Have you ever wondered why there are so many champions in League have not received a new skin for a long time? Why champions like Akali, Lux, and Ahri are often getting skin every few patches?
But have you ever wondered how often would you pick Morderkaiser for Top, or Skarner – The Crustal Vanguard for Jungle, Aurelion Sol for mid lane, the Chronokeeper – Zilean for support, or Kalista – The Spear of Vengeance for ADC?
Most of these champions above and many more are heavily outdated and are the least popular ones in the current meta.
“Outdated?”
Based on League of Legends’ database, Taliyah does not even show up in the pick rate ranking. However, Kalista (1.94% pick rates) is lucky enough that she shows up at the second place from the bottom of the ranking, right above Swain (0.71%). Ironically, as an AD Carry, Kalista’s picking rate for the bottom lane is even lower than Yasuo (2.28%) or Cassiopeia (2.72%).
Therefore, it is understandable that Riot Games developers must please the majority of players.
How Long Does It Take to Make A Skin?
It usually takes 5 to 6 months to create a skin. From the concept art, 3D Modeling, illustrate splash art, VFX (Visual Effect), to record voices for the champion.
In Fall 2019, I once attended a Riot Games presentation in California, one of the Senior 3D character artists has told us: “Whatever the players want, we please them. Normally it would take us 3 to five months, or maybe even up to a year just to plan out for the skin concept art. However, once we saw the players love this one specific champion, we will make their wish come true, we will deliver a new skin as our appreciation to them as the game producers.
For example, remember when K/DA came out, and how people were so crazy about K/DA Ahri and Akali? Our art department went crazy, too. We quickly created concept art for prestige K/DA Ahri and Akali within a week or two. You know how long it normally takes us to make a skin? At least 5 months, but we saw all the love that League players have given K/DA, we decided to create more skins for them.”
And remember that Prestige K/DA Ahri skin when it first came out last year? A lot of people brought hate to it, including me. But most of us did not know how hard the creative team have worked on it to make it meet the deadline.
Therefore, if you want your favorite champions to receive new skins, play them a lot! Maybe one day they will get picked on for the next Legendary skins!