What did the development of the new Star Guardian skins look like? Here are some early concepts.
During this year’s Star Guardian event, a dozen or so heroes received new skins. Riot introduced an event much more extensive in content than usual – not only League of Legends got its own pass, visual novel, expansion of the plot of the universe, or cosmetic accessories. New features also appeared in Wild Rift (both in terms of skins and story expansion) and in Legends of Runeterra, where Gwen got a unique skin.
You can talk a lot about the holiday event. Fans of the universe were pleased that Riot returned to the Star Guardian series and developed it with new plot threads. Others have complained that the event was pretty lame as there had been all sorts of bugs in awarding rewards, completing missions, and the like over a long period of time.
However, it is worth focusing on the skins themselves. Some of them have changed a lot during the design phase – the original version hardly looks like the final product.
What did some of the skins look like at the very beginning of creation? Has Riot picked a more interesting version or should it have stuck with the early concepts?
Early versions of Star Guardian skins
Julian del Rey, one of the artists working for Riot Games, posted early ideas for some of this year’s Star Guardian skins. As you know, two legendary skins have appeared in League of Legends – Akali and Kai’Sa. Both have changed a lot during their creation process.
It was similar with Star Guardian Senna, which is one of the exclusive skins for Wild Rift (right next to Seraphine and Orianna). The original version of Senna’s Star Guardian is completely different from what the players ultimately got.
Star Guardian Kai’Sa
Early concept:
Final version:
Star Guardian Akali
Early concept:
Final version:
Star Guardian Senna
Early concept:
Final version:
Star Guardian Seraphine
Early concept:
Final version:
As you can see, this year’s Star Guardian skins have come a long way if you look at the early concepts and then compare them to the final in-game build.