Maybe a way to incorporate the staff could be it being a tattered mast and sailcloth? Showing that's no longer the role she plays, and something she can drape over the people of Zaun as a comforting thing.
Would love to say that your janna version does stray a bit far away from what she has been depicted as in her modern lore (looks wise), but that is clearly shown to be best in your design! Her lore shows that she does interact with people in trouble, and they can see her in a physical form, but I absolutely ADORE the idea that some zaun child is watching the clouds wondering if there is any hope for them, but while they see a cloud that looks like a dog, a hex crystal, a poro. they eventually see a cloud that looks like janna, and before they just rub that thought away, the cloud looks at them, smiles, and blows a gentle kiss in the form of a fresh breeze. As they walk home feeling comfort and a slight bit of hope, a blue bird chirps and echos into the caverns of zaun. Honestly, the modern lore of Janna has the complete possibility to accurately fill this design and role that you have created, and this is good for me!
I actually really dig that the redesigns don’t fit in with Zaun’s aesthetics. Her purpose is to purify Zaun’s air pollution, which heavily defines Zaun. it makes sense for her to stand in contrast to the city
For me her design is a throwback to the "Simpler times", when Zaun was just a port city, and from that perspective it makes a perfect sense why it's so different.
"mother Janna protect us from the harsh winds of the southern sea" *a wind instrument plays as part of a prayer to get mother Janna attention* "mother Janna bring us clean air so that we may breathe comfortably tonight" *a wind instrument plays as part of the prayer*
@@sladevalen That wouldn't be enough. She is *infested with void itself* so armor, no matter how bulky, wouldn't be enough to carry this idea through. She'd look more like a warrior instead of an actual *monster* as people often call her according to her lore. Her design would have to inflict fear or discomfort upon you; it would have to be something uncanny so simply adding armor wouldn't accomplish that. Thus, I imagine asymmetry and disfiguration would be a key component in her design.
@@sanderp9768 couldn’t they just go the Venom route, in that case? Actually now that I’m thinking about it, a void infested Kai’Sa with Venom-like design tendencies seems like it could be cool.
@@phi4491 but she technically is already like Venom, she always calls it a skin, sure a part of her but mostly a cover. I personally mostly like her design, it just doesn't match her lore and personality imo
@@sladevalen the armor looks the part but, I'd would like for her splash art to have the helmet-thing on since that's how she usually looks in-universe, also it would even better if in-universe she has trouble keeping control, like she's constantly a hair's breeze away from becoming the monsters she fight
To fix the whole ''making her look more like a part of Zaun''' issue, I would argue that her contrast to the rest of the Zaunites is a great thing for a base skin BUT adding a dark version of her design as a skin, like smog or polluted air could make a great alternative design that would encompass some of that grunge/punk aesthetic. Its the dark ending of her character arc, she couldn't bring back the purity of nature and ended up corrupted herself. Instead of pure white wind and clouds, she is now a dark spirit of noxious gas and smoke.
That's a really cool idea an has major precedent in many different world mythologies. It could also be less of a "corrupted/evil" version and more be an "angry/wrathful" version that she takes on when she feels Piltover is being TOO over line and TOO greedy, and thus takes on this form to wreck havoc on Piltover if they ever crossed her and her Zaun too much.
Yeah! My main criticism it's that it's too cool and kick ass, she doesn't feel like Janna. Verskud design looks like it's about to wrstle thannos Carol Danvers style
I like the idea of Janna becoming kinda motherly in appearance. I imagine a swirly dress that would vaguely resemble a tornado (it’s not just clouds, it’s an actual dress). Maybe she’d have like that tired mom look. Being forgotten then remembered could be tired, plus when your tired, your temperamental, just like the wind. That fits her character much better than generic sexy elf mage But I feel like some form of staff is something she needs to be recognizable, it’s boring but it’s iconic. So what if it was a musical instrument? Like a rain stick or something? You could have it make sound as she bends the wind, so she’s constantly followed by a quiet tune. Plus you could make that instrument become a symbol of Janna in the lore, so sailers would carry them around to “call the winds”, or to call Janna. Also you need cloud hair
Maybe a wind instrument or something that needs the player to blow into it? like a horn(really simple ones that are a horn) or those trumpets that are used in medieval stuff(the long straight ones)?
@@serenitii3557 no more music champions please, she doesnt need an instrument xD all she needs is godly elemental-like appearance as it is shown in the conclusion of the video. Both choices of the conclusion would be perfect.
I really liked both designs, but I want to add that it would be really interesting to see a concept where the starting point is not Janna being a wind goddess, but rather to think "how a wind goddes created by zaunites would look like?" and then dive into how different cultures saw their divine.
That makes me want to see artwork and ideas about what Fiddlesticks would look like in different regions, Demacian Fiddlesticks was in his trailer but its stated he takes different looks depending on where he is and the people there. It would be AMAZING to see a sketch of each and all the Fiddlesticks!
@@alexglover3236 I don't know if you know, but many of his skins are just that: spectral is for shadow isles, british is piltover, icicle one is freliord etc.
@@dominikkowalczyk3845 Icicle one? He has an Xmas 1 which has nothing to do with the Freljord, and yes you're correct about Spectral but the Piltover one isn't true
We have surpassed the need for “Conventional Attractiveness™️”, Androgynous Janna is more attractive to me than any of the characters in the actual game
Something came to mind when you were on the fence about the jewelry on your Janna redesign. Carved wood would have been a good choice. Sailors are known to carve intricate shapes into flotsam and scrap wood and since Janna was worshipped by sailors it would make sense that those sailors would offer carvings to her as a sacrifice for good weather.
Wood also just FEELS light and airy even though it’s solid. Little wooden trinkets that you can imagine being hollow or light at the least would’ve been super cool.
Androgynous janna is a stroke of genius. Though instead of gold and perfectly formed jewelry, I think earthy colors, circlet and accessories made of shiny sea junk like fish hooks, shiny stones and snapped ropes works much better with her origins as a local deity worshiped by sailors and fishermen, also emphasises her inhuman nature with the lack of understanding for fashion.
Plus alot of punk aesthetics involve using non jewelry for jewelry. Like screws for earings or safety pins everywhere. And While zaun is steam punk, following classic anarchist punk aesthetics with such a soft and gentle character could be a cool contrast
Counter point she's supposed to be a cleansing being a god of air and protection it makes sense for their to be a aesthetic difference she's supposed to cleanse
This series is really incredible. It's one thing to drop a design and say "Ta-da! Character solved!" But getting to see this whole process and all the back and forth is really nice and seeing how even with 2 people doing it together it still leads to 2 vastly different takes on a redesign is very interesting.
that's what's really fascinating in character design, at least for me: I'm not a good observer and often don't notice all details in character designs, and how much thinking and reasoning can go into it. I just love to hear a designer explain how and why they made certain design choices :D
Not only is Skyen's Janna super unique and with a great androgynous design, but it helps League in general by adding a not completely human character to help balance out the Cosplay Crew that is most League champs, especially nowadays
As a German, I *adore* Skyens spontatous outbreaks of his "crazed German scientist" accent. It has nothering to do with an authentic accent. But that just makes it funnier. It has the same Energy as the "Hibilly Skyen" that he kept breaking into during shipbreakers
its amazing how other people do things flawlessly yet mines not even i struggle endlessly.. even though.. ill continue pushing on no matter what.. even though my art really suck, all i need is a harsh and honest critique.. even though itll hurt.
