Riot Games: A Day in the Life of an Artist

Sure, you know what it’s like to produce art. But do you know what it’s like to produce professional quality art? On a condensed timeline? In a complex organization?
Three Riot Games artists from different areas of expertise-Senior Animator Lana Bachynski, Concept Art Lead Gem Lim, and Senior VFX Artist Jason Keyser- speak on what their day-to-day work looks like and offer their perspectives on professional art production: what challenges they face, which projects their most proud of, and what aspiring artists can expect from a career in video game art.
This career-focused presentation showcases Riot Games subject matter experts in concept art, VFX art, and animation discussing their work and experiences at the studio, and will be followed by a Q&A.
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[@Relevart9169]

"Why do they always pick the things that are not exciting" that coming from a concept artist rly cracked me up

[@pjenk201]

I would just die if i was a concept artist and saw riot do that as well lol

[@Relevart9169]

@@pjenk201 must be painful. U make all these concepts and they pick the 1 u dislike

[@Vizible21]

@@Relevart9169 while i hate when they do that I also understand Riot as a company.. they need to make sure the type of champions they release will be like by the players. Maybe you could say like Seraphine is a bad champion they release but you cant argue the fact that a lot of people like her.. there are more hte in soci media of course because hate is always louder.

[@Relevart9169]

@@Vizible21 oh don't get me wrong. I totally understand them and i love Evelynn the way she is right now. But u can't argue with thebfact that her concepts were way "cooler" than the final design which is just a naked lady. My personal fav is D, she still looks like Evelynn but more demonic

[@blueovni764]

@@Vizible21 some people like Seraphine but really some of the other concept were more exciting, and would have be probably liked by more people, there is always gonna have people who like the final product anyway.

[@kevinliu4964]

11:51 "Evelynn likes to kill you slowly" *gets instant one shot in the actual game*

[@marcusjavinal9107]

it's cool that they added that line where she goes "no, dont die yet" or something to kinda fix that plothole

[@cye2310]

You probably went too low mate

[@cr8xtremeCaRnAgE]

its an example that shows what goes on in large IT companies.... miscommunication xD

[@creativebusinessunit7506]

wow all those first rejected designs were dope and badass, also the amount of hardwork she puts fuck i love artists

[@annaqura3360]

I want an artbook with all these designs ToT

[@thomase5772]

There an official Lol book called "League of Legends: Realms of Runeterra", you might wanna look at that if you're interested in lol art :)

[@annaqura3360]

@@thomase5772 i already own it and it disappointed me much.

[@Sparkion1]

You can actually find most of the concept art and character design in Art Station!

[@sinnosroom4798]

@@annaqura3360 oh really i was looking to buy it, do you mind if I ask why it was disappointing?

[@stuntfax9004]

@@thomase5772 fr?

[@HeyaHoyah]

You guys should post these more often, they're invaluable!

[@SlobboVideo]

Really really great presentations, and that second lady is a freaking natural! I wish I could talk & communicate at least half as good as her, goddamn!

[@Drakthus]

really? i felt she slipped in and out of rambling to be honest.

[@christiansanchez7448]

Gem's excitement and appreciation for cool art/concepts was so contagious lol

[@pureplatinum6745]

As a concept art student, this was really really interesting. I really didnt even think of animated concept art like ezreals skin! I have definitely learnt a lot from this speech.

[@ernovanchannel]

I'm a character designer. and this video has opened my eyes wide because of the efforts they have made to get the character with the best design is so long and creative..

[@DjiGap]

nooo! the first evelynn concepts looked so cool . she's an assassin but she could still be half shadow like ZED.

[@evandersolis5528]

This felt incredibly helpful, I’m glad they did the Q&A too, it was amazing

[@lupustempestas5731]

This is super useful for inspiring game artists. Thank you for sharing this.

[@tuanlamn]

My dream is working in Riot Games

[@makayla--8319]

same!

