Boards›Concepts & Creations

[OCTOBER CHAMPION CONTEST] Questions, Comments, or Predictions!

DMC75001··3 votes·1,821 views

Hey, all! DMC7500 here with another update!

So, the September Champion Contest has ended. I was amazed at the plethora of Champion Concepts that went into the whole contest. I didn't mind that Julius didn't get into the Top 5 as I originally hoped, but I was glad that some of my friends were able to secure the top five spots in the contest! Kudos to all of you for joining!

http://img.pandawhale.com/57451-Jim-Carrey-Riddler-upvote-gif-NVsA.gif

As the October Champion Contest comes closer than before, I want to create a little discussion that focuses on the core aspects of the contest. Also, I want this to be a hub for other champion artists to socialize and comment on what may the contest will hold for them.

While reading or commenting on this article, keep a few questions in mind.

Questions:

  1. What is your motivation for creating champions, and why? Do you follow a specific design set or do you make up stuff as you go along?
  1. How does the influences of lore and rivalries in the League of Legends influence your champion design? Also, when designing kits, do you keep the champion persona in thought or do you make modifications or create an entirely different champion kit?
  1. When judging a champion, what is the main things you tend to look for when analyzing a champion concept?
  1. What inspirations in real life or in other video games, televisions shows, or other references influence your champion designs?
  1. What do you value above everything else in creating your champion? Story? Lore? Interactions? Gameplay?

Also, don't forget to comment on these new topics!

Comments:

  1. Sion, after a long awaited delay, receives his visual update! Also, his gameplay has drastically changed from his original kit! How does this affect champion creation for Riot and you other champion concept artists?
  1. The Champions are going through a massive texture rebalancing, updating skin visuals and effects!
  1. The 2014 League Championship Series is underway, with the creation of the Season 1 Winner's Skins, Fnatic! Does the Championship series help influence your League champion designs?

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to comment, upvote, and spread the word about the October Champion Concept Contest! All I can say for parting words is.....

#GLHF2014OCTOBERCHAMPIONCONTESTENTRANTS

** See you all on the Boards of Justice!!!!!**

38 Comments

Flintfall2 votes

"Board of Justice" hue

What is your motivation for creating champions, and why? Do you follow a specific design set or do you make up stuff as you go along?

I want to create characters that are both unique, memorable, and fun to play/be around. Most of my ideas I come up with randomly, then go through a verrrry long incubating process (Shrike and Kawpra are exceptions though).

How does the influences of lore and rivalries in the League of Legends influence your champion design? Also, when designing kits, do you keep the champion persona in thought or do you make modifications or create an entirely different champion kit?

I might make some rivalries, but having a champion concept closely attached to a live one is tricky business.

Personality and thematics have a huge place in my kits (hopefully), when I design a kit I always think about how that champion would go about doing something. For example Gnarr loves to stalk his prey and terrorize them, while Kawpra is a lot more aggresive and would just fling himself at you.

When judging a champion, what is the main things you tend to look for when analyzing a champion concept?

This is most applicable since I've judged before :P

I actually look for a strong unified theme first actually, along with general effort put into the post. That doesn't mean I haven't upvoted a post simply for the kit or for the lore, but the concept gets infinitely cooler if it's engaging (lore mostly).

What inspirations in real life or in other video games, televisions shows, or other references influence your champion designs?

#Do not even get me started....

I have so many references and inspirations you're gonna have to be champion specific.

However I can share some of my most personal connections.

#The Harvester

http://i.imgur.com/molZU7J.png

He stems from a personal fear of mine actually. I was afraid of the dark when I was younger, mainly because I always felt something was watching me, waiting to eat me when I let my guard down.

So in a lot of ways The Harvester is really a physical manifestation of that fear, and judging by all the upvotes on it Gnarr also seems to strike a distinct primal fear in you guys as well.

#Shrike

http://i.imgur.com/zctdAvN.png

I just noticed how I get Randy to commission all the personal stuff :P

I've always wanted to fly, not really high altitude but to see the sky from eye level so to speak. I am fascinated with the sky, and it be a bit weird but a good sky leaves me breathless, it makes me want to soar among the clouds.

Shrike is kinda what I'm shooting for, loves flying (albeit in a more extreme manner) and being in the sky, which is where I hope to be someday outside of commercial flights.

What do you value above everything else in creating your champion? Story? Lore? Interactions? Gameplay?

Story and lore without a doubt, thematics also tie in nicely. They're my favorite parts of a concept each and every time!