Huge fan of the faceless interpretations at 24:34 and 33:15. It really strikes the balance between a beautiful goddess and something unnervingly inhuman
When sketching out your final design, you had Janna's arm as translucent partially though the drawing process, and I honestly thought that was pretty interesting as a design element! Having her arms and legs fade into translucency, but then resolidify beneath her bluebird's feet. That might serve as a reason to bring back the staff; her arms and legs fading out would possibly break up her outline and make her harder to read, and a staff would serve as a solid sort of "anchor point", plus it would let her make big, dramatic, sweeping, easy-to-read movements in game. If you *really* wanted to try to capture the "sea goddess now worshipped in Zaun" thing, you could go with making her staff into some sort of weird harpoon wrench hybrid thing, representing how the Zaunites are reinterpreting an aspect of her design themselves; I could absolutely imagine fishermen drawing her with a harpoon, then representing that with a stylized crescent on a stick, and then Zaunites look at some of those representations and say "yeah that's a long wrench" and start changing how they represent/imagine her accordingly. This is kinda playing in that Tahm Kench design space, where some of these spirits are mythological or allegorical, and so their visual description is how people view them; look at how Tahm Kench represents the "two-coats" design from Bilgewater as well as the "deal with the devil" idea more prevalent in Piltover. I should state that I absolutely love both of the designs in this video, to be clear, and I don't know how it would be possible to visually communicate "harpoon that's being reinterpreted as a wrench" without it just looking like a mess. This is just another idea that your drawing process inspired. And now I'm thinking about syncretism and cultural drift and about just how much the idea of a helping wind would differ between sailors and people in danger from toxic mist, aaaaand suddenly there's an explanation for her having both shielding (and healing on her ult), and movement speed bonuses she gives to people, even though "healing wind" felt a little weird to me previously. ...you could *also* explain her bird being changed from a seabird to a bluebird in the same sort of way, since seabirds tend to show up nearer land and therefore serve as an indirect navigational sign, while bluebirds are small enough they could live in the "canary in the coal mine" space and would naturally be more sensitive to, and thus avoid, "bad air". Both would serve as signs that you're heading towards safety, but for very different reasons. Unfortunately, there's basically no way to communicate any of this visually, or at least not with a singular design.
@@gorespeed Remember, the goal for rito was to make as many champs as possible in the lowest amount of time possible. They weren't concerned with quality. But in hindsight, what we currently have is outdated.
I love how Apple Cork design actually feels like a re-work, fitting Janna with the newest popular characters that has this anime-like feeling like Seraphine, and I feel that his design would fit with many of her actual skins, I would love an animation where when she activates her ulti, she becomes this blue alien-like being.
Love the cloak one just because the cloak gives me feeling of comfort almost like the silhouette of a mother comforting baby in her hands and knowing that shes kinda helping people of Zaun i really like the cloak one design
After the first design I was like "there's no way the second design is going to top this one" and bitch my wig was snatched. But in all seriousness, both designs are gorgeous and as main Janna I'd love for any of them to replace the thing we have in the game. But my favorite is the first one, mostly because of how otherworldly she looks, even in a game like LoL. Also, we need androgynous characters in this game, everyone is gendered so freaking hard. In the first design I imagine them giving her chromas that make her look like the sky in different situations, like dark storm clouds or the pink-orange sky in a sunset. Janna is the first character I had and I love her so much, she deserves to look her best, and not seeing her in any of the "Character we're going to rework" lists makes my heart ache.
That's one of the problems LoL has, it pretty much only rework champs that are doing bad in the gameplay, they don't do (As far as I know) visual reworks on a character just because it looks ugly, if they rework a champ it's because it's doing relatively bad in the game, and it's pretty sad, games like smite does have visual reworks, and it would be indeed a good thing for LoL, it won't cost as much as a full rework since it's only changing character desing and abilities effects, and it even would mean more skins sales, I would play janna if she looked that good, but she's just so ugly that I don't feel like playing her
@@BlueA I mean they have done reworks to champions and done little to no changes to their gameplay and focused mostly on their appearance, but in the 7 years I've been playing this game I've only seen it thrice: Miss Fortune, Ezreal and Morgana.
feel like applecork's design is something that legitimately could be her redesign as it is still recognizably Janna so it wouldn't piss off as many Janna mains and she would still be much more iconic than her current model. I wouldn't mind a full visual remake of some boring champions though.
there’s something about these videos that makes me sort of emotional. i can tell how much you guys care and these descriptions of what you want for each character is just...perfect. it’s like you want them to have what they deserve
Personally, I really liked it when the feathers from Applecork’s design overtook the eyebrows, even though the didn’t make it into the final version. I really love the idea that her recall animation is her body and “clothes” evaporating away and a single bluebird flies out from her poofy, cloud hair. X3 Considering she’s a wild god, one spontaneously generated by the hopes and desperation of sailors, I like the idea of the blue bird being her true form instead of a wind sprite. A songbird that signals landfall won’t be far, that the winds are fair enough for the little fella to fly and you’ll soon be safe once more away from the capricious sea. Part of it is just the superstition of it. The air is all around us, you’d need something truly miraculous (like surviving a multi-story drop and actually seeing Janna) to know she’s present. Whereas, I think there could be a comfort there to see the bluebird. That any bluebird could be Janna and all bluebirds as signaling a place of respite. It keeps her more present in their minds without frequent miracles. Then again, Zaun really doesn’t strike me as being super dependent on their fisheries. From League champs to LoR, it feels like the only time we see that side is in lore. I have no idea where a bluebird would live in that ecology of mutated sewer pets. Songbirds just choking on smog :x
God, I love how Skyen's Janna actually looks like an older (or rather: more mature) woman, while Applecork leans in hard on the uncanny look of "young anime girls". Truly the duality of man. I also love how both of those version would technically make sense with her lore, considering she is both incredibly old AND a recently renewed spirit/god. Funky how two different approaches still arrived at a lore accurate state.
What is the best is, that they may even both exist in the lore as she may manifest diferently based on where and to whom she is manifesting (not unlike Volibear)
@@rajamrifqi5764 I agree and I think mature is a much better way of putting it than 'old', since his design doesn't really have any visible signs of aging.
It's so refreshing to hear people acknowledge that no matter how bad they think a character design is, there is no such thing as "fixing" it. Janna may not be a good representation of her lore and character identity, but she's still a well put together design for a generic elf mage. Her design isn't "bad", it just doesn't fit her character at all. An alternative idea for Janna could be something similar to Aurelion Sol and the crown that binds him to the Aspects. Her entire form would be ethereal and wispy, but her staff is solid shining metal that acts like a lightning rod, an anchor for her to maintain herself on the mortal plane. Maybe after spending so long without worship she becomes weak and her body and mind dissipate throughout the atmosphere, and when Zaun cries out for her help, they create the staff as both an offering and a helping hand to guide her back to corporeality.
I'm in love with the androgynous takes on the design, she looks so gentle and ethereal--definitely fitting with her lore. But you both brought such creative ideas to her design that I love every rendition of her in this video haha
Yeah Cho’Gath is just the violator with generic Zerg abilities. He’s probably not too far from getting a rework(or at least I hope), and “building a better cho” video might give Riot some inspiration.
I really hope they do, especially since Riot isn't showing any indication that they're planning on updating the guy. Blows my mind that champs like Shyvana were on the VGU polls before him. Dude still moves and looks like a shitty action figure.
@@Ghilannugs That's exactly why they do a redesign, though. When they have champions that they need to do a complete overhaul with, they often change/give new lore and stories.
@@Jacob-ej9ur Riot yes, but Skyen bases their redesign on what lore they do have, which for Cho is almost nothing. They'd just be making a void creature not "Cho Gath" because there is nothing to signify what and who he is
I LOVE your inhuman version of Janna where it pulls away from her looking like some human wind hybrid, and becoming more of like wind that has taken on the form/shape of a human, it's super cool and feels very fitting for the champion.
this is an extremely good one, i already loved ashe, and to a lesser extent Rell's in her What's the Deal With? video. i love both directions taken. Skyen's version reminds me of the sea in more ways than just the fishing net, the silhouette of the cloak makes her look somewhat lika a jellyfish or a manta ray. and the less human nature of her look really ties it together for me. she looks distinctly alien! Applecork's descision of not straying too far from the wild rift design is also really good, i love the enhanced pupils and the more curved armor and jewelry. and i especially love the descision to get rid of the elf ears and replace them with wing like ears, as well as the cloud hair. incredible job!
i realllyyy love how they made janna androgynous. it fits so much with the whole 'god/demi-god' sort of vibe, theres not really any key features that outline her femininity and it just looks soooo good!!
hearing Skyen say "MILF ENERGY" made me burst out laughing I absolutely love this series and am really looking forward to future installments. Really love the approach and structure of these videos. In-depth, digestable and engaging
One thing that occurred to me: to tie her up with Zaun, you could have used tinges of pink and green on her hair, reminiscent of a red/pinkish sunset and aurora borealis. The pink/green contrast is very Zaunite. Loved the reworks, would really like to see something similar to that come to life in League.
