Tutorial: Fan Art from League of Legends, Bladecraft Orriana

This tutorial will be focusing on how to create recognizable fan art. If you don't play League of Legends, this art piece is of Orriana in her Bladecraft skin. The key element distinguishes Orriana is her robotic ball. So if you want to create any type of fan art you must find the element that represents that character, for instance if you were drawing Spiderman, his key elements are his large eyes and his spider symbol on his chest and back. Once you figure out the thing that allows you to recognize that character, you focus on either creating your own interpretation of it, or you mirror it's details into your own work. For this art piece, the ball must be done to the closest detail since that is what makes Orriana recognizable. Since the artist is copying off an original image then creating her own interpretation, it's very important to perfect the drawing of the ball.

This drawing is fairly simple, but it's the shading that adds to its complexity. This particular style seems to be a mix of a Comic Book and a Anime'ish style. To get this same effect you need to start drawing a light outline on what you want to draw. The lines are very strong and rigid so perfecting the outline is very important. Since this image is in colour it is more difficult to judge the shading, so try to find a black and white image if you are struggling to copy the one above. Once you have created a fairly solid light outline of what you want to draw, you can either start by adding in shading inside those lines, or darkening the outline. Personally I would start with shading on the inside first. To get the same shiny effect, you need to shade by layering and also shade in the direction of the object. For example when you are shading a ball you need to be using curved lines to act as the shading, not straight lines. If you are struggling with shading, you can use your eraser to help lighten the areas where you have gone too dark.

Feel free to post your outcome in the comments below, have fun!

Artist: Akaibelier
Picture retrieved from: [CommBSWC] Orianna by Akaibelier