New Splash Art!

[quote=GrandmasterD]Dear Jebus, 80% of these artworks are awful.[/quote]

[quote=NorthernRedStar][quote=GrandmasterD]Dear Jebus, 80% of these artworks are awful.[/quote] Why is that? They're vastly superior to the former artwork, with only Ahri and Wukong needing some deeper toning.[/quote]

[quote=The_Nameless_Bard]srsly, what was wrong with this artwork for [[Ezreal]] .-. [img=http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2014/035/8/6/ezreal_by_thenamelessbard-d753t5n.png][/quote]

[quote=GrandmasterD][quote=NorthernRedStar][quote=GrandmasterD]Dear Jebus, 80% of these artworks are awful.[/quote] Why is that? They're vastly superior to the former artwork, with only Ahri and Wukong needing some deeper toning.[/quote] First, just because they're better than the current one, doesn't mean that they are good. Second, I don't think the majority is better than the current ones - whilst the current ones being somewhat flat, at least they focus on the champion. Complexity for the sake of complexity is always a step backwards. Anyway, let me go through each art separately: [list] [*] [[Ahri]] - This one is alright, not too much wrong with it. The background, however, is uninteresting, dull, and might as well have not been there. [[Ahri]] has a weird pose and suddenly gained demonic eyes, which she never had. I understand that [[Ahri]]'s lore is that she steals souls and all, but her original art never showed that. The post in general is just awkward and looks like she's lying down, except that she isn't. I suppose it was drawn this way so we can have a quick look up her mini skirt. Tee hee. [*] [[Blitzcrank]] - What the fuck am I looking at here? No seriously, it's [[Blitzcrank]], alright I got that. What else? I really don't know. Is he falling and trying to save his life by hooking something? That'd be weird, because that's what [[Nautilus]] does. Or maybe he is standing on the ground and bashing through a wall? I really am not sure what I'm looking at; it's one big blurry mess with an, overly realistically drawn, [[Blitzcrank]] right in the middle of it. [*] [[Ezreal]] - Actually the same shit as the Blitz one; not going to repeat myself. The trousers are a nice touch though, they look nice. [*] [[Janna]] - Eh it's alright. I don't really see how it an improvement over the current one though, aside from the fact that she looks even more than the average 15 year old boy's fantasy. [*] [[Kayle]] - What is this? Is [[Kayle]] creating the world? Is she arriving from a different dimension? Why are her wings sticking through the bubble? Oh wait, this is her ult right? I always thought that the orb in-game was just a visual indicator and that, in real-life, it'd be more subtle. I guess not. This one is just too Freudian for me. [*] [[Wukong]] - Well, everyone is complaining so I suppose I should say the opposite right? Nah not really. Honestly, this has the same thing wrong as the Cassio art: The champion depicted - [[Wukong]] in this case - looks like a wax statue rather than an actual character. He's too clean, too sterile, and the armour looks too polygonal. I do really like the setting through; at least the background is blurry for a reason. [*] [[Shen]] - Another art that's like “Oh my goodness, he does that move in-game!” Again, I didn't think [[Shen]] would disappear with purple lights like he'd be at a laser show, but apparently I was wrong on that one. Real smooth [[Shen]]. Other than that, this art is somewhat better. I like the style, the pose is at least organic, and the area seems to make sense, although it's hard to make it out because it's so damn dark - kind of like the [[Ahri]] one. The poles in the front are distracting and should not be there in my opinion. [*] [[Talon]] - Everyone loves AC, therefore let's make a splash art out of that. [[Talon]] doesn't jump at people in-game. Not that I think he can't jump, but making arts in which champions do things they don't normally do is just a bad move in general. His face is also really long and sunken, like he's an old man. Granted, his current splash art is rather boring, but at least he does not look 70 years old. Also, why this action pose? What's up with that? Couldn't they just picture him hiding behind a wall ready to slice someone's throat open? ... What? Too soon? [*] [[Tristana]] - Well a lot of things are right in this one. The background is blurry, but not that much, and in a way it serves a purpose. The angle and pose aren't ridiculous and confusing, but rather nice and pedestrian. Her gun and pose are overall really neat. I don't really like the semi-realistic drawing style of her face though; makes her look like a fucking cartoon rabbit or something. [*] [[Veigar]] - Actually a nice art. Whilst it doesn't show a lot of background, I don't think that's needed at all; especially considering [[Veigar]]'s lore is rather shallow - funny how the champions with the most shallow lore generally get the better artworks. Anyway, the post is really neat; the giant hand ready to grab you and force you into servitude; the low angle implying dominance; the glowing eyes indicating he's an evil mastermind and not just some guy who's helping you get up after you fell over with your shopping car filled with too many oranges; and lastly the violent lightning and purple magic stuff or whatever. This art says everything we need to know, it even manages to show the fact that he's vertically challenged without putting him next to some everyday object. [*] [[Zilean]] - Another good one to be fair. The detail in the clothing is really nice, especially in the foreground. The background isn't one hundred percent clear to me, but it's not distracting either; just provides some scenery I suppose. The post is neat and despite the glowing eyes, [[Zilean]] looks human; he looks real, something that's missing from most other artworks. [*] [[Rumble]] - It's a good art, definitely. It's simple and stylistic, which is good. His faithful warmachine features dents, cracks, and bumps and mostly [[Rumble]] himself seems like a real character. The fur and the eyes have a great style to them and give great contrast to the fiery background. [[Rumble]] is just portrayed really well, although I will miss his old artwork because I freaking love that one too. [*] [[Shaco]] - Ah the good ol' demon jester. He still looks really evil, the style is nice and fitting, and overall the background is drawn properly; it being not too detailed but definitely not so blurry that we can't make up what the fuck is going on. At least this art portrays well how [[Shaco]] is played but I think it's the lack of a lore that made him get this – kind of – generic artwork. The detail is nice and we didn't get another ridiculous pose to look at. [/list][/quote]