DMC750011 votes

Flint! Buddy, how's it going!

Your inspirations for Shrike and The Harvester seem quite shocking to me! In a good way, though! In the end, I loved the inspiration that drove you to create such a champion.

I actually used my religious background when creating Julius. I was actually raised in a very strict religion (won't say due to personal matters), that valued their teachings over ordinary life. They taught me how simple words can change the ideals of many, and how people hear these messages and respond to them. So, in Julius's perspective, he sees the words of The One as a beacon of salvation to the suffering poor of Valoran.

As a fellow champion artist, I'd love to hear your opinion on how Riot's approach on creating champions. Would you approve of Riot's approach to redesigning certain champions, or is there some aspects of which you would change?

Flintfall2 votes

Going good, Dane should be up sometime this weekend, assuming I can get the lore to sound right :P

Recently I've been blown away by Riot's design team, they've really pulled all the stops and brought out some crazy good designs! The ones that bug me though are Braum and the new Soraka.

  • Soraka mainly for the lack of delays in her abilities, it's instant and really hard to dodge.

  • Braum because he feels a bit disjointed, the Q and R and cool to use but the W and E don't really synergize well with them.

Sion I'm holding a bit off on because I want to see how he develops, but from my experience on the pbe he's unnecessarily bursty for a juggernaut/tank archetype.

DMC750011 votes

Sion's a wild card on the PBE. I haven't gotten to try him out lately, but, he's becoming a monster in-game (LoL, pun intended, Lore-Wise). One thing I like most about him is his new Ultimate. Coupled along with his Q Knockup, he can be a perfect initiator for champions such as Yasuo, who like to take the most advantage of the knockups.

Soraka, for me, is ridiculously OP. Her Starcall, coupled with the new passive from her W, makes her very dangerous as a support, or, might I dare, an AP Mid Mage.

Overall, I'm content with the changes Riot is make, but I just wish they could tone down the values so they don't make the champions ridiculously OP when on the Live Servers.

Oh, another question. This refers to Sion's new lore through his promotion and PBE release. Did you feel that the drastic change from Sion's lore change your view on how you see Noxian society in Valoran?

Flintfall2 votes

Noxian society to me has always been centered around strength, not so much cutthroat but more on supreme respect for those that prove themselves. To me, Sion fits this perfectly, and I'm really enjoying getting a closer look into the dangerous world of Noxian politics/Noxian history.

If anything, I want to know what Swain will do with a beast as brutal as Sion, I can't imagine it'd be peaceful :P

btw I love that gif

DMC750011 votes

Jim Carrey makes things awesome, doesn't he? :D

While on the topic of Noxus, do you think that other key lore places, such as Mount Targon or Bilgewater, are in need of new champions to send. If so, what would be your idea for one?

Flintfall1 votes

How about I add you and we can continue this discussion on the client?

SInce the Institute of War isn't canon anymore, I'd be more concerned with what stories are left to be told. Going with that, Mount Targon definitely has a rich culture that needs more justice, and I would love to see more champions come out from there!

DMC750011 votes

Alright, hold on. My normal client's very hard to set up. Shockingly, it suffered a serious chat problem, as I cannot connect to chat at this moment. It's going to take a few days to figure out, as I have tried every fix known to Rito that was supposedly working.

Until then, it's ok if you want to continue here. Besides, this is a discussion forum for the next October Champion Concept Contest. It's alright if others see our posts.

Flintfall1 votes

Sounds fine to me, I'm just worried about the clutter :P

What's been your favorite champion release this season (going back to Yasuo)? Also, where would you like to see a new champion come out of?

DMC750011 votes

If starting from Yasuo....I'd had to say my favorite champion to come out would be Vel'Koz.

He's another subtle Void character, but he has more finesse out of Malzahar or Kassadin. Out of the three, I'd have to say Vel is the most intellegent out of all the Void champions. Also, he's the neutral guy that's seeking for knowledge, and he'll disintegrate anyone that gets in his way.

For a champion that I'd like to see in the future, I'd like him to come from Zaun. We've seen Singed and Viktor as Zaunite Champions, but what I'd really like to see is a crazy, megalomaniac from Zaun or possibly a trouble youth raised among Zaunites, slowly driven mad and trying to reach to sanity.

Yes, I'd love to see more Zaunite Champions in the future. But, there's also the aspect of the Yordles in Yordle City. Would you enjoy another Yordle champion?

