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zdux · 1 year

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Thoughts on: Faerie Court Skin Line

Alright, no one asked, but I love character/skin design and I want to write my piece on these because they have me excited.

The first thing I noticed about the Faerie Court Skins, which I will be calling "FC" for short, was the colors. Each splash art and in game model has lots of colors. I am going to be mainly talking about the splash arts here, not the in game models. I've got a couple things I wanna say about each skin, as well as the skin line as a whole, and some complaints that I am gonna tack on here and there.

Starting with Ezreal,

I really like this! I think it embodies Ezreal's silly, charismatic personality quite well. It has charm, especially with that big grin on his face and the littler faeries all around him. Seeing him playing or exploring with the smaller faeries gives this sense of playfulness, like he's leading them on an adventure. Having him lean on the tree like that gives the feeling that he just landed, mid flight. It reminds me a lot of that feeling you get from Treasure Planet, or Tinkerbell, that childhood exploration of "going on an adventure!" with all the charm and silliness that is Ezreal.

The face markings/pieces are a really nice touch. I think Ezreal's standard blue marks are all too easily forgotten, especially because I don't think we actually *know* what they are? But with FC we have these elegant, larger pieces that take up more space on his cheekbones and forehead, really adding this magical charm that he *isn't* just a human in a faerie costume. Not that they wouldn't be hard to replicate, any good cosplayer could make them, but I do think they are a nice touch that helps solidify the gem on his chest as it's own, connected piece and something separate from the gauntlet. Having the,, jewelry (?) match with the center gem, where the gauntlet takes on the color of his wings comes across quite well to me. I think those choices do a good job at showcasing which parts of him are the most magical; those of course being the faerie wings and the mystical gauntlet.

Overall, I'm a big fan of FC Ezreal, I'd honestly give this skin a 9/10.

Moving onto Kallista!

I am ESTATIC that Kallista finally got a skin, it's been too long. And I REALLY like this as well! First of all, the color scheme. The warm colors of orange and red and pink with this fall forest really make her keep purples and elegant golds stand out without alienating them. I think the splash art itself is just beautiful to look at.

I do think it was a little unnecessary to give her shorts here, I think pants and no feathers would've sufficed, but it's not a huge complaint. Having her with pink on one side and purple on the other is a little bit messy, especially since it seems to swap sides only on her hip piece (sorry don't know the armor term here) and then go back to normal on the arms and legs, but that's again, not a huge complaint. My only real complains with this skin is small things, like "quality of life" kind of stuff.

However, my absolute FAVORITE thing about this skin, is the wings. Using the sharpness of these dragonfly-esque wings to replace the shape language that her spears construct is a GREAT choice. I think it's clean, it's well done, and with the glowing details on her shoulder, headpiece and spear, I think this is a really cool skin. I will touch more on the crystal weapons once I talk about more of them, that is coming up.

Once again, high rating here, she's getting an 8/10

Next we have: Seraphine!

Now I'll be honest, I always tend to have mixed feelings when Seraphine skins come out, because many of them simply go "she's a singer!" and don't tend to change her story very much. However, without knowing the lore, I'm going to give FC Seraphine the benefit of the doubt, because this splash art does not convey "musician" to me. She is sitting on her stage, surrounded by makeup. There is a vanity in front of her, as well as someone doing their own makeup in the back. This reads much more like a makeup artist, like a faerie I would see doing court makeup than a music artist. And honestly, I like that! If that's true, if they are actually going with that concept instead of "the court musician" then I'm ecstatic! This will be really the only skin of Seraphine's to make her anything other than a singer, and she was in desperate need of that.

I love the colors here, making her hair fade from that green to pink with her bangs just slightly turning into wings is a really pretty and clever trick, as well as turning her normal hair floof at the top of her head into a cute little butterfly hairpiece is a nice touch.

