, there's tons of professional artists teaching online these days for a fraction of the price.

VersaceLemonade4 votes

You mentioned Lulu being your favorite champion but what about a champ that you relate to the most? Also if you were hosting a dinner party which champions would you invite? (you can only pick 5)

Thanks for all your hard work in making some stunning champion skins! Yasuo

RiotRiot Keyserito18 votes

Okay, so I don't think I'd invite Lulu, coz she's crazy, and my wife might get offended when her cooking just tastes purple to her.

In fact, I think most champs would probably wreck my house. Ziggs, Heimer, Trundle, or Mundo would be a nightmare.

So, probably Ashe coz she's a well-mannered queen.

And Tryndamere, coz I like playing matchmaker.

Next would be Ekko, just in case we need a re-do.

Then Vi, coz it'd be fun to watch her try to eat with those gauntlets.

And finally, TF for games afterward.

Rorønoa4 votes

Hi Jason,

I hope to work for Riot Games one day so I try to ask every Rioter I encounter the same question, "How can you differentiate yourself from the rest of the pool when applying for a job at Riot?"

I've actually applied not too long ago but it was a no go because I seem to be lacking in experience. I will definitely apply again when I get another year of experience under my belt but in the mean time, I would love to know what I can do to be get a step closer to my dream of working at Riot Games.

Thanks!

Zielmann3 votes

What was the first thing you worked on when you started at Riot?

RiotRiot Keyserito3 votes

The new sunfire cape. Actually, after it went live, I was so dissatisfied with it (and I'm pretty sure some of you guys were too) that I took some extra time to update it then re-ship it again.

PapaGreg213 votes

Any thought into making Shyvana's flame breath/burnout more than just color changes with every new skin? I know Ice Drake did some neat stuff and it seems like there is room for creativity with her particles.

BeardedMonk3 votes

Hi! i got a couple of questions for ya

  1. Why is Spirit Fire Brand's back bigger than his skins/default model? That intrigues me.
  2. Could you add jiggle bones to his tribal earrings? i think that would add a lot to the skin.

P.S. i own Project: Leona, Star Guardian Lux, Pool Party Lulu, and as you can see DJ Sona, which you maybe didn't do much on but those waves are still super cool! all the skins/effects are incredible and i cant wait till spirit fire brand is out.

Please write** back **if possible. Brand Brand Brand

RiotRiot Keyserito2 votes

Glad you like the skins :^D

  1. Not sure I follow. HIs back is bigger? Spirit Fire Brand's got back, I guess XD
  2. Typically, we only add jiggle to larger areas of focus. Since his head dress is so commanding, it'd be a bit distracting to also have the smaller earrings wobbling around (though it'd look super cool, I'm sure!)
BeardedMonk1 votes

Heh, yeah, i did mean his back is bigger, i just noticed it on here: http://www.lolking.net/models?champion=63&skin=5 upper back/shoulders Also, although that kinda bums me, you are right. Can wait for the skin c: Thanks so much for the answers! summoner 14 Brand

RiotRiot Keyserito3 votes

woah. the rig seems broken to me on the base. But I think I see what you mean. Yah, he's been working out. Maybe he's more full of evil energy, and that's what made his rib cage expand...

Freezman3 votes

How did you get into art?

How did you end up at Riot?

What's your favorite skin that you didn't work on, why?

What is your favorite game of all time? (aside from League if it is League)

Who is your favorite artist?

From recent memory, your favorite instance of VFX in a game other than League?

Thanks a lot! Cheers.

RiotRiot Keyserito3 votes

  • I got into art at age 6, drawing helicopters and robots shooting each other with bazookas.

  • I ended up at Riot when I saw a job listing on Linked-in. I had been focused on hand-drawn 2D effects for a few years before then, and they liked the style. After starting at Riot, they began training me on the new skill set of 3D visual effects. Learning the tools took a couple of months, but learning the art skills took years.

