[Riot Art Contest]-Shaolin/Dragonblade Fiora

Aaron Radney

Alright. Now that I can post a progress thread it's time to get going. I need to get moving fast but there seems to be a general protocol on here so I thought I'd start with reference images and pose thumbnails.

Fiora was the very first champion I ever saw with relation to League of Legends and when I read her lore, three things stuck out for me about her. Those were Speed, Honor and Discipline. After figuring that out, going with a Shaolin inspired Fiora only seemed to make sense.







Next up is to take some of the best poses from this and figure out what my next step is.

Aaron Radney

Worked up some thumbnails for the final. I'm curious which poses people think are working best for a dynamic image.

1


2


3


4

Aaron Radney

I decided to do one more pose sketch before bed. This one combining elements of 2 and 3. My concern is that this one doesn't feel quite as obviously kung fu inspired. That said, there is a stealth joke in this one. With the sword held horizontal in the hand facing the viewer being shorter that's the ubiquitous parrying dagger in her RIGHT hand. Meaning she's carrying her main sword in her left even though "she is not left handed." For a stealth Inigo Montoya reference.



So, does anyone have any thoughts on poses for this?

Aaron Radney

Alright, I've worked up the drawing pretty much. I need to adjust for the sword a bit and lengthen the torso but I can do those digitally and this is pretty much what I'll be going with in terms of pose and composition.



Edit: The drawing changes have been made. Slightly longer torso, adjusted sword and slightly smaller head. On to the painting. I'm super excited.

Aaron Radney

Started painting and getting the values in. I have to go to work but I'll be back to working as soon as I'm done with my shift.

Aaron Radney

I figured I'd update a bit more before going to work. I probably won't update again until the black and white is finished. I did a little more work on the background here. Still laying in the values.

Li Siegfried

Although she looks great, I feel uncomfortable with those accessories in her thighs. Wouldn't it better if they were bulky clothes of her pants instead of "thigh protectors"?

Aaron Radney

Interesting thought. It was kind of a concession to her original design that always has those weird high leg covering things. I'll think about what might prove better for that.

Aaron Radney

I thought I wouldn't post again until I finished the Black and white underpainting but I couldn't resist. I'm having a lot of fun with this.

The background is almost finished and I'll be able to finish Fiora tomorrow and then move to color before bed. I'll be right on schedule to have this ready for the deadline.

Aaron Radney

Finished the Black and White. Time to move on to the color work and clean up. I'll be cutting it close but I should be able to deliver on deadline just fine.

Aaron Radney

Getting close to finished. Background is almost done and then we move on to Fiora herself. Still having a blast with this and I feel like this might actually make my personal portfolio.

Li Siegfried

Wow, nice progress! I'm expecting to see her full colored

Aaron Radney

Oh you will. Thanks again for the suggestion to get rid of the thigh armor. You were right, it didn't look all that good and frankly, would have added work that I'm happy I didn't have to do.

Edit: So one last shot before bed. We're almost done. I laid in the base colors for her dress and the poles. Time to bring it on home on this lovely lady. Wednesday and Thursday will see this finished and then I'll send it off for the judging.

Aaron Radney

She's just about finished. Any thoughts before I put the final details on and send this in?

Aaron Radney

Okay. It's done to the point that I'm ready to submit it, and the process stuff. That said, I wanted to complete this a bit early to get a chance to look at it once more for mistakes before sending it off. When I started this, I had a mental image of Fiora, up and going through her training before anyone else is even stirring. I loved doing this project and I feel like not only did I learn a lot, but I think my current methods have more in common with Riot's style than I thought. I'm also excited because this feels like the first piece I've done in a while I'm comfortable putting in my portfolio.

DelCId

I'm sorry I couldn't make it before.
I like her pose, the lines of his body work quite well together and how the eye goes from her to the castle is great, the only thing I thought of the castle is that its contrast is almost as much as her, at that distance there would be a bit more "air" between them and that would make the castle brighter and with less contrast (atmospheric perspective). Other than that I love the colors, they are very consistent and bring everything together. Great job.