I love these videos SO MUCH. It must’ve been this channel that originally got me to think more about character design as a practice in itself some years ago, so it’s wonderfully interesting and practical to see the thought processes of you and other amazing artists! The calm and descriptive delivery really sells it, too. Keep it up!
My first instinct after you voiced your concerns with current Janna but before you started designing your own was something like this (feel free to ignore): - petite or slim frame; a big ol' pair of heaping bazongas or whatever would weigh her down, and I think of a wind spirit as lightweight and able to sway in the wind - EITHER lots of long strips of gossamer fabric, to make her look more fairy-like, OR the material that sails are made of; something simple, opaque, and white, that billows in the wind but is reminiscent of the high seas - get rid of anything metal, anything that could possibly have a lot of weight, and sacrifice armor/defense for speed and mobility, giving her the ability to slip past the blades of her enemies as if she's intangible - if she does need armor, maybe something lighter or padded. maybe even pirate's garb; like if she spends her days as a deity blowing across the seas, maybe she would be inspired to mimic the sailors she interacts with, including their outfits; maybe we might even see her wearing a white button-up shirt like Miss Fortune's. idk I'm just spitballing but I really liked AppleCork's design :-)
What if they made her passive leave a trail of wind where if her allies step on it, they would get increased movement speed and remove any slows or overtime damage? Idk might be too 200 years XD
@@pokeystick5952 Yeah, my mistake. Its Janna I was thinking of. She already does this, kind of. " Innate: Janna gains bonus movement speed and grants the same amount to nearby allied champions moving towards her.
I’m probably just biased, but I would love to see how you would change Soraka to make her fit more with her lore. Right now we’ve all kinda just accepted that she has horse legs
I may need a video about redesigning shaco. I mean, I love my murder doll boi, but he looks like a human-size gnome with makeup on a jester cosplay (talking about the model. yup, model shaco and splashart shaco are not the same shacos)
rumble's model and animations are really bad, he looks like an oversized rat with fish fins on the sides of his head riding half a coconut with plunger feet
@@alejandropetit6573 I honestly think rumble's model and his old splash arts are some of funniest shit in the entire game, almost so bad that they are good. It is massive missed opportunity that the only character with a mech is also the stupidest looking thing in the game, though.
I like Skyens idea better cause it has clear shapes. It's big on top, has volume, and thin on the bottom. Design is about being remarkable and establishing personality and that design does exactly that
First time seeing your videos, and I was in awe of the wondrous designs you two made. Such dedication to a character that is beloved by many is something I respect very much. I would honestly kill for a poster of your league redesigns, if you ever feel the need to create that kind of stuff I think it'd be a blessing to have such beautiful art in my home.
I have more to say about this actually. It's just so refreshing to see such an overtly sexualized character become this ethereal, caring goddess that her lore seems to intend. It was honestly quite moving to see a character that I've spent years seeing and playing with be recreated with such energy and care. Thanks so much for doing Janna justice.
Absolutely adore the androgynous one, although I get most of the kick from her face, which could be a bit hard to translate to an in-game model. It's so good, though.
I am in love with Skyen's design. She really feels ethereal, caring and very light. As if she would literally get blown away as the wind and only the lil trinkets are giving her more distinct shape. I agree with someone's comments that wood would've been perfect for the accessories, instead of gold, simc it's both light and ties to sailors making her offerings. The fishnet idea is also very great. Amazing job!
I love all of these designs so much. As a Janna main it really gives me joy to see people spending the time to reimagine her in such thoughtful and unique ways.
I love the amount of effort that went into this video. You could have just talked about what you wanted to see in a Janna re design, but you went the extra mile in drawing your own version of her character. Much respect to you man, can't wait to see more :)
With your whole cloud aesthetic you got going I'd think it be neat if the some of the clouds were a little green or black around the edges. Sort of a little visual story telling, showing that all this time she's spending near Zaun is very slowly poisoning her but she still continues going because she knows the people of Zaun need her. I think it would help give her a little more color to contrast the blues and whites, make her connection to Zaun more apparent, and show a little of her character in the design. It would show she's not only kind but potentially to the point of self sacrificing if it helps those in need.
These designs are so good, I hope Riot sees this and takes inspiration from your great designs. I love the way you guys made her connection to the wind so much more obvious and basically the base of her design. Really beautiful, thank you.
I honestly love BOTH of those designs, they were breathtaking, and do a lot to create a more improved version of what janna could be. Great job guys, you never fail to amaze me
Those are all god point perso all of them I like there design tho they all could use a more muscular bodytype (mainly nidalee since she jumping around and showing javelin at ppl like sivir should be fit but she doesn't really need muscularity too much you know good legs for runing but outside of that her top doesn't need to much muscle to slow her down throwing a thing is physically hard but she more interested in mobility I would thing. Leona is the hard one to make look big and strong. (whitout removeing cloathing at less) I think they could remove some of her cloathing/armor since she got a sheild but at the same time it hard to do... Perso I don't think leona need much of a redesign more just a revamp of her in game character model to make her look taller and larger than before (may be you can make her arms, legs larger too and may be use the cloathing thing to show some abs? since it doesn't seem to be armored much may as well show some of her abs whit shadow form the tight cloathing she got...) Any way I think those 3 are fairly good overall in general there body type could use more muscle but outside of it there theme in my opinion is pretty good.
@@mrallsunday5703 I would like to see it since the Original is so good already (personally I think it biggest weaknest is not doing much whit the bodytype I would like to make her more muscular since she got that weird cloathing that quite skin tight looking. If you want full body armor you can alwas take like eclipe leona or something so I wonder what they would do to her just makeing her a big armor or keeping the cloathing thingy. Like if it a full body armor it is really hard to keep the female body shape whit full armor. Even more so form far away like Lol POV.
The almost faceless ones are my favorites. They totally evoke her beauty yet highlight the inhuman nature of Janna; they remind me Demon Snow from Bungo Stray Dogs.
If you wanted to go with the "different colors of wind/mist" idea in her design, it would be a cool way to incorporate Zaun into her design! See, she's supposed to be a personification of the wind, so you could have all the light and white clouds, etc, but maybe adding fringes of pollution to her hair and the edges of her clothing? Showing that she's been actively fighting for Zaun and how pollution of the earth can affect her as well.
Champs I would like to see redesigned: Cho'Gath, Jarvan IV, Shyvana (D&D dragonborn style), Veigar and Leona + Diana (they don't look like god vessels or even like Targon leaders)
@@KikaJoye She needs better armor with more moon colours. Maybe add blank moon light eyes, resembling aspect possession (same with Leona). Just to make her look more like Lunari leader.
@@sunset40k36 maybe.. but.. diana may not look compatibile with her theme but champs like corki, rumble or zielan are looking overal terrible and aged in game EDIT: but u may be right actually, I guess we are talking about more compatibile design here, while tb skyen is focused on this and not keeping game in presentative state
I really like the gold you guys added because it reminds me of Piltover, and if I remember the lore correctly, Piltover was established by the people of Zaun to try and advance more, but quickly turned into just the greedy upper class exploiting the poor. So, Janna would be like the ideal of Piltover, more success, but with the good morals of staying with the poor to help them live better lives. If this is wrong, sorry, I fell in love with this universe because of Arcane, so I'm still learning a LOT about how this universe works, lore and symbology and all.
Oh my God, your B design makes her so cute, makes she looks so lovable. Congrats, I loved them all but B is my favorite because it makes her look shy (different from ho& Janna on the game today.) I'm main Janna.
I really fell in love with your new design! There's something so calm and ethereal about it that really plays into her being a wind spirit, not a person. Great job!
What I love about this video is that it almost asks the audience to develop their OWN version of Janna. I walked through this video coming up with idea after idea of my own. I might even put some on paper! I love that about discussions about design.
