Rusty Bucket Prop

Having grown up in rural Ohio, I have always loved a good something made of wood. I previewed this work in progress piece a while ago, got busy with work, but have now come back and shaded the holy crap out of it! It goes with the Jack and Jill themed pieces, this being the most important prop in that story because it is the reason they go up the hill in the first place. The device that propels the story.

I wanted it to look like it has gotten a bit of use- there is staining from the metal against the sides of the wood, the metal itself is worn, and the inside is bleached and faded from water.

Sejuani has been announced!

I have been working for Riot Games on the MMO League of Legends for a while and I have added a lot of content that I designed for them on this site, but I have been waiting eagerly for this particular character to be released! I made this painting of the new female tank champion, Sejuani, the Winter’s Wrath, this past summer, and she has finally been announced for release in the newest Champion Reveal.

Suitable for an ice-wielding champion, she has been in the ice box for a while pending the tech for a quadruped rig since she was designed to be riding a giant boar. She was created by character designer Eduardo Gonzalez, who has in the past designed champions such as Miss Fortune and Vladimir.

She was the most fun of the champions I’ve worked on so far because I really love her color palette and the idea that, where she’s from in Freljord, the ice is so cold it never melts even when removed. Thus, she is adorned with and wielding chunks of still-hard ice and her skin bears the pinkness of one who never warms up. I had a lot of fun with the polar bear-esque fur that pads her armor and warms her shins. We wanted her to have a lot of contrast in her shading; the pale skin against the black steel and dark leather bands. The ice was really fun to render because the actual form was less important than the reflected light against the steel. Also I realized the importance of strategically de-emphasizing the crotch area, which was a special challenge since she sports a female version of the codpiece.