[@yumeetakuu]

Oh my gosh same :O

[@raineview]

same I've been playing league for 7 years and I really want to be part of champion design/splash arts :D

[@BuoyB]

It's so interesting to see Gem (the character concept artist) seem so uninterested and disappointed in Evelynn's final design when I feel like it's one of the best character executions (haha) in the game still. Granted a lot of the original concepts look really dope and interesting, but her final design seemed really clean and still deep at the same time. Even the design sheet for what her animations and abilities could look like probably wouldn't communicate as well with the original designs

[@suides4810]

Of course not

[@yasumimujiko3052]

It made sense to me when Jason said he produced the Alight short film. I found it like 10 years ago and it fascinated me, now I understan why, and why is he working on my favoirute video game ever. Thanks for this video this really was so helpul and motivating.

[@sno7599]

talia is my favorite character by far because she feels so good to play. it's so smooth and all hits feel like they actually hit and hurt i love her.

[@JamesSarantidis]

Thank you all of you for sharing this experience. I can stress enough the point that Lana Bachynski made. Take your time to immerse yourself in Academia. It is a place of knowledge dedicated to transfering it to you! Use your time there wisely

[@og8263]

She presents it in such a funny way, I love it

[@NasusKim]

thank you so much for doing this!

[@anne4192]

this was very interesting to hear atleast. i heard some criticize her presentation talking style but i dont really mind it because i kinda relate as an artist (not working in a big game company like her tho) especially when she talked about Evelynn and how she ended that it's a project that involves different people/purposes so it's nothing personal. Most of the time artists can get pretty attached to their work and for example like me, I keep my old designs because there's still some fondness for them and sometimes some disappointment I can't find a use for it/they no longer serve their purpose in the current. She spoke naturally atleast and while I would have maybe liked to hear about something more passionate, I don't think she is disinterested (awkward at best) nor she hates it. Being an artist can be pretty tiring lol

[@devilichus]

It was great! Thank you as a designer who wants to get into the industry this helped me to clarify some real design challenges. And I feel it clicked inside my head for my portfolio strategy of what to show to solve real challenges of production.

[@Earthite]

Kinda crazy watching this and knowing how LoL used to look during Alpha...insane growth

[@charlvandermerwe252]

31:55 okay Darken Behemoth aka Wrestling Dinosaur actually looks like a champ I want to play

[@KouD3Graw]

Seeing this art just makes me feel that Riot should be making a open world RPG or MMORPG lol

[@souti7436]

Haven't they announced one recently?

[@Fuyukori]

I mean they definitely can, just see their cinematic,i want a movie lol

[@Mike-sy4bj]

@@souti7436 Yea i think it was Mark Yeeter on Twitter who announced that they are hiring people for their mmo

[@afterhours5677]

This was so encouraging as an art major

[@uriel27]

Edmonton Canada yay! Funny how I am interested in becoming a animator as well.

[@charliehomenaje8513]

Man gettting a darkin behemoth would be interesting idea but gotta notice that darkings are living weapons , it can be a darking who use like chakrams ..man this conference is interesting.

[@davihallysonart6717]

just wanna videos of process of concept character

[@Clarity520]

Is there like an HD version of that Lux in the thumbnail?

[@naomililith9350]

Just noticed, Lindsey Ruiz really does look like the girl from setts splash art)) I wonder if there are more things like that, perhaps Riot will release champs until the whole team is featured) Maybe we can find more similarities ?

[@drawingaccount1793]

Are these concepts arts in their art book

[@Juniiii]

This is my dream

[@faychantria6558]

more of such 2d art interviews 😘

[@marciangarces8426]

Hello RIot, What is your take on taking a lot of time and effort designing these champions and ultimately be copied by mobile legends?

[@kennyma4904]

What is the water boy and fire girl film called?

[@catfishsoup1705]

Alight

[@pineapplepawnch523]

Now do a day in the life of riots balancing team so we can watch them doing nothing

[@tgty5519]

xDDDDDD

[@eulefan]

Dad?

[@pineapplepawnch523]

@@eulefan Lul o_o

[@Vizible21]

@@pineapplepawnch523 they probably does 100x more than you just laying in your bed surfing the net.

[@pineapplepawnch523]

@@Vizible21 I like how you say "probably" like you're not sure they do more than me while im being lazy in bed lol.

[@maikerpracticas]

Amazing 😍😍😍😍😍🥰🥰

[@gnomon_school]

Thanks 🤗

[@Omkar3324]

feels like shes been doing this since past life

[@ppoverheat6223]

What does "IP protected" mean?

