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Proposed Dragon-Tamer Tristana Splash Art Fix

Lamb with a Gun··11 votes·7,469 views

First off, let me preface this with a hello! I'm new to the forums and enjoy seeing all the wonderful things our community comes up with. I've come here through encouragement from friends and peers, and I hope to receive feedback and input on my ideas. I'm a bit new to all of this, so I hope I can share my ideas and critiques regarding champion design and visual assets of League of Legends in way that is clear and concise.

My first project I've decided to tackle was Dragon Tamer Tristana's splash art. I've heard quite the amount of complaints in particular with this skin, mainly with her face appearing unsettling / off-model in comparison to her classic art. I decided to play around with this. My end result is shown here.

I reconstructed both her eyes and mouth entirely from scratch. Her mouth was redrawn to fit her classic splash art more. I pushed the incisors to the ends of her teeth, like the original, and made the shape similar to her update. Her eyes also received an overhaul, with lashes and irises much like her classic skin's splash.

Critiques I've received so far have been to widen her eyes to appear more yordle-ish and to add molars, as the teeth don't seem correct. I'm aware of many of my faults in my fix, but criticism is always appreciated! My version isn't so much a cry for Riot to rework the art, it is rather both an alternative, and a learning experience from one of Riot's mistakes(?) and criticisms they've received from the community.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my fix. I hope I can learn from this and potentially make more content in the future!

EDIT: Side by side comparison (Please note focus is on the facial features)

10 Comments

PixTron5 votes

Eh, I think the original is fine. She looks adorable in both the ingame model and the original splash art (looks... oddly off, sorry to say). I'm not sure if Riot put a secret skin to make me see something different, but oh well. XD

However, seeing that you actually redid the mouth and eyes from scratch, I simply must commend you on your work! (and the more I look at it, the less it looks 'strange' in my eyes)

P.S. I think Tristana's Base Artwork could use your touch too, IMO. I think her face there is a lot creepier. XD

Lamb with a Gun1 votes

First off, thank you so much for your critique! I was wondering if anyone that disagreed with me would comment. Makes me happy that someone did!

I actually really like the in-game model as well! I've just never understood why her eyes in all her models differed so wildly in-game from the splash art in her classic. But I understand there's just some things that don't look correct on models.

Are you saying mine looks off? Is there anything you would suggest I fix or reconsider? I know the face looks rather airbrushed in comparison to the original splash art's texture but it always helps to have an outsider's opinion.

Thank you so much! This is my first foray into painting digitally rather than doing more cartoony stuff. Definitely going to explore it more, it's only going to be more fun creating my own art :P

Could it? I actually really like it! How do you think it's creepy? o: Maybe I could revisit it if you say so, eheheh.

PixTron2 votes

{quoted}

First off, thank you so much for your critique! I was wondering if anyone that disagreed with me would comment. Makes me happy that someone did!

I actually really like the in-game model as well! I've just never understood why her eyes in all her models differed so wildly in-game from the splash art in her classic. But I understand there's just some things that don't look correct on models.

Are you saying mine looks off? Is there anything you would suggest I fix or reconsider? I know the face looks rather airbrushed in comparison to the original splash art's texture but it always helps to have an outsider's opinion.

Thank you so much! This is my first foray into painting digitally rather than doing more cartoony stuff. Definitely going to explore it more, it's only going to be more fun creating my own art :P

Could it? I actually really like it! How do you think it's creepy? o: Maybe I could revisit it if you say so, eheheh.

Well, from my perspective, the eyes seem a bit too small (especially the pupils), and thus that makes a lot more of the cheeks exposed, rather making her a bit... chubby, and that doesn't seem so even compared to the rest of her skinny body.

In the original splash art and model(s), the face seems big, but with the eyes and mouth populating it, her body is much more even.

Also, both eyes (irises and pupils to be specific) seem to be looking in slightly different directions. The left eye (in the viewer's perspective) seems to be looking a bit more forward while the right is looking to her right.

Basically the smaller eyes make the face and head a bit imbalanced with the body. And the eyes are also a bit... unbalancedly split. Seems like the left eye is closer to the nose than the right eye (from viewer's perspective, that is)

However, I think the mouth is perfect, the lips seem to look more like it has lipstick on them which looks more realistic than a longer upperlip. (even though I did just realize that the mouth is one of the causes of the slight imbalance of 'chubbyness', but I think that would really just require the editing of the face, but it's mainly the eyes that look off, not the mouth)

But again, the artwork is amazing, and the art on the face actually looks official; you did a fantastic job!

Btw, what program did you use for this? I wanted to get into art (specifically splash art such as this) with digital art n' all that. Thanks!

And again, great job anyways!

-PixTron

Lamb with a Gun1 votes

Thank you so, so much for the in-depth critique. These are definitely things I will revisit and touch up when I have the time.

Your critique about the eyes in particular is very helpful! I knew that I totally changed the eyes in terms of where they were looking, potentially throwing off the entire composition, but I never considered that they were looking in totally opposite directions! Thank you for catching that. :)

You're also very correct in that changing the eye size threw off her entire facial proportions. I'll have to see if I can salvage what I have and make it more fitting. (That critique about her eyes not being wide enough makes sense now!)

Thank you for the compliments and honest critique! I appreciate it very much. I used Paint Tool SAI for my edits and it's the main program I use for illustration. Best of luck to you in your endeavors! I'd absolutely love to see what you come up with :)

Tesla Effect2 votes

Its actually a pretty good fix of the splash art, well done.

Lamb with a Gun1 votes

Thank you very much for your input! I appreciate it :)

Bladerunner77772 votes

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks she looks like demon spawn in that splash

SinceILeftYou1 votes

She looks better! :D Good job.

I hope this could be used. Trist looks a bit too psycho at the moment and your edit tones it down a bit.

Upvoted! :)

Lamb with a Gun1 votes

Thank you so much!

Ahaha, psycho is definitely one of the words I've heard to describe poor ol' Trist. I love how happy / expressive she looks but those eyes, man! I hope I kept her expression and the feel of the piece true to the original. I really hope I can see this used as well. I'd be honored to get input from a Rioter.

Thank you again for your support!

shyv1 votes

jesus, i didn't realize how terrifying her face is in the original until you pointed it out

well done

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