DH5: 062 -Teemo, The Swift Scout

Hup two, three, four! It's the sixty second highfive!

Better stay clear of those bushes, it's that mushroom dropping doom-bringer Teemo! shown here atop one of his nasty creations!

Teemo is a total punk. I've shown my distaste for him in Caveman Udyr Many times and I stand by my decision to dislike everything about him. How can this thing take a hit at all? A minion should be able to massacre this pipsqueak!  he's got a dumb little hat and a blow gun! I mean seriously! In all seriousness I see the draw the small guy has being cute and all but I'm just a fan of the meaner and goofier champs myself. I have never been a fan of these Yordle characters, I'm hoping that the lore takes a dark turn and they become a delicious main food group to all three kingdoms and that will be the end of them.

In game Teemo can be a real mess. I've played against one that I swear had over a hundred mushrooms down on the map and could 1v1 anyone without an exhaust. Damage or hybrid seems to be able to stay deadly and as long as he stays out of any clutches of enemy champions he can deal out some pretty serious damage. Luckily when you finally do grab him he vaporizes like Kleenex. I remember when you'd get gold for killing his mushrooms so at around midgame, your ranged carry would go "Mushroom farming" and buy an oracles and clear the map of enemy shrooms while making tons of money. Anyone a fan of this fierce little fighter? Then blowgun in your comment below!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 061 -Veigar, The Tiny Master of Evil

Our 61st highfive! hooray!

It's that pipsqueak powerhouse Veigar! Armed to the teeth with ability power and ready to rip down casters and anyone foolish enough to be stacking AP!

Veigar is an obvious homage to ViVi or maybe the Black Mages of Final Fantasy in general. He has the strange staff top that a lot of the classic League of Legends characters have and a very cool giant hand that constantly twitches with power. He walks really hilariously and his spells look great. All in all a pretty fun design with some neat things that bring some originality to a mage character. When dark matter comes hurtling down to the arena floor, everybody pays attention to this tiny terror.

In game if theres a Veigar who knows whats up and can pick on someone with a large amount of AP then the other team has their work cut out for them. Veigar can build up that baleful strike and just destroy characters. His event horizon can lock down multiple foes and I've seen a few use flash as an initiator and really tear things up. A super squishy but mean little guy on the battlefield, he may take a bit to get used to but holy cow can he deal out the magical beats. Anyone a fan of this miniature magic user? charge up that chaotic energy and blast in a comment below!

-jouste the drawarian

Weekender vol. 013

Swinging into action on extension cords, it's the thirteenth weekender!

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Another busy busy week. Between work and side projects I've barely had any time to actually sit down and enjoy drawing. There was a great post from Monster Brains that showed a bunch of old VHS monster movie covers. It really made me feel nostalgic, I always saw these Horror VHS covers growing up and began making up how the movies would be inside my head. I found out quickly that a very cool cover can become a very disappointing movie.

But I still find so much potential in the damn things, I remember going through tons of video rental places in the used bin and finding solid gold in the form of monstrous covers. I would always make up what would happen in the movie in my head to save myself the disappointment of watching another bomb, it was really inspiring stuff and probably a good exercise.

So everyone have an awesome week! and lets get some more highfives done up!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 060 -Maokai, The Twisted Treant

Timber! It's Crabthief Fridays alongside our 60th DH5! Big thanks to Cycrum co. creator of Tales from the Tarpit for the idea!

 A twisted treant tank Maokai gets his sapling stolen by that cunning crustacean! I'm not sure you really want that little guy crab, plans like this might end up blowing up in your claws!

Maokai has some great asymmetry happening in his character design. A giant, shield like wedge of an arm along with a hulking head and lumbering movement. His saplings are hilarious and are animated extremely well and he's over all a fun and intimidating champion to look at. I only wish that he kept some of his accessories that were around in his initial concept art but his skins look amazing and make up for that shortcoming. His palette also seems to have very little variance or contrasting colors so a lot of the details end up muddling together.

In game Maokai's are a pretty sweet deal, at least as far as he ones I've had on my team. I'm not sure where he falls into now but having that great AoE area to fight in and a solid stun and LoS sapling  for harass makes him a pretty cool package for tanking and support. I'm not too sure how strong his passive is but I'm sure it helps him during the laning phase with that little bump of healing. Is anyone a fan of this wooden warrior? Rig your saplings to explode with comments and toss them below!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 059 -Heimerdinger, The Revered Inventor

Holy cow! It's the 59th highfive!

Better put on your thinking cap because it's that irritating inventor Heimerdinger! Here he is taking a few important measurements while he hides behind his trusty turret!

As much as I can't stand ANY yordle character, I do like the Looney Toons styling of Heimer. His rickety turrets that flop down on the field are hilarious and his arcing bombs look great when exploding all over the enemy. His massive amount of hair has led to some interesting skin directions and his character is pretty fun to just look at overall. The tech of the earlier champs like Heimer tends to look a little cheap but it eventually grew on me.

I remember when nobody built the turrets on Heimer and it was all about AP stacking and those damn rockets. man was that ever a raw deal. Those things would track like three enemies at once and just decimate them with that brutal AP ratio. Luckily now he plays more to his initial design but that still makes him one annoying character to deal with. he can hold a lane forever and eventually just push it apart. So is there any fan for the frazzled fan-dangler? be sure to take out your commenting wrench and torque out a few words below! We always enjoy hearing  from you!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 058 -Taric, The Gem Knight

Our 58th DH5 is here! Hooray!

It's everyone's favorite gem-encrusted champion Taric! looks like he lost a couple lustrous stones on that last battle!

