“JinxandVihavebeenclosetous
theentiretimethatwe’veworkedat
Riot,”Yeeexplains.“Webothworked
withtheteamsthatoriginallycreated
thechampions.”ForLinke,thetwo
charactersalsorepresentbig
milestonesinhiscareer:Vi’stheme
songwasthefirstonetoeverfeature
a vocalistandlyrics,whileJinx’s
trailerwasthefirsttimeRiothad
pairedwithanimationstudio
Fortiche,wholaterhelpedbring
Arcanetolife.
Buttheideatoturnthesetwo
charactersintotheleadingstarsof
theirownTVshowwasn’ttheresult
ofsomeambitious,corporateplan.
Thewholethingstartedgrassrootsas
a passionprojectbetweenthetwo
friends,andmosteveryoneatRiot
barelyknewit evenexisted.“Inthe
verybeginningthiswasa wild
dream,”Yeesays.“Forusit was,like,
we’llgountilsomeonestopsus.So
thefirstoneortwoyearswerejust
reallyaboutwhatis ourtone?How
dowerepresentthesecharacters?
Howbigdowewantthesestoriesto
be?Howmanychampionscanweget
intoa storywithoutviolatingthe
narrativeofthecorecharacters?”
“Wehadthisverynaivedreamof
seeingthiskindofqualitythatyou
seeinworld-classanimatedfeatures,
butina serialisedanimatedseries
thatgoesasdeepintotheactingand
narrativethatourfavouriteshows
go,”Linkesays.“Itdidn’texist,and
wedidn’tknowhowtomakeit,but
weknewit neededtoexist.”
GROWINGPAINS
MakingananimatedTVseriesisn’t
somethingyoujustdo.Ittakes
enormousteamsoftalentedartists
yearstobringprojectslikethistolife
- nottomentionLinkeandYee’s
dreamofdoingtheimpossibleand
takingthequalityofPixarand
injectingit into 360 minutesofTV.
AllRiothadwastwotwenty-
somethingsinneedofa realitycheck.
Linkerecallsoneofthefirstmajor
challengeswasevenfiguringoutwhat
it lookslikewhenLeaguechampions
talk.“Inourgame,youdon’tsee
animationofthemtalking,sowe
didn’tknowwhattheirfaceswould
evenlooklikewhentheytalk!”Yee
explains.“Thatwasthefirst
animationtestthatcost,like, 15 grand
orso.Let’stakea model,record
someonefromRiotfora ten-second
clip,andlet’sjustseeVisay
something.Andthatwasthefirsttime
thatwecouldevenbegintoimagine
togetherasa teamwhatthiswouldbe
liketowatchthisonthescreen.”
EvenwithFortiche’sanimation
expertise,thesmallParis-based
studiowasnotequippedfora project
thisbig.Mostofitsworkatthatpoint
hadbeenmusicvideosforartistslike
Gorillazandotheranimatedshorts.
Tosupporta productionasbigas
Arcane,everythinghadtobebuilt
fromscratch.“Whenwedidthefirst
tests,I thinkit waslikefivepeople,”
Linkesays.“Atthepeakofproduction
it was300.Sowhenyoubuildthe
projectandthestoryatthesametime
asthestudio,youjustinevitablyhaveBELOW: (^) Piltover is the
glorious city of
progress and
scientific wonders...
BOTTOM: (^) ...but it
oppresses and
exploits the people of
Zaun, the undercity
below its streets.
RIOT GAMES
JINX
Anundercity
inventordesperateto
proveherself,but
neversureif she’son
therightpath.
VI
Jinx’sbigsister– a
fearlessbare-knuckle
fighterwhojustwants
toprotecther
undercityfamily.
CAITLYN
A stubbornyet
intelligentnoblewho
abandonsherlineage
tojoinPiltover’s
Enforcers.
JAYCE
Ambitious and
altruistic to a fault,
Jayce is a gifted
scientist on the verge
of a huge discovery.
CASTING CALL
Meet some of the League champions featured in Arcane
VIKTOR
Jayce’sscientific
partner,anobsessive
pragmatistwhowon’t
leta littleredtape
holdbackprogress.