  • Final Boss Veigar - Brian Thompson did a masterful job on that guy's VFX.

  • I'd definitely have to say Terraria is my fav. Sure the progression is fun, and the building/crafting is great, but the core gameplay loop of boss fights and platforming is the best. It's got every side-scrolling mechanic from every platformer I like: wall jump, double jump, bouncing bullets, grappling hooks, unique enemy behaviors, and on and on. So good.

  • Gonna cop out here. There are so many great artists out there, it's hard to pick one. But I really do admire Michel Gagne. That guy really re-defined western FX style in the 90's with his work on Osmosis Jones, Iron Giant, and many other animated films (and he's still doing fantastic work these days. you should check him out!)

  • Dude, the Koreans are doing amazing VFXwork in their games. Lost Ark Online looks so soooooo gorgeous, as do so many other KR action RPGs and MMOs. Also, I really like a lot of the VFX coming out of China these days. So hard to keep up!

wizardhunter3 votes

Do you know any programming languages and where should someone start if they want to learn graphic arts or animation?

Ape2getherStrong3 votes

What are the odds that a Bard Ultimate skin would be available in the future? Has this been brought up at all by anyone in the skins department, his abilities have many effects associated with them and an ultimate skin, involving his lore or just anything in general would be really interesting to see on him. If not that is there any chance you could share insight on Ultimate Skins you would like to see personally or would you be willing to share anything of that nature with us?

Merxamers2 votes

Hey! I'm really excited for Spirit Fire Brand! To talk about the fire effects; way back when i started playing, Brand's fire, especially his ult, looked mostly like orange blobs. What are the challenges in improving fire effects in this game to look a bit better? (like they were for Shyvana, Rumble, etc.)

Also, What were the considerations in differentiating the fire effects in Spirit Fire Brand vs. his other skins? (except for zombie-brand, all the fire effects pretty much look the same)

RiotRiot Keyserito4 votes

TL;DR: Making fire is HARD!

There are so many ways to approach a flame. Maybe it's spheres with a scrolling flame texture. Maybe it's little bits of flame that start hot white and fade to yellow then red. Maybe you draw every frame by hand. Or maybe.... you get the idea

So yah, deciding which technique to go with is a big part of the job. Trying those techniques then realizing they don't work is another big part of the job. lol. But to put a positive note on it, I learn something from every attempt, and I've found a lot of really fun and creative ways to give fire a unique personality. For example, Spirit Fire Brand uses inverted colors to look like dark fire. Base Brand uses lots of small flecks of flame to feel like a full-bodied mass of flame. The torches on Summoner's Rift use a simple randomized fire texture to match the style of the environment.

The technique we choose heavily impacts the quality and vibe we get. So we get to explore a variety of tricks to get the result we want.

GwingMaster2 votes

Hi There! Thanks for doing this!! Two questions and a pair of compliments:

  1. PROJECT: Leona is to date the ONLY skin i've ever bought. Leona is my favorite champ but I generally have a rule that I don't buy skins. I couldn't resist for Project simply because I was so desperate to have a Leona skin with cool particles. Awesome job, i love it.

2.) How do you guys go about updating VFX? Are there meetings that go on that discuss how the VFX should reflect their thematic or is it largely left up to the artists themselves to decide how things should look?

  1. Branching from that - can you comment at all on the VFX changes for Morde? i know this is a scary topic so I"m not trying to trap you or anything, I"m just curious what the thinking was behind changing them and why the update includes so much less metal in favor of whispy swirls, etc. Personally I don't particularly like the new ones but I"m not trying to criticize, more just curious how these decisions are made.

4.) I played with Brand on OFA for the first time since his VFX were updated and OMG they're beautiful. I"m gonna buy him just for those. If you had anything to do with that or you know who did, please extend my compliments. They're awesome.

