Most Demacian champions don't look the part... why?

Basilio·Feb 22, 2018·8 votes·2,242 views

So I just saw the Demacian dev diary and realized the Demacian Champions especially those who stayed in military service have completely different appearance than the ones was portrayed in the video (as well as some pictures in the Universe). This annoys me cause 1) the Noxian Champions look no different from their Universe common military counterpart, and 2) for a city-state of military cohesion and unity their isn't much uniform with the Champions in Demacia.

Okay. Let's take away Fiora, Vayne, Lucian and Poppy they obviously didn't stay in the military and one's a Yordle that just happens to love the place. As well as J4 and Shyv cause they're a rather liberal branch of the military. But what of Xin,Quinn, Garen and Lux?

13 Comments

SEKAIFeb 22, 201813 votes

It's mostly because Demacia used to have a national colour scheme of seemingly equal emphasis on silver, blue, and gold, until Riot retcon it to be white base with gold outlines.

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t/27574526_701705710033069_3613574939262582784_n.jpg

From this fan art it displays the some of the earliest Demacian champions which used the old colour schemes of Demacian champs, they seem indeed very much uniform in colour with each other given that was the colour of Demacia after all. It isn't to say there were not outliners, such as Vayne and Shyv, who had their reasons for having more "personalised" style for similar reasons as say, XIn to some extent, but they mostly share a similar vibe and theme with again, seeming equal emphasis on silver, blue, and gold. But unfortunately that is not matching the now white focused Demacia national colour scheme anymore.

This is the reason why some of the older Demacian champs are now slowly going into visual updates to ensure consistency of this, such as Galio being changed to white from blue during his rework, or Xin's splash art update for instance.

......

This also applies to Noxus too, how Swain got changed from his green robe into a black and red colour scheme (Noxus's national colour scheme). Same stuff.

Valor BotFeb 22, 201811 votes

Most Demacian champions were created and designed way before the visual aesthetic of the faction had been locked in and solidified. Out of all of them I’d say Poppy, Taric and Galio are the only ones who are truly representative of its new look and feel (and even then, Taric is more Targonian than anything, after his comic “Ascent”). An argument could be made for Fiora as well, though I suspect she was also designed before the major worldbuilding update to Demacia.

RiotWhrenFeb 22, 201810 votes

Y'all are right, this is basically the reason.

GarentheonFeb 22, 20182 votes

As a Garen main, I’m a bit sad he got his VU when he did. Because, with his lore update and the solidification of Demacia’s look, he’d look SSSOOOOOO badass

Chromatic EagleFeb 22, 20181 votes

To be fair, The Wolf King offered a lore based reasoning for it as well. I'm okay with that.

RiotWhrenFeb 22, 20185 votes

Agree, It's both, The Wolf King got a lot of the thinking right. In a place like Demacia where it's all about maintaining the strict hierarchies of what you were born into, I can't imagine champions looking like run-of-the-mill anyone.

Then there's also the timeline reason. XD

Illâoi Evê SiônFeb 22, 20183 votes

I get that aesthetics in clothing and appearance should be similar if appropriate, but please don't take it too far with future champions, like how Swain's team made him look like a Blood Mage because he's from Noxus.

RiotWhrenFeb 22, 20188 votes

Yeah! I definitely think we can do better at that. However, and I don't work directly on League itself, I can only imagine the inherent difficulties in trying to make characters iconic and to make them look cohesive within the universe, with the small character size and everything in the game.

(And also in my biased defense of the Swain team's decision to make him red, Swain IS a very prominent figure within Noxus and I like that he now represents the faction at large. If they ever revisit Draven's visuals, for instance, I would love to see him remain that quirky mix of colors because, well, Draven)

Valor BotFeb 22, 20182 votes

So the Worldbuilding team is a sect of Riot on its own separate from League of Legends? That’s pretty cool :)

BasilioFeb 23, 20182 votes

But is there a plan for a VU? or is my concern not even in the radar for the art department?

TerozuFeb 22, 20183 votes

Question, can we get some images of say, casual clothing for the region? I'm making a fan champ concept, he's supposed to have just been a demacian civilian. Also, is there a flag I could look at? I want him to have a vest with the Demacian emblen.

ModWulf HelhammerFeb 22, 20186 votes

The champions we see aren't just regular run of the mill soldiers.

Garen is one of the Dauntless Vanguard, they are the elite force, the best of the best (also he is a member of the Crownguard family, who are tasked with protecting the Royal family)
Lux isn't part of the military. She uses her powers in secret (Cause Demacia hates magic) as sort of a spy.
Quinn is a wilderness scout. She isn't going to have large armor or anything like that. She's going to be wearing quick and light protection for better mobility and stealth.
Xin is also a special elite. He is the personal Steward to the Royal family (the Lightshields). Additionally, he is an outsider that was rescued from a Noxian fight pit.

BasilioFeb 23, 20182 votes

Even if they aren't run of the mill, in a military perspective (which Demacians are so into) especially one that is noted for being the most uniform and disciplined those points show gigantic hypocrisy. I mean Riot made Swain look very mainstream Noxian even though they didn't have to seeing as Noxus is culture inclusive (this makes Draven's design pretty run of the mill - sadly). So why be inconsistent?

Also aren't all Crownguards now part of the military? Since it's been switched from a family name to a honorific given to a family that protects the crown.