"True Damage" Senna, LoL -- commission (Patreon)

This was super fun; I love when I get to tackle something new, especially when it comes to backgrounds.

The client wanted a very specific background, and also specifically wanted the shot to be at a low angle, so we could be looking at Senna's foot from below. Specifications like this can be tricky for the artist, because they require you to work on the character and the background at the same time. If I laid out the perspective and structure of the background first, without considering the figure alongside it, it would risk limiting the figure to a small set of poses that might not accomplish the original pose idea (for example, if I went too low with the angle, or too close, it might hide Senna's right foot on top of that step). On the other hand, if I went with the figure first, and only did the background later, it would risk giving us a dull, boring angle and perspective, OR, even worse, giving us a nonsensical perspective that just doesn't make sense.

Another tricky thing that I've been thinking about is how big to make a character's foot when it's closer to the screen. Most of my pieces feature the camera rather close to the character's feet, which often means that the camera is a bit lower, which thus moves the horizon line, and thus influences the vanishing point... All of these things have to be taken into consideration when doing more complex pieces.

Do you play League of Legends? Let me know in the comments below!