ARCANE: The Blurring of 2D and 3D

(SPOILER-FREE POST) ✨

With the completion of Arcane’s second and final season, the beauty of its complex world and characters has come to a temporary close.

Arcane is a series revolving around the origin story of two characters from a popular game called League of Legends. This multiplayer battle arena video game, developed by Riot Games, has stayed popular since its release in 2009. From it, a world of characters has been born. Arcane explores the story of two sisters, Vi and Jinx, and the clash between two cities, Piltover and Zaun.

One of the things that sticks out about Arcane immediately is its breathtaking visuals. Similar to Into the Spider-Verse, Arcane has greatly impacted the artistic community with its approach to 3D models and attention to detail. This post will give a snapshot of why Arcane’s visuals are so impressive.

*Piltover being attacked by colorful smoke*

The French animation studio Fortiche is behind the visuals of Arcane. This series uses 3D models with 2D effects to enhance the visuals. Blending these two together is known within the company as the “Fortiche Touch.”

Arcane features 3D models with a stylistically iconic, almost painterly-like, effect. But what is most shocking is that the backgrounds of the series are 2D paintings to which the characters are added.

Now, there are some exceptions. Some scenes heavily use 3D but, to avoid having to traditionally paint everything (especially during scenes with intense camera movement), projection is used. This is where 2D textures are pre-set and overlaid on a 3D object.

At points, it can be difficult to determine what is 2D and 3D because Fortiche integrates these two so well to create a dynamic visual experience that fits within the budget provided for the show.

Another interesting thing about Arcane is that all visual effects such as smoke, the light from gunshots hitting metal, and intense lightening are ALL hand-drawn by VFX artists. This adds a lot of stylistic flare, especially to fight scenes where VFX is used heavily.

One small visual detail that I found endearing was the use of two different rigs for Jinx’s face. One that was entirely based around her adult form, while another that resembled her innocent face as a child.

This series acts as eye candy for artists of all kinds. No matter what you’re interested in, the complex and delicate balance of 2D and 3D within Arcane is so striking that it is a must-watch for everyone. So much can be learned from analyzing shot composition, perspective, color usage, character design, camera movement, and so on and so forth.

Here’s a video that helps show the magic behind the animation:

While attending the Savannah College of Art and Design for a recent summer program, I was tasked with creating a character design from an already existing universe. I chose Arcane, and from it, I found some great references:

This website features a ton of background concept art of Zaun, Piltover, weapons, and the character’s 3D models. At the bottom, there are a bunch of videos on Arcane’s development and the motivation behind it’s creation. So if you’re interested, be sure to take a peek! (It also makes great references for fanart…)

There’s also a really awesome Tumblr blog that features official concept art, posters, and models from the series.

Finally, there’s a book on the Art of Arcane coming out on December 3, 2024! If you’re ever interested in exploring and learning more from it, check it out!