My only *real* complaint with this skin is one that has a catch. If this is skin *is* Seraphine; the faerie who loves makeup, rides around on her vanity seat using pixie dust and making people feel good about themselves through the power of art and song: I think they toned her own makeup down WAY too much. I'll talk about it when I address the induvial characters more, for Fiora and Katarina have such bold makeup, Fiora in particular, that if the royal makeup artist/the one who's supposed to be good at makeup and making herself look friendly, presentable, and a little over the top because after all she is a performer, only has a bit of pink and a butterfly painted on? Seems a little bit boring. But, that's really my only complaint here, other than maybe smoothing out the shape language of the stage a bit. I do say, this is a tentative complaint, because I doubt we're getting anything other than "Seraphine, the faerie who loves to sing and brings people together by her vocal fae magic!" which is cute but, unoriginal for Seraphine.

For my rating, I'd say she gets two. If it's "just another singer skin" Seraphine, I'm giving it 4/10. If it's something more creative, maybe using the makeup or pixie dust I mentioned, 7/10. I think this skin is going to rely HEAVILY on it's lore.

Next: Milio!

I'll be honest, I don't have a whole lot to say about this splash art. This is of course, Milio's debut skin, but I was struggling to find a good image of his original to compare it to.

Overall, I will note the things I like about this one. I think making his little companions have a little more form to them other than just blobs was a cute choice. I also like the new outfit, it's a little more form fitting and I think expresses the "court" part in faerie court. He looks like a little kid who got dressed up for a special occasion, his outfit is a little over the top because he didn't pick it, he's trying to look formal. The haircut I have mixed feelings on, I think it's cute and makes him look a little chubbier with how it frames his face (which by all means is a good thing, we have a lot of dainty itty bitty thin shapes in this line, having a character with a rounder face is a nice change of pace from your typical skinny white elves.) I think they tried to keep a bit of the boxy shape his other haircut gave him by using the headpiece, but it didn't quite work. My only real complaints is the strange shoulder light bulbs and the little crown that's somehow magically floating on his bangs.

I'll give Milio here a 6/10. I like the vibes, the playfulness, but it's got a few things it could tweak.

Next up, Fiora

This is where I slow down on singing the praises of the FC skins. Not that I don't like it, I very much like it, but I've noticed a reoccurring pattern with these skins and their splash poses looking very,,,, bland. I like some of them, but there is a lack of life to others, like Fiora's here.

Having her guard some sort of special butterfly/faerie area I like, I think this pose and the composition here is well done. But,,, it's just another Fiora splash art where she is showing off her sword. I think her design in this skin line is pretty, it's interesting! And this just covers up most of it with her sword. I want to see the details of her outfit, I want to see how it looks without her sword pointed at me. I think that this is a pretty skin, but leaning into the faerie armor that Kallista's skin brings to the table, this feels honorary, this feels like she was given permission to "bring her sword to the dinner table" because she still has her crown on. Hopefully the lore will make it a bit more interesting, but it's not doing a whole lot for me.

Note: Did realize while looking at this that there is people in the back like an audience, and that lead to the implication of like, a royal fighter in an arena, which could be cool but I do think that everything I said before still holds.

Sorry Fiora, but unless that lore drop really helps build this splash art, I can only give you a 3/10. Lovely splash, but it doesn't feel like it's bringing anything *new* to Fiora.

Up next, Karma!

I,,, still haven't made up my mind about this one yet. There's things I like and things I don't, so let's get into it.

For a few good things to start, I love the shape language here. I love the flow. Her shield feels natural here, it feels like she is truly a Faerie Queen, radiating her power, reaching out to the magic around her. I think the gold on the wings is a strong move, though could have been a bit stronger. Having inorganic pieces on one of the most organic parts of her, the wings, feels powerful, it feels like some kind of upgrade or augmentation.

However, I do have some issues with this skin. I think it's colors are a little all over the place, with her hair feeling incredibly light compared to the deep purples of her outfit and wings. The pink on her wings is very subtle, and I don't think it connects it enough. I also think they leaned REALLY hard into the butterfly theme with this entire skin line (cough elderwood rakan and xayah cough) but then kept the lotus COMPELTELY the same as usual. Her makeup seems a bit boring, and with how they gave Ezreal these fancy upgrades for his face markings, it feels unbalanced that the faerie QUEEN still just has her simple ones.