Flintfall1 votes

Zaun is a corporate web, and I'd REALLY love to see into the lives of the industrial CEOs, corporate espionage, backstabbing, and general culture.

I hate Yordles, the only exception is Gnar!

http://static.zerochan.net/Gnar.%28League.of.Legends%29.full.1759868.jpg

DMC750011 votes

Yes, Gnar is to Gnarly too i-GNAR-e. Gnar

There's another thing I've noticed about some champions. For instance, Ryse. I feel that some of his lore might be undertoned due to the updates to the Lore. Also, with Jax as well.

In the new cinematic trailer, Jax is visible with a newly implemented staff and better design. Do you expect old champions, such as Ryse and Tristana, to get an update in the future?

Flintfall1 votes

Definitely, Ryze might get his later though since he's aloof, but a bandle city update would most likely touch on Tristana (also they said they'd update her anyway).

Trist would look amazing with a visual update!

DMC750011 votes

It would be very exciting, and I wouldn't be surprised that Teemo might get one too.

It's so silent here. Maybe anyone else you know can participate here?

A cuddley kitten1 votes

You can dodge everyone of soraka's 'attacks' with ease.

DMC750011 votes

Hey, Kitten!

I think the new Soraka rework of her abilities was kinda OP. Now, her abilities are just straight-forward burst heal and damage, without any strategic potential. Before, with her mana-restoring ability to other champions made her a viable support, but with this new kit, it just confuses me.

What do you think of the Ability Reworks of Certain Champions?

tau432 votes

When I make a champion, I use the Clint Eastwood approach, "Well, I'd play it." (which probably why Jack didn't do so well). For lore, I gun for original, intermingled canon (i.e. Ferrum). I feel like I over did it with Jack (again, explains a lot). For abilities I bounce ratios off of friends, and decide the cooldowns accordingly.

DMC750011 votes

Hey, Tau!

Hehe, love that Clint Eastwood Quote. Fits in with your designs. I feel like as if you focus on gameplay than the lore and story on the champion. But, going off of canon lore is another good idea, in its own way. I loved the story of Jack, and his kit! Very well done, but, can be improved a bit!

tau431 votes

I felt iffy about him. Not as assured as I felt with Ferrum.

Secluded Death1 votes

What is your motivation for creating champions, and why? Do you follow a specific design set or do you make up stuff as you go along?

Motivation? I would probably have to say watching my ideas ACTUALLY piece together in a uniform matter. I enjoy seeing something that doesn't exist coming into life; something new becoming something existing. When I see new things, I //Get Excited//.

I don't really understand the second part, but I will try my best to answer it. When I work on a character, I get an idea of what I want him/her/it to be and try my best to create a concept that emphasizes their unique personalities or themes while trying to incorporate unique mechanics as well; trying to bring something new to the table.

How does the influences of lore and rivalries in the League of Legends influence your champion design? Also, when designing kits, do you keep the champion persona in thought or do you make modifications or create an entirely different champion kit?

I don't know the lore of champions very well (like, not at all). If I want a champion to be related to another champion, I tend to look over their lore and try to make it fit. If not, I don't go into details and write off of personality; write in a way that seems plausible based on a character's theme rather than getting into facts that I don't know about.

When I design kits I believe capitalizing on personality is the most important thing. What makes Riot's champions engaging and more fun to play vs. other characters in similar games is the fact that you feel like you are the champion that you are playing/. Jinx wasn't a huge hit because she had 3 weapons, she was popular because she had 3 weapons with a mental personality wrapped up in an extreme ego. A character's personality is generally why a character gets played. The less personal characters tend to get underplayed even if they are strong (look what happened to Poppy).

When judging a champion, what is the main things you tend to look for when analyzing a champion concept?

At first, I look for a thematic fit making sure the character and his/her/it's abilities fit with what the designer is trying to go far. Second, I look for abilities that don't feel like they have been copy-pasted from an already made champion (incidental or not). They can be similar, but they need to have a unique feel that makes the ability BELONG to the character. Lastly, I look at ability statistics only after the other two criteria have been fulfilled, but I don't go into detail here since it's pretty much arbitrary.

What inspirations in real life or in other video games, televisions shows, or other references influence your champion designs?

Oh, dear lord. Everything. Music, character splash arts (2D), color schemes, Anime. But mostly, its a combination of music and character splash arts with Anime in 2nd place.

What do you value above everything else in creating your champion? Story? Lore? Interactions? Gameplay?