Beautiful. All of the desings. I've played Janna since season 2 and Ive been waiting for a new design that resembles her lore. Hopefully will get it one day. Thank you for these really enjoyed it.
What I like about Verauko's design aside from the thunder thighs is that that Janna is partially fading into mist alluding to the fact that she fades and solidifies in her existence depending on how many people believe in her.
love the designs and the series as a whole... definitely would like to see you eventually redesign characters with designs that you like just to see how that ends up, though i definitely understand going with the ones you dont
An interesting way to have taken this style of design and have her fit into Zaun's aesthetic would be to model her facial features, skin tone, accent, mannerisms, etc. off of a real world ethnic minority like Zeri or Ekko. Have Janna be the goddess of the people to the point where she starts to take on their appearance or traits. Demacia, Noxus, The Freljord, Piltover to an extent, and for some reason Bilgewater (come one where are the black or asian pirates?) and the Shadow Isles are overwhelmingly white European coded, Ionia is largely east asia themed, Shurima is kind of pan-african but mostly egyptian. But Zaun is pretty explicitly a melting-pot culture. The choice that immediately comes to mind would be to make Janna semitic or romani since she's a spirit that urges people safely across the seas and away from danger with her wind, but basing her on polynesian cultures could also fit that role.
Janna was one of my first mains, along with Nami (support mains rise up) back in 2013/14 and I've always loved playing her but never knew anything about her story or lack thereof. These design ideas are super interesting and I'd love to see Riot do something like this
I loved his idea of giving her Zaunite trinkets that she keeps from offerings. I honestly wished that idea would carry into the final designs. It would connect her more visually with Zaun while also carrying the implication that this is a guardian who cares about even the little things her worshipers give her. Still, the inhuman designs really sharply show WHAT she is very distinctly, and I would love to see Riot pull something similar in a Visual update.
I think that the best way to bring in the Zaun aspect of the design would be to keep the staff. Make it aesthetically Zaunite + make it more of a harpoon + the dropped idea of carrying offerings. But, and this is key, make sure that the Staff has nothing to do with her powers. She doesn't move, or twirl it to use her abilities or anything. At best she uses it to support herself sometimes. Justify it in lore that she carries the staff and offerings as a sentimental gesture. The staff clashes with the rest of her aesthetics *because* it isn't part of her. But a gift by others. Lean into the contrast between the inhumanity of an ethereal wind spirit. And the humanity of the staff and offerings, and the sentimentality of carrying them around.
Both designs ended up really good and It's really helpful to have explanations for your choices, especially as someone like me who wants to be a concept artist / character designer. Also I NEED to know what's that brush he used for the faces (around 17:10) it looks gorgeous !
These videos are my absolute favourite. It's a treat, watching the issues get addressed and to see the design process from start to finish - especially how you work out those compromises with certain features.
Wow! Both designs are great! Though I favor the Apple's a lot. The "sky eyes" was a great idea, and I liked Skyen's more alien design as well! In fact, I think Skyen's might be the better distinguishing silhouette. Might be better for gameplay too!
As someone who's inspiring to become a character designer this is really eye opening for me, you make really good points and in my opinion it's really helping me and maybe other young artists to be better and considate to the story and lore, make something truely unique rather than pandering to "sex appeal" or quick "Eye candy", thank you for uploading and taking the time to talk about this also your final versions are absolutely beautiful and everything I want to be able to do, and in my opinion they're much better fit than the current Janna
Do you think Riot will ever talk more about old Piltover and Zaun before the time of the Shuriman Emperor, personally I would like to see that aspect in Janna’s redesign.
I love both designs so much. The windy legs are amazing, and I really like that the ULT-Form looks so different, and breaks her up more. Amazing designs, thank you both for your ideas and this video
the face with the lines coming from her eyes making her look older, i love it so much, it fits in a weird way, also the other design with the thighs i like as well
With a year of retrospect and a bit more information on spirits, I would like to see Janna hold a mask of some sort. Tying her to Kindred a bit and more importantly, mask mother. Even the Azakana hold masks, so it'd be an interesting piece to focus on while also giving us a clear indication of what Janna is in universe.
One thing I had thought of throughout the video to link her to zaun would maybe be a soft green streak permanently tangled in her cloud hair as a symbol of the toxic air she saves the people of zaun from, sorta like they had to permanently suffer apart of themselves to keep zaun safe with that streak of green cloud etched into her being at all times
The first 1000 people to use the link will get a free trial of Skillshare Premium Membership: skl.sh/tbskyen06211
@@gellerthorvath4721 ??
@@gellerthorvath4721 oh. Yeah, nah, that's fine :)
Sky that second design is absolutely perfect imo Gets you to stare catches your eye but subtle reveal thats shes more than she seems
Maybe a way to incorporate the staff could be it being a tattered mast and sailcloth? Showing that's no longer the role she plays, and something she can drape over the people of Zaun as a comforting thing.
Would love to say that your janna version does stray a bit far away from what she has been depicted as in her modern lore (looks wise), but that is clearly shown to be best in your design! Her lore shows that she does interact with people in trouble, and they can see her in a physical form, but I absolutely ADORE the idea that some zaun child is watching the clouds wondering if there is any hope for them, but while they see a cloud that looks like a dog, a hex crystal, a poro. they eventually see a cloud that looks like janna, and before they just rub that thought away, the cloud looks at them, smiles, and blows a gentle kiss in the form of a fresh breeze. As they walk home feeling comfort and a slight bit of hope, a blue bird chirps and echos into the caverns of zaun.
Honestly, the modern lore of Janna has the complete possibility to accurately fill this design and role that you have created, and this is good for me!
I actually really dig that the redesigns don’t fit in with Zaun’s aesthetics. Her purpose is to purify Zaun’s air pollution, which heavily defines Zaun. it makes sense for her to stand in contrast to the city
also, Zaun's style is very punk which is often associated with aggression - it wouldn't fit Janna who's mean to be an otherwordly kind spirit.
For me her design is a throwback to the "Simpler times", when Zaun was just a port city, and from that perspective it makes a perfect sense why it's so different.
She's also from from a completely different region like Bridgewater so it makes sense
honestly
i wouldve liked her to look a little more bilgewater in origin, carrying some trinkets or clothes that may be zaunite offerings
It also lends to the idea that she's sort of an immigrant god who didn't initially belong to zaun
call her something like "Janna, the sailing wind" to represent that folklore and caring aspect
"mother Janna protect us from the harsh winds of the southern sea" *a wind instrument plays as part of a prayer to get mother Janna attention* "mother Janna bring us clean air so that we may breathe comfortably tonight" *a wind instrument plays as part of the prayer*
that sounds epic ngl
Skyen is saving Kai’sa for when he’s really fucking pissed
Just make her "armor" look the part. I would love to see Skyen give her Varia Suit levels of bulk because it solves alot of her issues.
@@sladevalen That wouldn't be enough. She is *infested with void itself* so armor, no matter how bulky, wouldn't be enough to carry this idea through. She'd look more like a warrior instead of an actual *monster* as people often call her according to her lore. Her design would have to inflict fear or discomfort upon you; it would have to be something uncanny so simply adding armor wouldn't accomplish that. Thus, I imagine asymmetry and disfiguration would be a key component in her design.
@@sanderp9768 couldn’t they just go the Venom route, in that case?
Actually now that I’m thinking about it, a void infested Kai’Sa with Venom-like design tendencies seems like it could be cool.
@@phi4491 but she technically is already like Venom, she always calls it a skin, sure a part of her but mostly a cover. I personally mostly like her design, it just doesn't match her lore and personality imo
@@sladevalen the armor looks the part but, I'd would like for her splash art to have the helmet-thing on since that's how she usually looks in-universe, also it would even better if in-universe she has trouble keeping control, like she's constantly a hair's breeze away from becoming the monsters she fight
To fix the whole ''making her look more like a part of Zaun''' issue, I would argue that her contrast to the rest of the Zaunites is a great thing for a base skin BUT adding a dark version of her design as a skin, like smog or polluted air could make a great alternative design that would encompass some of that grunge/punk aesthetic. Its the dark ending of her character arc, she couldn't bring back the purity of nature and ended up corrupted herself. Instead of pure white wind and clouds, she is now a dark spirit of noxious gas and smoke.
