Why Kai'Sa should have her mask on in her splash art...
So firstly, I just want to let you all know that I absolutely ADORE Kai'Sa. Aside from her splash art, everything about her is absolutely amazing! Her personality, the direction for her lore, her thematic, her gameplay, her in-game model most of all! However, I do understand some people's complaints on her...appearance face-wise.
So firstly, what are MY personal issues with it? Well the most obvious that yes, it is a little generic. If I didn't know better I'd honestly think that's either an Ahri or a Xayah cosplay just from her icon. Why is that though? It's because of those lines on her face, the 'Ahri whiskers' or 'Vastaya markings,' they are WAY too prominent in her splash art compared to in-game. In-game, those face markings are more akin to battle-scars, or 'dirt on her face' from constant battle in the Void, which makes sense, so why are they basically just whiskers in her splash art?
However, if you're not willing to just fix those little bits on her face, I have another, more appropriate solution; Her Mask. A bit taxing of an edit, but Riot, PLEASE make her wear the mask on her splash art!
It's fairly obvious that you took MAJOR inspirations from the Metroid series, which is completely fine! Riot made a badass, alien hunting lady that has a unique connection to League! However, if you REALLY wanted to further take on the Metroid inspirations, why not keep her mask on?!? In her Gameplay teaser, she has a very dramatic and graceful reveal of her face at the end after her little Voidling-Hunting-Spree, just like Samus Aran taking off her armor and becoming Zero Suit Samus, a very surprising reveal! Why not keep that thematic with Kai'Sa? Not only will it fix the stated issue on her 'very generic beauty face,' but it'll be more badass when she has her helmet off in-game! Speaking of which, Kai'Sa automatically puts her helmet on in two abilities: her Ultimate and her E. According to the splashart, she has her 'big guns' in her hands, implying she is using her E ability, so now it even makes sense mechanically why she should have a mask on, it's going to be on anyways while you're in combat!
Tl;dr: I love Kai'Sa, but I believe that the best way to fix the community's issues with her is to simply edit her splash art and add her mask instead.