[quote=emoriam]How could you even write that much about some Splash Arts ... holy shit[/quote]

[quote=GrandmasterD][quote=emoriam]How could you even write that much about some Splash Arts ... holy shit[/quote] Actually, I decided to keep it short because there were so many artworks to talk about at once.[/quote]

[quote=sirell]Well, art is a very subjective thing to talk about, so it's fine to think that they could have been done more appropriately. I have my own opinions, of course. [[ahri]] - One thing I really don't like is when the splash art looks distinctly different from in-game graphics. She looks a lot more malevolent in the splash than she does in-game. Perhaps it's more in-keeping with lore, but a splash-game difference irks me. It doesn't make her look any better, either. [[blitzcrank]] - I actually really like this one. It looks to me like he just broke through a wall and is making a grab for you. The dynamics really bring him to life - again, too bad he doesn't look that cool in-game. Splash looks more dynamic than he does in-game. [[ezreal]] - This one I also like. I think it's quite fitting as a splash art. [[janna]] - No real improvement, but isn't worse either. In fact, it seems to look really generic to me. [[kayle]] - The [[intervention]] was pretty neat. I really like this one because it's really strong in religious tones. [[Wukong]] - Well, it looks a lot more like a Chinese representation of Sun Wukong, so I actually like it a bit more. I don't know how well people are familiar with the legend of Journey to the West, but this is a lot more like standard portrayals of the character in Chinese film and media. [[shen]] - The main thing I don't like about this is that it makes [[shen]] look far more evil than his lore suggests. [[talon]] - AC reference is strong. And the art can be interpreted as [[cutthroat]]. Don't have anything against it. Looks pretty good, actually. [[tristana]] - Yeah, don't like the cartoon feel that this art was going for. Sure, the character is actually quite comical, but comparing them to every other art which looks realistic, it just doesn't seem to fit as well. [[veigar]] - Love it. Completely bleeds [[veigar]] vibes. [[zilean]] - I actually don't like this one so much. [[zilean]] never struck me as a 'I've got power' pose type. His lore seems to suggest he's a rather solemn character, supported by his in-game voice and abilities. The art is cool, but doesn't seem to fit the character. [[rumble]] - Love it. This guy is so adorable and his machine is impressively posed. [[shaco]] - Completely fitting.[/quote]

[quote=FalseoGod]@GMD: What's with the overreaction and the fact that you both hate it when the picture is too literal about what they do in the game or doesn't remind you at all of any move they do ingame. We had "recent" videos showing interpretations of champion moves where they move acrobatically and all that stuff, otherwise risking awkward clunkyness, why can't they get some flexibility while moving about in their artworks? I do get you issue with most backgrounds; apart from Shaco's new background, most of the time it's either too noisy (many old arts like original akali splash), too vague (Ahri's new splash) or attempts that fail because of other reasons (new Cass art). I love the [[ezreal]] art: you can see projectiles around him which indicates a two-way fight, his pose points at him stretching his legs as he leaps backwards with some slight inclination while keeping a smug overconfidence and preparing to fire his Q. The background isn't too noisy either. [[blitzcrank]] is doing the opposite, clearly running forward, with his torso bent forward in the desire to hit his Q and the glove knocking some wall debrees aside. I do get the hate on Janna's blandness and Wukong's cartoonish drowsiness. The Shen hate I'd understand if you criticized the lighting and coloring where it doesn't look like he's about to Stand Together but actually teleport into his den where he keeps a stash of 12 newborn yordles that he's about to violate and eat for dinner. Seriously, he looks more evil than Zed. The arms halfway decomposed by teletransportation look cool though, albeit not gruesome enough but who am I to guess what flesh teleportation looks like in a frame by frame basis -- @Sirell I agree Zil looks a bit like he's overflowing in power, I guess they wanted to "overcool" him. And Tristana's ears annoy me.[/quote]