That's a really cool idea an has major precedent in many different world mythologies. It could also be less of a "corrupted/evil" version and more be an "angry/wrathful" version that she takes on when she feels Piltover is being TOO over line and TOO greedy, and thus takes on this form to wreck havoc on Piltover if they ever crossed her and her Zaun too much.
OHHH maybe one thats a raging tornado that billows out that polluted air, her rage at being so carelessly polluted!
Verauko's redesign looks like a legit superhero.
The next Valorant hero
@@masceradelp1994 jetts mom
That's part of Janna's lore in a sense isn't it?
Yeah! My main criticism it's that it's too cool and kick ass, she doesn't feel like Janna. Verskud design looks like it's about to wrstle thannos Carol Danvers style
karen marvel
I like the idea of Janna becoming kinda motherly in appearance. I imagine a swirly dress that would vaguely resemble a tornado (it’s not just clouds, it’s an actual dress). Maybe she’d have like that tired mom look. Being forgotten then remembered could be tired, plus when your tired, your temperamental, just like the wind.
That fits her character much better than generic sexy elf mage
But I feel like some form of staff is something she needs to be recognizable, it’s boring but it’s iconic.
So what if it was a musical instrument? Like a rain stick or something? You could have it make sound as she bends the wind, so she’s constantly followed by a quiet tune. Plus you could make that instrument become a symbol of Janna in the lore, so sailers would carry them around to “call the winds”, or to call Janna.
Also you need cloud hair
Maybe a wind instrument or something that needs the player to blow into it? like a horn(really simple ones that are a horn) or those trumpets that are used in medieval stuff(the long straight ones)?
@@quendi5557 Yeah! That could work
im proposing something like a wooden flute for her instrument
@@serenitii3557 no more music champions please, she doesnt need an instrument xD all she needs is godly elemental-like appearance as it is shown in the conclusion of the video. Both choices of the conclusion would be perfect.
@@Tasosjv oh im just building on op's idea above so :p
I really liked both designs, but I want to add that it would be really interesting to see a concept where the starting point is not Janna being a wind goddess, but rather to think "how a wind goddes created by zaunites would look like?" and then dive into how different cultures saw their divine.
I love your way of thinking. Different deities do look different depending on the region.
That makes me want to see artwork and ideas about what Fiddlesticks would look like in different regions, Demacian Fiddlesticks was in his trailer but its stated he takes different looks depending on where he is and the people there. It would be AMAZING to see a sketch of each and all the Fiddlesticks!
rework her hextech skin
@@alexglover3236 I don't know if you know, but many of his skins are just that: spectral is for shadow isles, british is piltover, icicle one is freliord etc.
@@dominikkowalczyk3845 Icicle one? He has an Xmas 1 which has nothing to do with the Freljord, and yes you're correct about Spectral but the Piltover one isn't true
We have surpassed the need for “Conventional Attractiveness™️”, Androgynous Janna is more attractive to me than any of the characters in the actual game
I would still be Sett's playgirl any day of the week
@@marielcarey4288 LMAO 😭😭 it’s funny bc it’s relatable
Something came to mind when you were on the fence about the jewelry on your Janna redesign. Carved wood would have been a good choice. Sailors are known to carve intricate shapes into flotsam and scrap wood and since Janna was worshipped by sailors it would make sense that those sailors would offer carvings to her as a sacrifice for good weather.
Wood also just FEELS light and airy even though it’s solid. Little wooden trinkets that you can imagine being hollow or light at the least would’ve been super cool.
@@adamsaleh4751 Indeed.
What a wonderful idea!!!!
That's super interesting :) I think a crown of driftwood and sea glass would have been a really nice addition.
Giving me Elderwood vibes… I’d love to see an updated Janna be apart of that skin line; it’d fit so well!
Androgynous janna is a stroke of genius. Though instead of gold and perfectly formed jewelry, I think earthy colors, circlet and accessories made of shiny sea junk like fish hooks, shiny stones and snapped ropes works much better with her origins as a local deity worshiped by sailors and fishermen, also emphasises her inhuman nature with the lack of understanding for fashion.
Plus alot of punk aesthetics involve using non jewelry for jewelry.
Like screws for earings or safety pins everywhere.
And While zaun is steam punk, following classic anarchist punk aesthetics with such a soft and gentle character could be a cool contrast
@@EllaAngeli thats an awesome connection!
Counter point she's supposed to be a cleansing being a god of air and protection it makes sense for their to be a aesthetic difference she's supposed to cleanse
This series is really incredible. It's one thing to drop a design and say "Ta-da! Character solved!" But getting to see this whole process and all the back and forth is really nice and seeing how even with 2 people doing it together it still leads to 2 vastly different takes on a redesign is very interesting.
that's what's really fascinating in character design, at least for me: I'm not a good observer and often don't notice all details in character designs, and how much thinking and reasoning can go into it. I just love to hear a designer explain how and why they made certain design choices :D
As a Janna support I love this. As an artist this also motivates me to give my take on Janna
Did you see the new Janna in legends of runeterra? What did you think?
Not only is Skyen's Janna super unique and with a great androgynous design, but it helps League in general by adding a not completely human character to help balance out the Cosplay Crew that is most League champs, especially nowadays
Well you’re not wrong but at least the last few female champions don’t look like they are the same cosplayer like the older ones do.
IDK if im 100% correct or not but I believe there was an article in which riot claimed the next champion is a monster.
@@Niick3015 the next one is that light centinel that has been teased with a green-ish hook
@@Niick3015, are you ready for a monster, monster?
@@Niick3015 the next one is a mid marksmen light sentinel and after that we get a mid mage yordle
As a German, I *adore* Skyens spontatous outbreaks of his "crazed German scientist" accent.
It has nothering to do with an authentic accent. But that just makes it funnier.
It has the same Energy as the "Hibilly Skyen" that he kept breaking into during shipbreakers
same xD
Hallo lol
its amazing how other people do things flawlessly yet mines not even i struggle endlessly.. even though.. ill continue pushing on no matter what.. even though my art really suck, all i need is a harsh and honest critique.. even though itll hurt.
Mood. I hav never heard zomeone here talk like zat but oh gosh do I enjoy it!
Jaaaa
Huge fan of the faceless interpretations at 24:34 and 33:15. It really strikes the balance between a beautiful goddess and something unnervingly inhuman
That one was my favorite
Not only that but once she goes faceless she released her powers just like in the lore
She looks like a female protos from Starcraft (e.g. Selendis) xd I actually like it, though
Same it's so amazing and just having her innocent eyes showing makes her even more approachable while still keeping the ethereal vibe about her
When sketching out your final design, you had Janna's arm as translucent partially though the drawing process, and I honestly thought that was pretty interesting as a design element! Having her arms and legs fade into translucency, but then resolidify beneath her bluebird's feet. That might serve as a reason to bring back the staff; her arms and legs fading out would possibly break up her outline and make her harder to read, and a staff would serve as a solid sort of "anchor point", plus it would let her make big, dramatic, sweeping, easy-to-read movements in game. If you *really* wanted to try to capture the "sea goddess now worshipped in Zaun" thing, you could go with making her staff into some sort of weird harpoon wrench hybrid thing, representing how the Zaunites are reinterpreting an aspect of her design themselves; I could absolutely imagine fishermen drawing her with a harpoon, then representing that with a stylized crescent on a stick, and then Zaunites look at some of those representations and say "yeah that's a long wrench" and start changing how they represent/imagine her accordingly. This is kinda playing in that Tahm Kench design space, where some of these spirits are mythological or allegorical, and so their visual description is how people view them; look at how Tahm Kench represents the "two-coats" design from Bilgewater as well as the "deal with the devil" idea more prevalent in Piltover.
