Riot Games approached me in November to create Vayne's (newly updated) full costume and props, as a part of the celebrations for the 2021 League of Legends season start!
I added Vayne to my Portfolio and you can see more photos of her there!
I also edited a full costume build video where you can see how I made each part of the costume! Enjoy!
I was very happy for the opportunity to portray a long-standing Champion such as Vayne, and after a long year of feeling creatively stagnant (yay 2020!), I thought this would be a great challenge to take on. I've made five other League costumes so far, either because the design spoke to me or because something about the character resonated with me. Vayne was one of the first Champions in League that caught my eye (years ago) but I'll be honest, I wasn't really drawn to her old default skin. It was a bit cartoony with the huge oversized crossbow and superhero red and blue color scheme. That's why I became really intrigued by the updated design, which is much more realistic and wearable, and I'm really stoked that I got to make this costume.
Speaking of the 2021 League of Legends season, Vayne was featured in the Opening Cinematic and I can't help but wonder what this will mean for the development of her character in the future. League is known for their world building and intertwining playable characters through storylines that span multiple years, so you know there has got to be a reason for them to bring Vayne into the current storyline! How did she team up with Poppy? What does the last scene mean? I couldn't get any answers and after watching the Cinematic, I'm more curious than ever lol.
When I signed onto the project, I had exactly one month to make the costume, do a photoshoot and edit an extensive video documenting everything. So, I started collecting materials and patterning out the costume right away. This project involved a lot of planning because I had to split up the work between two locations to accommodate the sheer scale of it and the video recording. I did all the garment work in the sewing room at my house and used my warehouse for prop building where I could use power tools and get really dirty. I ended up keeping a daily task list on my phone that helped me stay on course and be efficient with my time. I would sand foam, mold pieces or paint in the warehouse in the mornings and then I’d be sewing at home while materials were curing or drying.
Vayne is a very special costume to me because I really got to sink my teeth into the costume build for a whole month and put a lot of the skills I’ve learned over the years to the test. Thanks to Riot Games hiring me for a promotional campaign, I was also able to document the entire process and take the time to make a solid build video for everyone. I really appreciate the opportunity, especially since I haven’t been able to do a lot of collaborations like this in the past. Pre-pandemic, I traveled far too often to be able to take on this kind of work, but while making Vayne, I really benefited from having a hard deadline and schedule to adhere to.
It was also really cool to be able to do a photo/video shoot in a cemetery once the costume was done. Thanks so much to Legend of Micah and Brian Boling for doing the shoot with me. It was a cold wintery day in December, we lost the sun half-way through, and I became quite exhausted from the brisk temperatures and action sequences, but the showcase really brought the character to life.
I hope you enjoyed following along my Vayne build as much as I did making it!