[quote=GrandmasterD][quote=Sirell] Well, art is a very subjective thing to talk about, so it's fine to think that they could have been done more appropriately. I have my own opinions, of course.[/quote] Yes, but there are some objectives parts of them, obviously. [quote=Sirell] Ahri - One thing I really don't like is when the splash art looks distinctly different from in-game graphics. She looks a lot more malevolent in the splash than she does in-game. Perhaps it's more in-keeping with lore, but a splash-game difference irks me. It doesn't make her look any better, either.[/quote] Yeah same, I get this odd vibe from it. It's like, in-between splash arts, she had a tea party with her imaginary friends - or voices - and decided to ignore their suggestion to get therapy and embrace being evil instead. [[Ahri]] shouldn't look malevolent, she should look sexy, cute, and adorable up to the point when you enter the bedroom and your mind suddenly goes “Wait a minute...” [quote=Sirell] Blitzcrank - I actually really like this one. It looks to me like he just broke through a wall and is making a grab for you. The dynamics really bring him to life - again, too bad he doesn't look that cool in-game. Splash looks more dynamic than he does in-game.[/quote] It looks like that, but the background is fairly blurry so he might as well have fallen through the side of an apartment and dropping down stories. It's not as likely, but the art doesn't clearly tell me that this cannot be the case. Blitz just does not feel as if he is really part of the artwork, but rather as a sole render stuck in a blurry background; I really wish the walls had a lot more detail to them. [quote=Sirell] Ezreal - This one I also like. I think it's quite fitting as a splash art.[/quote] Eh, same problems as the Blitz one, really. [[Ezreal]] doesn't seem to be part of the image as a whole, and that already irks me. Then, the camera angle and the blurry background make the setting not completely clear to me. I suppose he's in a fight, because it's [[Ezreal]], but ask someone – who has no clue who this guy is – what is going on exactly and I am pretty sure most won't really get it. [quote=Sirell] Janna - No real improvement, but isn't worse either. In fact, it seems to look really generic to me. [/quote] I think it's worse in the sense that she's photorealistic now. The character feels less real whilst being drawn more realistic; ironic. [quote=Sirell] Kayle - The Intervention was pretty neat. I really like this one because it's really strong in religious tones.[/quote] I have a strong hatred for depicting in-game visuals in artworks, mostly because over half of the visuals is just for gameplay purposes. I don't know why it's such a gooey mess, and I'm unsure why she's intervening. The idea of the art is okay, but I get a creepy vibe from it. The religious tones are rather well done, but [[Kayle]]'s lore isn't substantial enough for that, in my opinion. [quote=Sirell] Wukong - Well, it looks a lot more like a Chinese representation of Sun Wukong, so I actually like it a bit more. I don't know how well people are familiar with the legend of Journey to the West, but this is a lot more like standard portrayals of the character in Chinese film and media.[/quote] True, but that means the style just doesn't mesh with the rest of the artworks going about. I personally find the character to be a tad surreal and clean; like a wax sculpture. However, I do really like the background. Also, I am familiar with the story, and this artwork is definitely more “standard”. [quote=Sirell] Shen - The main thing I don't like about this is that it makes Shen look far more evil than his lore suggests.[/quote] Yeah, the darkness is part of being a ninja, but it kind of has an evil vibe to it. Also, [[Shen]] does not look this dark in-game. Judging it as a stand-alone artwork, I would say that it's great. [quote=Sirell] Talon - AC reference is strong. And the art can be interpreted as Cutthroat. Don't have anything against it. Looks pretty good, actually.[/quote] I really hate his face in it. Also, I don't really get such an AC vibe from [[Talon]] as a character, other than maybe the blade strapped to his arm. I also am not really sure what [[Talon]] is doing here; where he is, why he is there, and what his purpose is. I know that this may be a lot to ask, but I think that an artwork that is supposed to portray a character should answer those questions when they depict these characters in a particular situation. In this artwork, [[Talon]] jumps out of nowhere on a soldier; the same generic soldier which can be viewed in various other artworks. I thought he was an assassin, you know, someone who takes out priority targets behind enemy lines. [quote=Sirell] Tristana - Yeah, don't like the cartoon feel that this art was going for. Sure, the character is actually quite comical, but comparing them to every other art which looks realistic, it just doesn't seem to fit as well.[/quote] I think the pose, angle, and background are great. The way she's drawn is a bit too cartoon-y. [quote=Sirell] Veigar - Love it. Completely bleeds Veigar vibes.