I should state that I absolutely love both of the designs in this video, to be clear, and I don't know how it would be possible to visually communicate "harpoon that's being reinterpreted as a wrench" without it just looking like a mess. This is just another idea that your drawing process inspired. And now I'm thinking about syncretism and cultural drift and about just how much the idea of a helping wind would differ between sailors and people in danger from toxic mist, aaaaand suddenly there's an explanation for her having both shielding (and healing on her ult), and movement speed bonuses she gives to people, even though "healing wind" felt a little weird to me previously.
...you could *also* explain her bird being changed from a seabird to a bluebird in the same sort of way, since seabirds tend to show up nearer land and therefore serve as an indirect navigational sign, while bluebirds are small enough they could live in the "canary in the coal mine" space and would naturally be more sensitive to, and thus avoid, "bad air". Both would serve as signs that you're heading towards safety, but for very different reasons. Unfortunately, there's basically no way to communicate any of this visually, or at least not with a singular design.
Having cloud hair is just super cool.
I can't believe that riot made her and just,,,, didn't tought of that ¿?¿?
@@gorespeed Remember, the goal for rito was to make as many champs as possible in the lowest amount of time possible. They weren't concerned with quality. But in hindsight, what we currently have is outdated.
I love how Apple Cork design actually feels like a re-work, fitting Janna with the newest popular characters that has this anime-like feeling like Seraphine, and I feel that his design would fit with many of her actual skins, I would love an animation where when she activates her ulti, she becomes this blue alien-like being.
Love the cloak one just because the cloak gives me feeling of comfort almost like the silhouette of a mother comforting baby in her hands and knowing that shes kinda helping people of Zaun i really like the cloak one design
I started the video imagining a cloak and feathers in her arms, legs and ears and I was so happy when I saw they used it in their final view.
It can be also an old sail, from her "sea goddess" past
After the first design I was like "there's no way the second design is going to top this one" and bitch my wig was snatched.
But in all seriousness, both designs are gorgeous and as main Janna I'd love for any of them to replace the thing we have in the game.
But my favorite is the first one, mostly because of how otherworldly she looks, even in a game like LoL. Also, we need androgynous characters in this game, everyone is gendered so freaking hard.
In the first design I imagine them giving her chromas that make her look like the sky in different situations, like dark storm clouds or the pink-orange sky in a sunset.
Janna is the first character I had and I love her so much, she deserves to look her best, and not seeing her in any of the "Character we're going to rework" lists makes my heart ache.
That's one of the problems LoL has, it pretty much only rework champs that are doing bad in the gameplay, they don't do (As far as I know) visual reworks on a character just because it looks ugly, if they rework a champ it's because it's doing relatively bad in the game, and it's pretty sad, games like smite does have visual reworks, and it would be indeed a good thing for LoL, it won't cost as much as a full rework since it's only changing character desing and abilities effects, and it even would mean more skins sales, I would play janna if she looked that good, but she's just so ugly that I don't feel like playing her
I'm hoping for a rework on Janna too, I also main her
@@BlueA I mean they have done reworks to champions and done little to no changes to their gameplay and focused mostly on their appearance, but in the 7 years I've been playing this game I've only seen it thrice: Miss Fortune, Ezreal and Morgana.
unrelated but i saw ur awesome tighnari redesign pfp and i freaked out its so. awesome oh my god jrhirhusiuhshijsihhsiuhdhdhhuidhiuihusiusu
I hope these redesigns would blow me away. And I have been blown away. I absolutely love the idea of Janna having eyes like Gojo, it's so dope !
Oh I know it will. Really excited!
I'm sure they'll be breathtaking
hopefully they blow me
Blow as in.... You know what, I'll stop
The god himself, Gojo Satoru.
6 months later and she is still the stereotypical floating elf mage
but now she has new vfx WOOOAAAHHH
feel like applecork's design is something that legitimately could be her redesign as it is still recognizably Janna so it wouldn't piss off as many Janna mains and she would still be much more iconic than her current model. I wouldn't mind a full visual remake of some boring champions though.
This is incredible, I would LOVE Janna if she looked like your ethereal, androgynous design
Glad you like it :)
there’s something about these videos that makes me sort of emotional. i can tell how much you guys care and these descriptions of what you want for each character is just...perfect. it’s like you want them to have what they deserve
Personally, I really liked it when the feathers from Applecork’s design overtook the eyebrows, even though the didn’t make it into the final version. I really love the idea that her recall animation is her body and “clothes” evaporating away and a single bluebird flies out from her poofy, cloud hair. X3
Considering she’s a wild god, one spontaneously generated by the hopes and desperation of sailors, I like the idea of the blue bird being her true form instead of a wind sprite. A songbird that signals landfall won’t be far, that the winds are fair enough for the little fella to fly and you’ll soon be safe once more away from the capricious sea.
Part of it is just the superstition of it. The air is all around us, you’d need something truly miraculous (like surviving a multi-story drop and actually seeing Janna) to know she’s present. Whereas, I think there could be a comfort there to see the bluebird. That any bluebird could be Janna and all bluebirds as signaling a place of respite. It keeps her more present in their minds without frequent miracles.
Then again, Zaun really doesn’t strike me as being super dependent on their fisheries. From League champs to LoR, it feels like the only time we see that side is in lore. I have no idea where a bluebird would live in that ecology of mutated sewer pets. Songbirds just choking on smog :x
God, I love how Skyen's Janna actually looks like an older (or rather: more mature) woman, while Applecork leans in hard on the uncanny look of "young anime girls". Truly the duality of man.
I also love how both of those version would technically make sense with her lore, considering she is both incredibly old AND a recently renewed spirit/god. Funky how two different approaches still arrived at a lore accurate state.
What is the best is, that they may even both exist in the lore as she may manifest diferently based on where and to whom she is manifesting (not unlike Volibear)
i dont really see where you get "older" from skyen's design
@@tgrabbit8940 you say "clearly" but i dont see even a hint of that in the face
@@Conankun66YT a more pronounced cheek bones often evokes the feel of maturity
Is what I assumed the previous commenter meant
@@rajamrifqi5764 I agree and I think mature is a much better way of putting it than 'old', since his design doesn't really have any visible signs of aging.
It's so refreshing to hear people acknowledge that no matter how bad they think a character design is, there is no such thing as "fixing" it. Janna may not be a good representation of her lore and character identity, but she's still a well put together design for a generic elf mage. Her design isn't "bad", it just doesn't fit her character at all. An alternative idea for Janna could be something similar to Aurelion Sol and the crown that binds him to the Aspects. Her entire form would be ethereal and wispy, but her staff is solid shining metal that acts like a lightning rod, an anchor for her to maintain herself on the mortal plane. Maybe after spending so long without worship she becomes weak and her body and mind dissipate throughout the atmosphere, and when Zaun cries out for her help, they create the staff as both an offering and a helping hand to guide her back to corporeality.
I honestly love the almost faceless designs the most, it looks like in my opinion the true depiction of an ethereal spirit.
I'm in love with the androgynous takes on the design, she looks so gentle and ethereal--definitely fitting with her lore. But you both brought such creative ideas to her design that I love every rendition of her in this video haha
Do Cho'Gath next. Make him look like a "not" Violator and more like a modern designed void champion like Rek'Sai or Vel'Koz
Yeah Cho’Gath is just the violator with generic Zerg abilities. He’s probably not too far from getting a rework(or at least I hope), and “building a better cho” video might give Riot some inspiration.
I really hope they do, especially since Riot isn't showing any indication that they're planning on updating the guy. Blows my mind that champs like Shyvana were on the VGU polls before him. Dude still moves and looks like a shitty action figure.
Can't see Cho coming anytime soon, because he just simply doesn't have enough lore and story to do a full character redesign off
@@Ghilannugs That's exactly why they do a redesign, though. When they have champions that they need to do a complete overhaul with, they often change/give new lore and stories.
@@Jacob-ej9ur Riot yes, but Skyen bases their redesign on what lore they do have, which for Cho is almost nothing. They'd just be making a void creature not "Cho Gath" because there is nothing to signify what and who he is
I LOVE your inhuman version of Janna where it pulls away from her looking like some human wind hybrid, and becoming more of like wind that has taken on the form/shape of a human, it's super cool and feels very fitting for the champion.
Oh wow, Skyen's looks like something actually benevolent.