Personality and gameplay. Sometimes, you just need lore to explain a character's personality, but with correct wording, you can get a feel for a champion with just their abilities (Jinx and Sion rework being prime examples).

This was fun :). If you don't mind me plugging in a few of my concepts (feel free to discuss), here they are: Weiss, the Forgotten Marx, One of the Seven Elite Jin, the Demon Half-Breed Varik, the Last Sentinel

Flintfall1 votes

Oh man those look good, you should cross post those onto boards!

Secluded Death1 votes

Oh man those look good, you should cross post those onto boards!

Cross-post? What boards?

And, thanks c:

Flintfall1 votes

By cross-post I mean post those champions concepts as threads on Boards' Skin & Champion Concepts.

It'll take a lot of reformatting, but I'd love to see these here!

Secluded Death1 votes

By cross-post I mean post those champions concepts as threads on Boards' Skin & Champion Concepts.

It'll take a lot of reformatting, but I'd love to see these here!

Oh, okay. I'll start with Marx since he's my newest and easiest to reformat at the moment.

EDIT: Here you go :) If you know of any ways to make the formatting pretty (it's weird and not as customizable as the original forums), please teach me.

Marx, One of the Seven Elite

Flintfall1 votes

Alright, you might be aware of

Make a post have larger font, #Like this.

These dividers I'm using? I use three asterisks (*). Four also works.

Add the lore, make some quotes, really put more flesh into the concepts! It makes it much more enjoyable to read.

Also, here is a general formatting post:

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/miscellaneous/YHPBc6k3-board-formatting-101

If you want to see what a concept looks like well-formatted, shameless self plug here:

I like to think my concepts are generally well formatted, if any questions on how I did stuff just feel free to ask! You're not really using fancy text here, you're mostly just utilizing tables, quote blocks, and dividers.

Secluded Death1 votes

Thank you for the tips! To better see how a full concept would look like in formatting, I went and reposted Varik, the Last Sentinel.

What do you think?

DMC750011 votes

Hey, Secluded Death! I saw your champion concept! I love the effort you put into your concept. He almost seems reminiscent to the Guardian from Destiny!

Secluded Death1 votes

Hey, Secluded Death! I saw your champion concept! I love the effort you put into your concept. He almost seems reminiscent to the Guardian from Destiny!

Thanks! Destiny the new videogame?

DMC750011 votes

Thanks! Destiny the new videogame?

Yup! It just needs a little Companion Voiced by Peter Dinklage.

dialMARK4acti0n1 votes

Hey DMC! How's it going?

What is your motivation for creating champions, and why? Do you follow a specific design set or do you make up stuff as you go along?

You know... I'm not really sure myself. But I love League and I love creating stuff myself to see the end results and then show it to other people. It's also a pretty good way to put my artistic and writing mettle to the test.

I usually start a concept when something that I remember out of the blue strikes me as interesting and I go from that. Wheter it be a Lore or Gameplay idea. Basically, I work off of epiphanies.

How does the influences of lore and rivalries in the League of Legends influence your champion design? Also, when designing kits, do you keep the champion persona in thought or do you make modifications or create an entirely different champion kit?

Lore and rivalries in League of Legends influence me A LOT!!! I really love that type of stuff. I love how Garen and Darius are sworn rivals. I love how Rumble has a crush on Tristana. I love how Zed and Shen have an antagonic relationship toward one another. These types of relationships really turn me on!

So I like making my concepts so that they relate to other champions. Zeph's powers come from Ao Shin mainly. And I'm currently working on Lucian's best friend/partner, and a dude that has a huge crush on Jinx.

The dynamic between a champion's personality and gameplay is always a priority for me. This is why I love Vi so much. Personality: Punch stuff! Gameplay: Punch stuff!

When judging a champion, what is the main things you tend to look for when analyzing a champion concept?

While I never judged a champion besides the one that are actually in the game, I can say that thematic and gameplay cohesion, interesting mechanics, coll yet mysterious lore, are the main things I look at when deciding who I'm gonna main.

What inspirations in real life or in other video games, televisions shows, or other references influence your champion designs?

EVERYTHING!!! Literally! Anything I can draw inspiration from I do. Movies, TV, Real Life, History, NAME IT! This way I usually end up creating something very unique, yet still feeling original... If the inspirations mesh well together. But, for example, Zeph stemmed off of a little bit of Avatar, a little bit of Storm and a little bit of "What if there was a weather master champion in LoL...? He could ride a cloud!! Wait, I need to write this down!"