[/quote] ikr? [quote=Sirell] Zilean - I actually don't like this one so much. Zilean never struck me as a 'I've got power' pose type. His lore seems to suggest he's a rather solemn character, supported by his in-game voice and abilities. The art is cool, but doesn't seem to fit the character.[/quote] I think the art is overall very coherent. I suppose it does not really fit [[Zilean]] as a character, but then again, [[Zilean]] does not have a character. [quote=Sirell] Rumble - Love it. This guy is so adorable and his machine is impressively posed.[/quote] The machine is truly depicted in a great manner. [quote=Sirell] Shaco - Completely fitting.[/quote] Yeah, although the scenery looks quite random to me, then again, [[Shaco]] does not really have a lore going for him to fix that. [quote=FalseoGod]@GMD: What's with the overreaction and the fact that you both hate it when the picture is too literal about what they do in the game or doesn't remind you at all of any move they do ingame. We had "recent" videos showing interpretations of champion moves where they move acrobatically and all that stuff, otherwise risking awkward clunkyness, why can't they get some flexibility while moving about in their artworks?[/quote] It's all about subtlety really; blatantly copying movies from the game [i]with[/i] their in-game visuals is not only lazy, but also feels unrealistic - as far as realism is a thing when talking about this game. I really hope that [[Orianna]] does not have a flying arrow next to her telling her where her beloved pet is. It's fine to picture [[Wukong]] in the middle of his [[Nimbus Strike]], but don't picture [[Kayle]] with a golden ball around her. [quote=FalseoGod] I do get you issue with most backgrounds; apart from Shaco's new background, most of the time it's either too noisy (many old arts like original akali splash), too vague (Ahri's new splash) or attempts that fail because of other reasons (new Cass art).[/quote] Generally they just draw a generic background, add blur, add more blur, and then they're done. In most of the artworks, the champion literally feels just dropped in there; like someone took a render from a champion and stuck it on some landscape; the champion does not feel part of the image as a whole. [quote=FalseoGod] I love the [[ezreal]] art: you can see projectiles around him which indicates a two-way fight, his pose points at him stretching his legs as he leaps backwards with some slight inclination while keeping a smug overconfidence and preparing to fire his Q. The background isn't too noisy either. [/quote] I think the background is too noisy; I really have trouble making out what is really going on. This can also be partially blamed on the whole angle; if they would've chosen a rather flat angle then it would've been easier to make out. Also, I don't get why the background couldn't have gotten more attention. [[Ezreal]]'s attire is really detailed and looks super nice, albeit a bit block-y in some parts, however the rest of the image has no detail whatsoever; [[Ezreal]] doesn't look like he's part of the image. [quote=FalseoGod] [[blitzcrank]] is doing the opposite, clearly running forward, with his torso bent forward in the desire to hit his Q and the glove knocking some wall debrees aside.[/quote] Yes, but not clearly. There's too much blurry stuff going on to really make out what it is. Blitz himself has great detail, why do the walls and terrain not get the same level of detail? The blur makes the setting not clear, and the angle doesn't contribute to that. [quote=FalseoGod] I do get the hate on Janna's blandness and Wukong's cartoonish drowsiness. The Shen hate I'd understand if you criticized the lighting and coloring where it doesn't look like he's about to Stand Together but actually teleport into his den where he keeps a stash of 12 newborn yordles that he's about to violate and eat for dinner. Seriously, he looks more evil than Zed. The arms halfway decomposed by teletransportation look cool though, albeit not gruesome enough but who am I to guess what flesh teleportation looks like in a frame by frame basis [/quote] Janna looks more realistic and yet she doesn't look more real in this artwork. Her current artwork makes her look more real to me, albeit with some strange body proportions. [quote=FalseoGod] @Sirell I agree Zil looks a bit like he's overflowing in power, I guess they wanted to "overcool" him. And Tristana's ears annoy me.[/quote] True, it doesn't entirely fit [[Zilean]] lore-wise, but the art itself is solid; [[Zilean]] is both the center of the image and part of it. Also, he has a realistic look to him - maybe because he's old, I don't know. Tristana's face and ears are a bit off, but other than that I think the art is pretty good, aside from the fact that none of her abilities really create that kind of explosion.[/quote]

[quote=OTGBionicArm]How does Talon not make you think of AC? His entire outfit is recolored Altair for the most part. Obviously his actual abilities don't match up, but his overall visual design is very AC. And let it be on the record that all "dudes" or "guys" in splash arts being killed or in battle are known as "Helmet Bro".[/quote]