I love the older looking, less feminine style. It’s amazing and definitely unique for league
this is an extremely good one, i already loved ashe, and to a lesser extent Rell's in her What's the Deal With? video. i love both directions taken. Skyen's version reminds me of the sea in more ways than just the fishing net, the silhouette of the cloak makes her look somewhat lika a jellyfish or a manta ray. and the less human nature of her look really ties it together for me. she looks distinctly alien! Applecork's descision of not straying too far from the wild rift design is also really good, i love the enhanced pupils and the more curved armor and jewelry. and i especially love the descision to get rid of the elf ears and replace them with wing like ears, as well as the cloud hair. incredible job!
i realllyyy love how they made janna androgynous. it fits so much with the whole 'god/demi-god' sort of vibe, theres not really any key features that outline her femininity and it just looks soooo good!!
hearing Skyen say "MILF ENERGY" made me burst out laughing
I absolutely love this series and am really looking forward to future installments. Really love the approach and structure of these videos. In-depth, digestable and engaging
One thing that occurred to me: to tie her up with Zaun, you could have used tinges of pink and green on her hair, reminiscent of a red/pinkish sunset and aurora borealis. The pink/green contrast is very Zaunite. Loved the reworks, would really like to see something similar to that come to life in League.
I love these videos SO MUCH. It must’ve been this channel that originally got me to think more about character design as a practice in itself some years ago, so it’s wonderfully interesting and practical to see the thought processes of you and other amazing artists! The calm and descriptive delivery really sells it, too. Keep it up!
My first instinct after you voiced your concerns with current Janna but before you started designing your own was something like this (feel free to ignore):
- petite or slim frame; a big ol' pair of heaping bazongas or whatever would weigh her down, and I think of a wind spirit as lightweight and able to sway in the wind
- EITHER lots of long strips of gossamer fabric, to make her look more fairy-like, OR the material that sails are made of; something simple, opaque, and white, that billows in the wind but is reminiscent of the high seas
- get rid of anything metal, anything that could possibly have a lot of weight, and sacrifice armor/defense for speed and mobility, giving her the ability to slip past the blades of her enemies as if she's intangible
- if she does need armor, maybe something lighter or padded. maybe even pirate's garb; like if she spends her days as a deity blowing across the seas, maybe she would be inspired to mimic the sailors she interacts with, including their outfits; maybe we might even see her wearing a white button-up shirt like Miss Fortune's.
idk I'm just spitballing but I really liked AppleCork's design :-)
I always wanted janna passive to resist any kind of ''grounded'' effect. I feel like that would be cool.
I already love her W passive that shows her to move through units, making her resistant to grounding would also be amazing for lore
What if they made her passive leave a trail of wind where if her allies step on it, they would get increased movement speed and remove any slows or overtime damage? Idk might be too 200 years XD
@@pokeystick5952 Soraka does that, doesn't she?
@@IsaacIsaacIsaacson isn't her passive that she runs faster when someone is almost dead?
@@pokeystick5952 Yeah, my mistake. Its Janna I was thinking of. She already does this, kind of. "
Innate: Janna gains bonus movement speed and grants the same amount to nearby allied champions moving towards her.
I’m probably just biased, but I would love to see how you would change Soraka to make her fit more with her lore. Right now we’ve all kinda just accepted that she has horse legs
I may need a video about redesigning shaco. I mean, I love my murder doll boi, but he looks like a human-size gnome with makeup on a jester cosplay (talking about the model. yup, model shaco and splashart shaco are not the same shacos)
I imagine that would difficult, within the framework of this series, since Shaco has basicly zero lore
rumble's model and animations are really bad, he looks like an oversized rat with fish fins on the sides of his head riding half a coconut with plunger feet
@@alejandropetit6573 I honestly think rumble's model and his old splash arts are some of funniest shit in the entire game, almost so bad that they are good. It is massive missed opportunity that the only character with a mech is also the stupidest looking thing in the game, though.
I like Skyens idea better cause it has clear shapes. It's big on top, has volume, and thin on the bottom. Design is about being remarkable and establishing personality and that design does exactly that
Gwenn : I control the hallowed mist
TBS Janna : I AM the hallowed mist
First time seeing your videos, and I was in awe of the wondrous designs you two made. Such dedication to a character that is beloved by many is something I respect very much.
I would honestly kill for a poster of your league redesigns, if you ever feel the need to create that kind of stuff I think it'd be a blessing to have such beautiful art in my home.
I have more to say about this actually. It's just so refreshing to see such an overtly sexualized character become this ethereal, caring goddess that her lore seems to intend.
It was honestly quite moving to see a character that I've spent years seeing and playing with be recreated with such energy and care.
Thanks so much for doing Janna justice.
Absolutely adore the androgynous one, although I get most of the kick from her face, which could be a bit hard to translate to an in-game model. It's so good, though.
I am in love with Skyen's design. She really feels ethereal, caring and very light. As if she would literally get blown away as the wind and only the lil trinkets are giving her more distinct shape.
I agree with someone's comments that wood would've been perfect for the accessories, instead of gold, simc it's both light and ties to sailors making her offerings. The fishnet idea is also very great.
Amazing job!
I love all of these designs so much. As a Janna main it really gives me joy to see people spending the time to reimagine her in such thoughtful and unique ways.
25:57 "mist"
*a dozen sentinel weapon shots go off as a group of people experience PTSD*
I'm in love with tbs version!!! she looks beautiful, ethereal and friendly
I love the amount of effort that went into this video. You could have just talked about what you wanted to see in a Janna re design, but you went the extra mile in drawing your own version of her character. Much respect to you man, can't wait to see more :)
Really impressed with these designs! Apple Cork's a really good artist!
With your whole cloud aesthetic you got going I'd think it be neat if the some of the clouds were a little green or black around the edges. Sort of a little visual story telling, showing that all this time she's spending near Zaun is very slowly poisoning her but she still continues going because she knows the people of Zaun need her.
I think it would help give her a little more color to contrast the blues and whites, make her connection to Zaun more apparent, and show a little of her character in the design. It would show she's not only kind but potentially to the point of self sacrificing if it helps those in need.
I would absolutely die for a game with the roster completely conceptualized by TB and Applecork. So damn good!
These designs are so good, I hope Riot sees this and takes inspiration from your great designs. I love the way you guys made her connection to the wind so much more obvious and basically the base of her design. Really beautiful, thank you.
I absolutely adored her full on cloud version ohhh my God I wish that was in the game!
I honestly love BOTH of those designs, they were breathtaking, and do a lot to create a more improved version of what janna could be. Great job guys, you never fail to amaze me
I’m interested in what you would do to change Nidalee, Leona, & Sivir
Nidalee only needs to look like she does in "human blood"
Those are all god point perso all of them I like there design tho they all could use a more muscular bodytype (mainly nidalee since she jumping around and showing javelin at ppl like sivir should be fit but she doesn't really need muscularity too much you know good legs for runing but outside of that her top doesn't need to much muscle to slow her down throwing a thing is physically hard but she more interested in mobility I would thing. Leona is the hard one to make look big and strong. (whitout removeing cloathing at less) I think they could remove some of her cloathing/armor since she got a sheild but at the same time it hard to do... Perso I don't think leona need much of a redesign more just a revamp of her in game character model to make her look taller and larger than before (may be you can make her arms, legs larger too and may be use the cloathing thing to show some abs? since it doesn't seem to be armored much may as well show some of her abs whit shadow form the tight cloathing she got...)
Any way I think those 3 are fairly good overall in general there body type could use more muscle but outside of it there theme in my opinion is pretty good.
Leona for sure
@@mrallsunday5703 I would like to see it since the Original is so good already (personally I think it biggest weaknest is not doing much whit the bodytype I would like to make her more muscular since she got that weird cloathing that quite skin tight looking. If you want full body armor you can alwas take like eclipe leona or something so I wonder what they would do to her just makeing her a big armor or keeping the cloathing thingy. Like if it a full body armor it is really hard to keep the female body shape whit full armor. Even more so form far away like Lol POV.
Another vote for my girl sivir here!