I like this skin, I think it's very pretty, but it really doesn't radiate "all powerful and elegant faerie queen" to me. 6/10

Last but not least, we have Katarina.

Since she has two, I'll sort of talk about them in tandem. My single biggest issue with these two skins is an issue Riot has a LOT: Same Face Syndrome. In this case, it applies less to the actual face, but more to the detailing in the splash art.

I'll give, normal FC Katarina doesn't do this has much as the prestige, but these two skins?

Are a bit,,, too similar for my liking. They are different, I'm not saying Diana and Kat are completely the same here, but you can't deny the similarities. White hair being held up in the air mysterious, blue color schemes with hints of lighter blue, grey, white, and maybe a little green, as well as a subtle metallic.

I like FC Katarina, but it does feel a little,,, bland, with winter blessed being so recent. However, putting that aside, there are some things I like about this skin.

For one, her expression. Kat is kind of a mischievous character, and many of her skins portray that with her expression, like Battle Queen or Battle Academia. Both of those skins give off a "ready to stab you when you aren't looking!" vibe that fits Kat, but with this? She looks somber, thinking, like she's done this fight a million times before and knows how it will play out reliably. And I like that, I like that sort of otherworldly reliance on her own magic and skills, it makes her feel confident but not arrogant. The eyes on the wings are gorgeous, and the wind moving as she spins and slices through it adds as a gracefulness that suits it very well.

Putting aside it's similarities to Winterblessed Diana, I'll give this skin an 8/10. I truly think it's beautiful, and I love the sort of "new" vibe it gives Kat.

Prestige... on the other hand...

*sigh*

Honestly, if you told me these were the same character, I would probably believe you.

Now, I will be honest and admit, I hadn't seen Prestige Star Guardian Syndra in a while and I did think it was more purple, however these two,,, they feel the exact same. They even have almost the same expression, Kat's mouth is just closed.

I've always thought that the artistic goal of prestige skins was to add to a character cosmetically in ways the original skin did not. To add details and an alternative outfit/aesthetic to their new form provided by the lore of the skin line... and this... isn't that.

I really don't know what Prestige FC Kat is supposed to convey other than the fact that Riot seems to think powerful women with cool color schemes sitting is sexy or something because I'm not getting a lot here. She's a pretty woman,, sitting,,, with her weapons. I would even give this a little more of a break if there was anything Unique here, but there isn't: The only character with an different title is Faerie Queen Karma. This skin feels much more like royalty with the big wings and the seat and everything, and I think that Karma deserved the prestige much more here. Making a "Lunar Moth Queen" Karma would've been a MILLION times better than,,, this. Sorry Kat mains, but I'm giving it a 2/10.

For my final sort of overview of all the skins, there's a couple things I need to mention. First off, the weapons. I think the "crystal weapons that match your wings" is really cool looking. I don't know how well it'll hold up lore wise when that time comes, but I like how they look at I'm curious at how that universe will talk about them. Secondly, the butterfly in the room: butterflies. I think this skin line can technically be boiled down to "upgraded elderwood rakan and xayah" but that's okay. I would've loved to see Rakan and Xayah get skins for this in sort of a "from the elderwood they have grown, and in the court of faeries they blossom" where it connects their elderwood stories with the fearie court and we get new skins for them, but that's a lot to ask right after they got new skins with Broken Covenant, like, today? I think the skinline would've been served better by having more variation than just "butterfly." My favorite skin in this would have to be Kallista, and a good part of that goes to her being unique, she's the only one who isn't completely butterfly. Overall, I think the skinline is pretty, I think it could tell a really fun fantasy story if done right, and I have my gripes with certain parts of it, but I do like it quite a bit. For the whole skin like: 7/10.

If you read this far, thank you, it really means a lot to me that you read through all this. I'm really passionate about character design/skin design and my views on it have absolutely been inspired and shaped by TBSkyen, so credit to him for inspiring me enough as a creator to feel confident enough to share these thoughts. If ya'll like this sort of thing, I would absolutely be willing to make more posts addressing skin lines and character design. Let me know in the notes! ^^

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