Hey Riot, You probably get this a lot

Red Frost·4/11/2015, 1:23:05 AM·5 votes·4,603 views

I was wondering how you make your splash art for skins and champs (another question like this, sigh). I know that you guys have some pretty OP artists who can make incomparable art to anything I've seen, so, do you use a pencil-paint computer program? (White page, and nothing but the tools on the side bars?) Or do you create what you want in a 3D program and render the image (Like Blender or 3DS studio). The art is fantastic and I really do enjoy it, so please tell me :D! Secrets kept are weapons wasted

7 Comments

RiotKindlejack4/11/2015, 5:12:22 PM11 votes

Yo Red Frost! I'm just a concept artist on the skins team - no where near the talent level of our amazing Splash Artists, but I do work with them and I can tell you they mostly seem to use Adobe Photoshop (as do we all) and Sketchbook Pro. However I've been asking a lot of questions in order to improve my skills and I've learned that some of them do use rudimentary 3D geo and lighting to help get the perspective and atmosphere of the background just right. The thing is, while it can help, knowing how to paint over simple 3D geometry so that the end result is a cohesive piece of art is a whole other skill in of itself that is in my opinion some kind of mystical hidden technique.

Just yesterday I was talking with some people in our department about how awesome it is to be working with so many creative and talented people who have no reservations about sharing their experience and techniques. One of the first questions I asked when I got hired was 'Why don't you do the timelapse videos of the paintings any more?' because the early videos had helped me when I was still learning the basics. Unfortunately there are some good reasons for it (huge time it takes to paint a splash, remembering to record every session, editing and archiving footage, low educational value when it would have to be sped up to x1000 to clock in at ~10 minutes) however I am always happy to talk about art when I have the time and I'm sure some of the Splash Artists would too if I poke them on Monday.

I'm busy most of this weekend but I'll try to check this thread on Monday if you have any questions or want to talk shop >:D

KronosCifer4/11/2015, 7:56:49 PM6 votes

Hey Red Frost and Kindlejack! I would love to join the conversation as I am very determined to become a concept artist myself! So... Even though you're just a concept artist you're like the ultimate revelation to me. :]

Both drawing and creating characters / creatures or fantasy-ish worlds in general has always been a passion of mine and I'm planning on studying it once I graduate from high school next year. (Living in Germany)

I would love to know your journey to becoming a concept artist yourself, as it does greatly interest me and I better get as much knowledge as possible in advance. ;] I'm pretty unsure about what to do next. I would love to study abroad (as I'm in love with the English language), but I don't know where and how, and I'm not really swimming in money either. :[

So... uhhh....Share with me as much knowledge as you can possibly spare, please!

And, since I'm a pretty impatient individual I would ask you if you're so kind to take a look at some of my drawings, which are mostly still WIP since I have problems finishing them sometimes as I don't really know how to continue. I'm stuck! D: There's no one I know who can give me any advice whatsoever and teaching myself to do stuff doesn't sound as easy as I hoped it would be.

About the Splash Artists: I would love to know the process of figuring out how to position the Champions and deciding the Background/Lighting and how its personaliy/lore/abilities come into play.

Also checked your DeviantArt. I love the armor on Mortelle and I'm all for that Shurima map!!! I also found Swain on the LoL Stencil, wohooo!!!

Star Guardían4/18/2015, 10:42:49 AM1 votes

@Kindlejack

Can I message you on DeviantArt or email? I have a few question about art in general.