The almost faceless ones are my favorites. They totally evoke her beauty yet highlight the inhuman nature of Janna; they remind me Demon Snow from Bungo Stray Dogs.
If you wanted to go with the "different colors of wind/mist" idea in her design, it would be a cool way to incorporate Zaun into her design! See, she's supposed to be a personification of the wind, so you could have all the light and white clouds, etc, but maybe adding fringes of pollution to her hair and the edges of her clothing? Showing that she's been actively fighting for Zaun and how pollution of the earth can affect her as well.
I come from the future and there’s a pretty epic Janna redesign in LOR now, I wonder if it deserves some attention
Champs I would like to see redesigned: Cho'Gath, Jarvan IV, Shyvana (D&D dragonborn style), Veigar and Leona + Diana (they don't look like god vessels or even like Targon leaders)
Diana is perfect :,
@@KikaJoye She needs better armor with more moon colours. Maybe add blank moon light eyes, resembling aspect possession (same with Leona). Just to make her look more like Lunari leader.
rumble and corki are also really bad, corki looks more like an old man than like a furry creature
@@sunset40k36 maybe.. but.. diana may not look compatibile with her theme but champs like corki, rumble or zielan are looking overal terrible and aged in game
EDIT: but u may be right actually, I guess we are talking about more compatibile design here, while tb skyen is focused on this and not keeping game in presentative state
@@alejandropetit6573 Corki got a pretty good redesign as an actual Yordle in that Tales of Runeterra video.
I really like the gold you guys added because it reminds me of Piltover, and if I remember the lore correctly, Piltover was established by the people of Zaun to try and advance more, but quickly turned into just the greedy upper class exploiting the poor. So, Janna would be like the ideal of Piltover, more success, but with the good morals of staying with the poor to help them live better lives. If this is wrong, sorry, I fell in love with this universe because of Arcane, so I'm still learning a LOT about how this universe works, lore and symbology and all.
I love the one with the cloak. It makes her look caring, almost like a benign maternal spirit that will nurture you to health.
These are gorgeous! They're excellent at improving the character's visual story while still sticking to the league aesthetic
Oh my God, your B design makes her so cute, makes she looks so lovable.
Congrats, I loved them all but B is my favorite because it makes her look shy (different from ho& Janna on the game today.)
I'm main Janna.
Legends of Runeterra just released a new design for Janna and this video is the first thing I thought about x)
I really fell in love with your new design! There's something so calm and ethereal about it that really plays into her being a wind spirit, not a person. Great job!
I don't even play LoL but this was absolutely fascinating ~ i'd love to see y'all take on some of Smite's designs!
I’m really impressed by this, especially Skyen’s version of Jana. Hope to see more episodes of this series, it’s really great!
What I love about this video is that it almost asks the audience to develop their OWN version of Janna. I walked through this video coming up with idea after idea of my own. I might even put some on paper! I love that about discussions about design.
Beautiful. All of the desings. I've played Janna since season 2 and Ive been waiting for a new design that resembles her lore. Hopefully will get it one day. Thank you for these really enjoyed it.
So excited to watch this cuz the way Janna’s lore interpolates into Zaun just made me so much more interested in the place.
I can’t wait to hear your opinion on her Legends of Runeterra redesign! It’s glorious!
A year or so later, I’m coming back to this, and sobbing begging praying for a building a better Sivir video
Veraukos design looks amazing I can imagine her opening up or something when she ults
What I like about Verauko's design aside from the thunder thighs is that that Janna is partially fading into mist alluding to the fact that she fades and solidifies in her existence depending on how many people believe in her.
love the designs and the series as a whole... definitely would like to see you eventually redesign characters with designs that you like just to see how that ends up, though i definitely understand going with the ones you dont
An interesting way to have taken this style of design and have her fit into Zaun's aesthetic would be to model her facial features, skin tone, accent, mannerisms, etc. off of a real world ethnic minority like Zeri or Ekko. Have Janna be the goddess of the people to the point where she starts to take on their appearance or traits. Demacia, Noxus, The Freljord, Piltover to an extent, and for some reason Bilgewater (come one where are the black or asian pirates?) and the Shadow Isles are overwhelmingly white European coded, Ionia is largely east asia themed, Shurima is kind of pan-african but mostly egyptian. But Zaun is pretty explicitly a melting-pot culture.
The choice that immediately comes to mind would be to make Janna semitic or romani since she's a spirit that urges people safely across the seas and away from danger with her wind, but basing her on polynesian cultures could also fit that role.
I absolutely love this ideas! This is more creative, interesting and full of life than the original! GG guys!
Janna was one of my first mains, along with Nami (support mains rise up) back in 2013/14 and I've always loved playing her but never knew anything about her story or lack thereof. These design ideas are super interesting and I'd love to see Riot do something like this
I loved his idea of giving her Zaunite trinkets that she keeps from offerings. I honestly wished that idea would carry into the final designs. It would connect her more visually with Zaun while also carrying the implication that this is a guardian who cares about even the little things her worshipers give her.
Still, the inhuman designs really sharply show WHAT she is very distinctly, and I would love to see Riot pull something similar in a Visual update.
I think that the best way to bring in the Zaun aspect of the design would be to keep the staff.
Make it aesthetically Zaunite + make it more of a harpoon + the dropped idea of carrying offerings.
But, and this is key, make sure that the Staff has nothing to do with her powers. She doesn't move, or twirl it to use her abilities or anything. At best she uses it to support herself sometimes.
Justify it in lore that she carries the staff and offerings as a sentimental gesture. The staff clashes with the rest of her aesthetics *because* it isn't part of her. But a gift by others.
Lean into the contrast between the inhumanity of an ethereal wind spirit. And the humanity of the staff and offerings, and the sentimentality of carrying them around.
Both designs ended up really good and It's really helpful to have explanations for your choices, especially as someone like me who wants to be a concept artist / character designer.
Also I NEED to know what's that brush he used for the faces (around 17:10) it looks gorgeous !
same
These videos are my absolute favourite. It's a treat, watching the issues get addressed and to see the design process from start to finish - especially how you work out those compromises with certain features.
2:03 that was extreamely satisfying
Wow! Both designs are great! Though I favor the Apple's a lot. The "sky eyes" was a great idea, and I liked Skyen's more alien design as well!
In fact, I think Skyen's might be the better distinguishing silhouette. Might be better for gameplay too!
oh she's gorgeous!!! I very much love Skyen's Janna, because I can feel the comfort from her.
As someone who's inspiring to become a character designer this is really eye opening for me, you make really good points and in my opinion it's really helping me and maybe other young artists to be better and considate to the story and lore, make something truely unique rather than pandering to "sex appeal" or quick "Eye candy", thank you for uploading and taking the time to talk about this
also your final versions are absolutely beautiful and everything I want to be able to do, and in my opinion they're much better fit than the current Janna
Do you think Riot will ever talk more about old Piltover and Zaun before the time of the Shuriman Emperor, personally I would like to see that aspect in Janna’s redesign.
15:11 - this is the moment that made me sub. great video!
I love Skyen design. I want it in every story.
I love both designs so much. The windy legs are amazing, and I really like that the ULT-Form looks so different, and breaks her up more. Amazing designs, thank you both for your ideas and this video
the face with the lines coming from her eyes making her look older, i love it so much, it fits in a weird way, also the other design with the thighs i like as well
With a year of retrospect and a bit more information on spirits, I would like to see Janna hold a mask of some sort. Tying her to Kindred a bit and more importantly, mask mother. Even the Azakana hold masks, so it'd be an interesting piece to focus on while also giving us a clear indication of what Janna is in universe.
I would love to see one of Nami, I feel that several changes could be made to make it look more interesting
One thing I had thought of throughout the video to link her to zaun would maybe be a soft green streak permanently tangled in her cloud hair as a symbol of the toxic air she saves the people of zaun from, sorta like they had to permanently suffer apart of themselves to keep zaun safe with that streak of green cloud etched into her being at all times
I would actually really enjoy a rework to have her look more motherly, and older. I enjoy that thought a lot and it would be a breath of fresh air. :D
fresh aid! like janna!!!