[@p3gasus233]

copyrights

[@Vizible21]

Say all you want to Riot games... Most Rioters seems to be approachable and nice.

[@raineview]

I want to design champions and create splash arts for Riot so baaaad Also I love Dawnbringer Soraka ❤ (obviously, it's currently my pfp lol)

[@PhantomGreetingsToYou]

31:00

[@user-ol1ep1yf8g]

1:30:00

[@soffiq6107]

something tells me these guys are sponsored by lenovo

[@gloomsdoom649]

Like, yes

[@gansogeeksout]

44:35

[@KimHyunJiin]

05:31

[@feliperighetti9472]

Namiii

[@user-qx5rm5qx1g]

for some reason whatever feedback the league community leaves on artwork and fanart regarding to the game often times feels somewhat critical in a negative way xd

[@hukmai]

And this is why Rek'Sai is best girl

[@07akatuki21]

1:13:30 real-time vfx

[@filbertlimm]

1:00:00 bookmark

[@filbertlimm]

1:38:00

[@yuzulemonvt]

sett could have been a wrestling dinosaur

[@SunKissedPeach]

We Call Him DAN

[@steve00alt70]

Why does artists in the games industry studios not stand and do their work? I see all these studios of professionals sitting down.

[@xeromagi1]

like like like like like.... LIKE

[@daltomono]

How much do Riot artists get paid for a splashart?

[@havierhissaf]

when she go to Evelyn session. i thought only us the new gamer who doesnt know about ROLE. so animator too ? ... XD lol.

[@user-bc2wg9bg4h]

Seeing this for free feels illegal 💀

[@ericsart6474]

Love how she classified anyone who is not a concept artist as "non artist" and the don't know how to draw. SMH. She has some maturing to do.

[@cheesejuice_]

Then the guy started shouting and I knew I was correct to do so

[@SlobboVideo]

She sure says like a lot. But great presentations.

[@lanigirognithemos]

I have a BS in lots of stuff and it doesn't help much.

[@isaiflores906]

Looks like League of Legends care more about illustration, lol. Makes sense

[@edh615]

Riot recently, how to make generic anime characters...

[@tairademisheva3230]

if they are trendy and loved by many, is that a bad design? I would say that another part of creating characters is partaking in the study of trends!

[@Jeyblox]

@@tairademisheva3230 I agree Taira, i am an aspiring artist for video games and i've been studying a lot. I used to be so conflicted, like 'why are these stuff so popular!?', but i guess following trends and pleasing the masses, is a different beast itself, generic doesn't have to be bad. Besides If generic stuff didn't exist, unique stuff wouldn't exist as well, it's a two sided thing!

[@katerose4101]

The first lady was kinda awkward to listen to aashdjas

[@gloomsdoom649]

She gave me anxiety

[@renuu.w]

Ok im only in middle school but I know that when talking to an audience you should look at them while maybe a few times looking at a paper but u should NEVER only keep looking at the paper. Doesn't feel professional. idk tho?

[@evandersolis5528]

Who was looking at a paper?

[@audahdrey]

They’re artists not public speakers

[@Joejooegerran]

We need to talk about how Riot Games in an extension of the Chinese Communist Party.

[@antares3030]

Nah we kinda don't

[@johnjimmy5822]

A day in the life of an artist: Go to newgrounds, Look up anime dress up games, Hit the random button, Boom 6 months paycheck on its way.

[@Gringottone]

I hate the way she talks, very nice professional but like, like um like like like you know like eee uumm. .. .

[@Gringottone]

@@2712gamer Yet it is not impossible, she is a great professional but hard to listen to.

[@gasungmab3707]

who?

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa6552]

What?? You expect everyone to be so good at talking?

[@Gringottone]

@@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa6552 I dont have low expectations for people, I think they can be better. So yes, that is something you can learn.

[@cheesejuice_]

I clicked this video just to dislike it

[@duntemdraws310]

Why? It's an educational video for aspiring artists...

[@venice7493]

Let's be fair,the game as the community and balance on champions is fucking shit but the concept art, animations and music are on a whole other level

[@aLittlePal]

Riot Games, 100 art, 0 balance design.

[@kris4783]

Very original