What do you value above everything else in creating your champion? Story? Lore? Interactions? Gameplay?

Good question. Interactios are pretty fun but not what I value most. What I value most is Gameplay, since a champion concept is a concept for a videogame character. I love Twisted Fate, for example, and play him from time to time. I love his personality. BUT I LOATHE HIS LORE SO MUCH!!! Still, I value that. I mean... I do hate the bloody thing! But, sometimes a champion's story can make me love him more.

DMC750011 votes

Hey, DIal!

Congrats for Zeph securing a spot on the Top 5 characters on the September Champion contest. I love that your value the importance of lore above everything else when creating champions. Lore is a very descriptive way on how a champion thinks, feels, and works. I think that most people focus on the core aspect of the champion's abilities that make them a favorite, not as a whole character entirely.

Take Ashe Ashe , for instance. Quintessential Glass Cannon ADC when playing her in a normal match. But, in her lore, She is elevated in her eyes as the Queen of Freljord. Gives her more importance when playing as or against her, right? And the rivalry between her opponents Sejuani Sejuani and Lissandra Lissandra bump up the enjoyment of the game, making it more playable. THAT'S what a character of League should be.

But, I also try to incorporate some values into the system, to actually make the champion playable. As they say, who would wanna play as or against a champion with god-OP abilities?

dialMARK4acti0n1 votes

True! But I feel that even more important than making a champion playable, is the cohesion he has with his character as a whole. Take Lissandra for example. She's THE ice witch. And she delivers. She freezes enemies and slows them down like ice would normally do. She is also a spellcaster therefore a witch. And her quotes show how she is royalty. I feel like these are really important characteristics that makes her character unique in League (even though she's as generic as Ice Witch can be imo, but, I digress...).

DMC750011 votes

Ice Devrish be Ice Devrish, Dial. Don't worry.

Say, speaking on the Freljord, I remember Trundle Trundle being slugged into the plot alot, as a supporter for Lissandra Lissandra . Did you think that such a change was necessary? I like the concept, but, Trundle can be a swamp ogre type of guy, like SHREK.

dialMARK4acti0n1 votes

I liked the change due to Trundle having NO RELATION whatsoever with any other champs before the relaunch and now he's Lissandra's puppy... troll. I mean... sure they changed up his story quite a bit, but he still has most of his core themes intact. Troll? Check. Stupid? Check. Good at beating stuff? Check.

Was it necessary? Not to me. But the writers and creators of Trundle's characters thought it was and that's good enough for me. They didn't ruin him so... that's good! Besides, the quotes after his rework are way better!!! "Don't worry Clubbums, we'll get to smashing soon" xDDD

DMC750011 votes

His voice annoyed me. The original had a high-pitched scream that you didn't want to hear. It kinda felt annoying, but The new voice was much better. The quotes did justice too.

Speaking of quotes, which champions do you think need a Voice Update?

dialMARK4acti0n1 votes

Two words: ......... Ok.

(Seriously. Rammus could get a few more OK variations... He'd still just say Ok though)

DMC750011 votes

He only needs this. "K."

I'd be laughing so hard if he said that. But, he's Rammus. Rammus is Rammus.

More from Concepts & Creations

A completely serious, totally legit question for Riot.
Concepts & Creations183 comments
2,280
votes
[Champion Concept] DhaMa, The Force of Balance
Concepts & Creations931 comments
1,424
votes
Elderwood Kindred
Concepts & Creations176 comments
1,062
votes
Bring Urgot's Nipple Back!
Concepts & Creations94 comments
985
votes
Petition To Have An Old Lady Champion
Concepts & Creations481 comments
947
votes
When Tahm Kench eats Lulu, he should say that it tasted purple!
Concepts & Creations109 comments
826
votes

More by DMC75001

[SKIN CONCEPT] Atlantean Zyra
Concepts & Creations59 comments
78
votes
[CHAMPION CONCEPT DISCUSSION] Why Rito Refuses to make Helmet Bro a Champion
Concepts & Creations121 comments
75
votes
@Riot, @Fans, Let's all stop arguing and Rebuild Lore TOGETHER!
Story, Art, & Sound18 comments
20
votes
@Riot, @Fans, What do YOU think is the Problem with Lore?
Story, Art, & Sound58 comments
20
votes
HOW TO: Resolve Arguments in League
Memes & Games7 comments
15
votes
The Way How All Games End....
Memes & Games4 comments
15
votes