RiotRiot Keyserito4 votes

1.) Woah! That's so cool to hear! Leona was a real challenge for me to work on, having not done high-tech VFX like that before. There was a lot of failed attempts trying to figure out what "Digital Magic" looks like. So glad it worked out :^]

2.) There's a few strategies we have on updating VFX. The first is that the Champ Up (Champion Update) team tackles what they can as quickly as they can. Beyond that, other VFX artists occasionally chip in to offer some love. A few months ago, we did a batch of updates as a passion project, squeezing it into our free time (Morde, Brand, Corki, Nunu, etc). Then there's random instances where it makes sense, like Pantheon's Q and W impact sparks. While I was working on his new Slayer skin, we realized that we could apply the Q and W to his base. So we decided to give Pantheon players some love across the board, especially since the new sparks weren't necessarily thematically unique to the Slayer line.

3.) Mordekaiser is close to my heart, not only because we share a name, but because he was the first champ I ever played. Working on his new visuals was fun, but super tricky (as with many of our beloved Champ Up initiatives). His thematic is a paradox, because he's both the Master of Metal, and a magic-damage soul-controlling undead mage. We dialed back the physical aspects of the metal to better indicate magic damage. Admittedly, we did err on the side of spirit energy. I went for "etherial metal" where I could, giving the sense of a sharp, but other-worldly element.

4.) Yah, a fellow artist did Brand's VFX update. I'll pass along the compliment :^]

JacNotResponding1 votes

Is Pool party yasuo, or ekko possible in the future?

RiotRiot Keyserito9 votes

I believe that every champ should have a pool party skin.

Including Urgot.

so, yes :^]

yonggon5 votes

[{quoted}](name=Riot Keyserito,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=JzBkufUf,comment-id=000a0000,timestamp=2015-10-21T22:11:03.286+0000)

I believe that every champ should have a pool party skin.

Including Urgot.

so, yes :^]

And this is one of the moments we love you <3

Mansana1 votes

Which champ do you think requires the most degree of work for vfx? Xerath, Syndra, other champs with a lot of particle fx?

RiotRiot Keyserito3 votes

Xerath might be deceptively easy, depending on what you wanna do. Simply recoloring his blue energy to pink energy, for example, is pretty simple. But if you wanna add sparkles and hearts, and change the energy to burning pink fiery love magic, that'll add a few weeks.

Older champs sometimes pose a problem, because they weren't built in an easy-to-edit format. So first we have to spend time untangling their "spaghetti code," then we can work quickly and efficiently on the effects. Otherwise, each skinned effect re-color means just as much time (or more) spent hooking it up :^( Luckily, the list of spaghetti champs gets smaller every time one of them gets a skin. Yay!

RiotRiot Keyserito3 votes

lol! i just realized I didn't answer your question. Yes, mages with magic elements require a lot more work on VFX than more physical champs, like Pantheon, Katarina, or Tryndamere. heh, hope that answers your question.

Merxamers1 votes

Heartseeker Xerath confirmed?

RiotRiot Keyserito6 votes

If i had my way...

Erminefield1 votes

I've been playing league for about 3 years now and this is my absolute favorite game on the planet. The skins that you guys work on are so cool, the visual effects are stunning and unique and the movements of champions are so lifelike it's mind-blowing. I think it's awesome how much work you put into this game. I was wondering if you, a current Riot employee, could give me some advice on the best way to build up my experience to eventually become an employee myself. I'm very interested in the animation side of game design and have gained experience using programs like 3D Studio Max and Blender. I know their isn't a guaranteed way to get any job, I would just like a bit of guidance so I could work for a company I admire.

Thanks for your time

RiotRiot Keyserito8 votes

The best way to get in as an artist is to focus your energy on one part of production. Pick a discipline, like you would pick a class in a game, and level up that one craft. Here's a few to pick from: Character Design, Environment Design, 3D Character modeling & texturing, 3D Environment art, character animation, VFX art, Character Rigging, etc.

