#shadow isles

[aurelion-solar]

Blessed Isles & Shadow Isles - 2XKO Early Concept Art by Nick Carver

[burnout-requiem]

⠀⠀⠀⠀❝ the shadow isles ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀are just the beginning. ❞

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀★.⠀⠀⠀⠀shadow isles stamps ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. . . ♡ + ⎙ + ↻ appreciated !

[ohnoitstbskyen]

hello mr skyen... might i ask for opinions... for an elise thing im doing

Oh, this is interesting! I am not 100% sure what kind of opinion you're looking for - is this meant to be a skin idea or a full-scale redesign of the character? I'll give you some thoughts, with the caveat that these are off-the-dome impulsive reactions, and whatever I bring up is not meant to be prescriptive "this is wrong do it different" criticisms, they're just me bouncing ideas off of what you are presenting.

If anything I say is useful, then hooray. If it is not, or if it misses the point of what you are trying to do, please discard it without a second thought.

Bringing in some 1920s and 30s fashion energy is an interesting idea. Elise is meant to be this high society socialite who has literally been around for centuries and killing people, so there is definitely a solid idea in using an aesthetic which would be olde timey to modern eyes, but also a bit anachronistic and odd and instinctively a bit out of place in a high fantasy military state like Noxus. I think that's really interesting, and definitely more interesting than the somewhat directionless black leather lingerie her base design keeps her in.

We're playing around with gender presentation it looks like, which I think is a really solid play. Elise is generally presented as a fairly standard type busty sexy video game babe in League of Legends, with Legends of Runeterra opting to show her as a bit more spindly and flat chested. I think her general archetype definitely requires a level of sexiness, sensuality and seductiveness, she is an archetypal Black Widow character, but I don't think that means she necessarily needs to be stereotypically femme in body and presentation. Plus, the LoL universe has more than enough classic femme fatales already, anything that adds variety would be good.

I very much like the red and black fashion - she looks very credibly like an eccentric Noxian socialite, especially in the first two outfits.

I kinda feel like I'm missing something up around her collarbone and chest? A necklace? Tattoo? Cosmetic? I can see the idea of having the collar be exposed flesh for the allure of it, but I feel instinctively like it's conspicuously "empty" next to the highly made up and elaborate makeup and hair, and then the fashionable costuming.

Given that Elise is a transforming character, you could futz around a bit with her proportions? The shoes extend her legs by lengthening into points already, which is a good thing to carry over from the base design, but I think given the importance of long spindly legs to spiders, you could push it even further. think something like Bayonetta for example:

additionally, you could use something like a wrap-around collar, or a necklace, to play around with extending her neck, too, to make her even taller, and push a bit into the uncanny if you want. covering the neck up makes it easier, in my experience, to lengthen it without it looking too obviously odd.

it sort of depends on the impact you want her to have though. very tall, very slender, very long proportions are striking, and carry a vibe of the ethereal, maybe slightly mystical. height also often codes for power.

if you want her to be a more down-to-earth presence in her human form, though, especially if you want her to pretend to be harmless and/or vulnerable as part of her seduction and manipulation play, making her shorter is usually a better shortcut to achieving that vibe

hm... what else...

Well, the spider leg spikes on her arms are cool - I really like the idea of concealing them as some sort of high fashion eccentric accessory, although it's not 100% clear to me from the art here exactly how they are attached to her?

I really like the fashion design of the middle idea. I like giving her trousers and going right up to the edge of letting her have a naked upper body. It's a good way to play with the tease, I think, the allure of almost seeing what is hidden.

I'm not 100% sure about the green markings on the body. on the one hand, she DEFINITELY needs something Shadow Isles coded in her design, since that's where she draws her power from, on the other hand having it that much out in the open feels maybe a little... obvious? at least in her human form?

Of course, this again depends on the intention with the design. if you're designing this as a design to appear in League of Legends, whether as a champion update or a skin, then making her source of power obvious on her body is actually crucial, it's really important for in-game visual language. If it's for something like an appearance in Arcane, you could probably dial it back a couple of notches and make it more subtle.

Like, maybe the same idea of glowing tattoos that light up when she uses her powers, but they are subtle little spiderweb patterns on her skin that look like elaborate decoration when not in use? something like that?

anyway, that's all I can think of as a reaction just off the top of my head. this is really cool, I hope you keep working on it!

[whitelisis]

I've just finished reading Ruination (a League of Legends novel by Anthony Reynolds), and I LOVED it. The story, the lore, the characters, I think everything is so captivating. I have a physical copy of the book and the art in it is amazing, both the covers and the illustrations (I just love LOL artstyle so much).

I'm just so mad with the creators. They've come up with such an impressive lore for a videogame that barely mentions it. I just wish they'd do more with it. Like more novels, or even series. I got obsessed with Arcane, and while I was reading Ruination I was imagining it as an animated series. I think it would fit so much!

So, if you're passionate about the lore, and if you liked Arcane, read Ruination, you'll love it.

I can't wait to read the Ambessa: Chosen of the wolf novel, and I'm also considering buying the Realms of Runeterra guide. I'm just so curious about this world and everything that comes with it, I want to know more!

[phalanxus]

Make sure you're ready for the inevitable question with you undead friends

[skizoh]

My second Shadow Isles character Erebus from TBchoi's mentorship.

[wvayness]

One of my favourite headcanons is that Gwen likes Kalista and sees her as a mentor/mother figure

[amargos-tent]

Fanart of one of my favorite LoL fanfics "The Deathsinger Sang a Lullaby" by the best Hyena also one of my favorite writers :>

It's a must read even if you are not that interested in shadow isles (as I was at first). I ended up loving everything about its champions and it lore in general! I also recomend every other fanfic by Hyena, really!!