Okay so a concept artist has an idea for a new champion- what do they pitch?
A full body sketch? A turnaround? Do they have an idea of the abilities of the character, or just the character?
Honestly, I’m trying to create a portfolio for the riot art internship, so I want something that would reflect what goes on there.
Thanks! [slayer-jinx-catface]
Here's some work from Simon before he joined Riot: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/DQD69
And here's a character concept from Oussama who is also now a Rioter: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/rYqBE
I chose those two because they are excellent and examples where the artist then joined Riot. In terms of our internal process, modern champion development usually begins with a hypothesis based on an opportunity space in the game. For example Pyke was at least in part built off the initial question 'can we provide a better experience for assassin players that get autofilled support?' (that was actually from data we collected about the most painful player experiences) which then led to trying to find a gameplay hook for a 'support-assassin'. From there the concept artist is working in concert with other disciplines to find a thematic and visual language that supports the personality and gameplay that is also being developed while keeping in mind what will appeal to the target demographic (in the case of Pyke, players that enjoy assassin like Zed, Talon and playmaking supports like Thresh).