Once you've decided on your focus (sounds like animation is yours), there are some fantastic online courses you can take, taught by industry professionals, for each of the specific disciplines. Art school might also be a good option, though admittedly, it's typically more pricey. Do your research, and look into which one seems the best fit for you, then go for it!

butterbean4691 votes

hey Keyserito, how ya doing? I was wondering your views on teemo lol. I was actually wondering if there might be a new teemo skin coming up here soon. A lot of my friends and I have been talking bout how awesome it would be for a satan teemo skin since he is often referred as such. Also since you are in LA if you go to Irvine, CA there is some fantastic japanese style curry at a restaurant called cocos ichibanya. I used to eat it all the time when i was a marine stationed in okinawa japan, and the one in Irvine is almost exactly spot on to the japanese ones. My suggestion would be to also get the garlic cheese naan bread that they also have. it is amazing with the curry. They also make it so you can have it spicy or mild. Well hope to see a reply from you and I hope you get to try that curry. it really is good!

RiotRiot Keyserito5 votes

Teemo and Japanese curry. Both are delicious.

My views on Teemo? He's got a ton of skins, but there's always room for more :3

That Satan Teemo idea needs to happen some day. It's just too easy.

yonggon5 votes

[{quoted}](name=Riot Keyserito,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=JzBkufUf,comment-id=00190000,timestamp=2015-10-21T21:32:14.296+0000)

Teemo and Japanese curry. Both are delicious.

My views on Teemo? He's got a ton of skins, but there's always room for more :3

That Satan Teemo idea needs to happen some day. It's just too easy.

Satan Teemo needs to be a legacy Halloween skin

OrangeDonutz1 votes

Project Leona is my favorite skin ever! Good work on that one. Are there any skins that you're working on that you're particularly excited about? Keep up the good work!

Z3roChanc31 votes

Hello! I really love programming and was wondering if that had any role in what you do. And if so, how do you use it/ further it in college? (Sorry if any of this was already asked)

Thanks!

Xivus Arkan3 votes

{quoted}

Hello! I really love programming and was wondering if that had any role in what you do. And if so, how do you use it/ further it in college? (Sorry if any of this was already asked)

Thanks!

I know it's directed towards him but to shed some light, as an animator/3d modeler/artist the role programming has is that, any tools or interfaces for art will need to be programmed, so, when I pick up my tablet and choose a brush, that had to be programmed, deciding which bones move at what weight, angle, etc, also involves being pre-programmed. Lastly, after the animations are done, the trigger, such as pressing the q button causes the animation to go off at just the right time.

Decrit1 votes

Many times Rioters that are discussing skins when they talk about VFX are all lik "we have few people/they are different from models/they require this or that".

This makes me thing that while there are loads of artist of various genres VFX are the most lacking one? Do you require human sacrifices sometime?

RiotRiot Keyserito2 votes

Oh, man. Pretty much every game studio that I know of is looking to hire VFX artists. It's a relatively younger discipline in the arts, and there's not as many classes available for VFX in school (usually, it's VFX for film, not games). So yes, we have a very high demand for more and more VFX in our game, and it's one of the hardest positions to hire for.

If anyone wants to learn how to become a VFX artist, feel free to reach out to me on my YouTube channel or on Twitter. I'd be happy to point you toward some good resources for learning :^D

The industry is super hungry for more flashy VFX, and I'm here to help where I can.

SLU Dent

How come when a champ gets reworked their skin splashes (which look entirely different to them ) remains the same? Reference : Whistler Village Twitch ... i mean look at that splash haha

RiotRiot Keyserito4 votes

I've got all the respect in the world for the splash artists. They're a small army of illustrators, painting some of my favorite illustrations month in and month out. Truth is, there's just enough of them to keep up with the demand of new champions, skins, and large-scale updates. The good news is, they've got enough time to slowly churn through that long list of old skins, some of which you've seen go into the game lately (Chosen Yi, Jade Wukong, and Vandal Brand being the latest).

Day by day, month by month, that list of old skin splashes gets just a bit smaller. But it's a big list, so I hope you understand!

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