Why do the 2D and 3D artist have such a problem communicating? (Sweatheard Annie)

Duke Anax·Feb 18, 2015·2 votes·1,048 views

I mean take a loot and the new Annie skin and compare the model with the splash. I may understand missing some details, but here the entire concept is different.

In her model she is still the petulant child just dressed up. But in her splash she actually is the cutest little sweetheart.

http://news.cdn.leagueoflegends.com/public/images/articles/2015/february_2015/VALAN/SweetheartAnnie_3dModel_VIDEO.webm http://euw.leagueoflegends.com/sites/default/files/styles/wide_medium/public/upload/valentinesdayarticleheader.jpg?itok=xqv-CsBl

And this is farm from the first time the two haven't been quite on the same page about a skin or even base champion design.

5 Comments

Sir ArmaMalumFeb 18, 20156 votes

2D artists have a lot more freedom on what they do than 3D Artists. 3D artists have a pre-set rig to adhere to, factors like multiresolution settings, optimization, clipping, particles and animations whereas 2D artists simply have a static space to fill (not counting ultimate skins of course). This is not to demean 2D artists in any way, they throw more into what they do because they have more room to maneuver, hence the more detail and stylization that splashes have. An easy example is faces, zoom in on a in-game model of any champion and their face stays the same among their skins for the most part, whereas splashes cane display a lot more emotion and variance.

From what I understand on the process, both teams get the concept via sketches and discussion and agree on set details such as color, artistic design (embroidery on clothes for example) and other thematic constants like Heartseeker Varus's wings. From then on it's a matter of the 3D artists prioritizing and deciding on what they can actually fit into the game without breaking anything and the 2D artists going hog-wild and getting several iterations of the splash out for review.

Of course this is all from a mediocre hobbyist 3D modeling guy's limited knowledge, anyone is welcome to correct me anywhere.

tl;dr it's not a matter of communication, it's a matter of artistic freedom combined with constant iteration.

Duke AnaxFeb 18, 20152 votes

It's true that the 2D artist has more room to go into details, and while artistic freedom and iteration are acceptable, the issue here is either someone changed set details after agreeing on them, or they never agreed in the first place (or bothered to talk about them).

Her hair color is off, and her makeup is different, to a point that you get a completely different impression from it.

Sir ArmaMalumFeb 18, 20151 votes

I do agree with you the hair is simply a discrepancy, the in-game seems to have gone for matching Tibbers while the splash went for a stereotypical Goldilocks look.

Granted this is pure speculation (as in I cannot confirm) but there are times where this is a conscious choice. Having the 3D models completely up to snuff with the 2D art, putting it in-game and realizing changes are needed. It can easily be small things like contrast with the map or animation clipping (for example, Sejuani's helmet pre-VU) that force the 3D team to diverge from the 2D art. Now I can't think of too many reasons for Sweetheart's Annie's hair besides possibly a silhouette issue or possibly a contrast issue with her W, but that's usually the reason the in-game model changes from the 2D art. Obviously it could also simply be a mistake, they're only human.

PuDDG26FP9Feb 19, 20153 votes

Splash looks great. In game model looks like something from a horror movie.

I'm really surprised no one complained about how her 3d model is so poorly adapted to the splash.

PaigeFeb 19, 20152 votes

yeah i had high hopes for this skin when i heard about it, but... seems like one they maybe should have strayed from the creepy demon-child factor. it's the eyeliner more than anything, though the hair sure doesn't help. i don't like the way it looks in-game at all, sorry...