Taric's desgin always made me laugh a bit. I like the idea that gems are magical, and the more un-cut gems I cram onto my person; the more magical I become. There's not a lot of rhyme or reason to the placement of the blue jewels that don his armor, but rest assured he's gone all out. The weapon and shield combo isn't used too much in League of Legends which is kind of a shame because it's so classic. Tarics abilities and cheesy voice work make him a really solid design and a fun character to draw. I've already tackled him before but need to complete the whole roster!

Taric was probably one of the first champions that I played and kind of "Got". It was back in beta so support and healing in general was pretty powerful and his shatter was one of the coolest abilities ever. Now he doesn't really fit my playstyle too much but I remember having loads of fun as this guy with his awesome stun and strong heal. You could go a little crazy and build him attack speed and damage with some funny results and now it's still pretty great to run with a Taric if your a Sion and looking for a lane partner. Anyone a big fan of this fabulous foe-smasher? take your finest gem-comment and socket it below!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 057 -Ryze, The Rogue Mage

Sweetness! Our 57th highfive! How shocking!

BRRRZZZAT! Sounds like it's that lightning-based lunatic Ryze! Ready to deliver bolt after bolt of electrical eradication!

Ryze may have belts all over his legs but i'm a fan of his design anyways. I love the idea of spell books and giant scrolls and the more you have of them the more powerful the character would be. I like Ryze's atmosphere, he seems calm and collected but behind hat demeanor you get the feeling that theres an unbelievable wave of destruction just crackling to escape out of his enchanted fingers. The tribal runes all over his body are like magical scarification and add another layer of runic savagery to this already imposing character design. 

In game I don't normally take on the role as a caster but I've seen enough to be able to tell when a Ryze is unbridled and decked out in gear.  He's been re-worked a bit which is always interesting in League of Legends on the rare occurrence that it happens, but he always seems to remain a strong ability power based champion. I've faced and have played with some very strong Ryzes, ones that would take flash as an initiator and use it to maximize the destructive spell flux and rune prison and then explode the rest of the enemy apart with an overload. While he unleashes all this power he's usually activating desperate power, gaining a ton of spell vamp and making all those spells cause AoE. Anyone a fan of this shocking soothsayer? Read some runes and channel out some comments below! It's always great hearing from everybody!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 056 -Brand, The Burning Vengeance

Hooray! Onto week 13 and another daily highfive!

Today it's that thigh-belted fireball Brand! ready to give enemy champions the hotfoot! 

Brand is a dude, on fire, with 6 thigh-belts. The skin set up is pretty neat with the underlying magma and what-not but I don't find him all that compelling as a character design. I always liked the idea of fire based characters but this guy needs some accessories or something. A weapon? An apparatus for greater fire-focusing? Maybe some more intricate caster armor or something asymmetrical? I guess the things that draws me to castes as far as aesthetics go is that they can be donned in anything and still be powerful,  Brand is supposedly this Ancient force of burning hatred but comes off looking like a magical hobo who's thighs keep falling down.

In game I haven't faced to many Brands. I know that he can really tear it up and has limited escape tricks and that whenever I'm fighting him my character is mostly aflame. I'm never that good at the ranged casters but maybe Brand's searing form of  slaying is up my alley? What makes him a fun and effective caster to use? Anyone out there a fan of this fearsome and fiery foe? please leave a comment with why or why not I should give this guy a try! thanks in advance!

-jouste the drawbarian

Weekender vol. 012

Looks like its time for some yard work on an epic scale!

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The twelfth issue of the weekender has arrived! last week was awesome as most weeks go, I made it to the 1 year anniversary of the Fullindie Meetup which is always an awesome time. I entered Stexe's way cool champion contest and made it into the final 4! All in all a pretty productive week. So I'm going to be trying to get my act together and finish up my side stuff but man alive have I been biting off more than I can chew. I'm not really sure why it keeps on happening but I believe that I was close to a breaking point last week.

All is good tough! and this next week marks another pile of stuff that I can get completed! so thanks for all the comments and support everyone! It really helps me keep going!

have an awesome week!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 055 -Tryndamere, The Barbarian King

Crabthief Fridays along with the 55th DH5! how fancy!

It would seem that crabthief has struck again! this time digging deep into the pockets of a champion and stealing their items! Looks like Tryndamere has had his brawlers glove taken from him! And he's not very happy about it!

Tryndamere is a barbarian king which pretty much makes me like his design by default. I love the oldschool armor and the giant sword with the barbed blade. The blue orbs kind of confused me as they look a little mystical and I tend to like my barbarians like Conan, who's very superstitious of magic and would much rather use a sturdy axe over an enchanted blade. Tryndamere has gone through a few aesthetic overhauls as far as splash screens have gone, and he now looks totally battle ready and prepared to take on anything. I'd need to be corrected but I believe that Marc Merril's Tryndamere was an Everquest character of his? either way I think that that's awesome that they've carried over their avatars from previous games, almost like they've gotten digitally resurrected!

Oh Tryndamere, when you see him in a game it's like a giant clock is hovering over your head. You are thinking "Ok, if this guy gets his hands on some late game gear there is NOTHING that we are going to be able to do.". Tryndamere has some really awesome spells and some cool synergy with moves, the idea that he gets to be completely immune to damage for 5 seconds is a horrifying thought and I've seen some Trynds whirl right into a group of 4 folks and just start killing everything. Is anyone a barbarian main? or just a big fan! sharpen up your giant sword and carve in a few comments! Thanks everyone!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 054 -Ezreal, The Prodigal Explorer

Alright! It's the 54th DH5!

This time it looks like that mobile missile launcher Ezreal! ready to blink through walls and mystic shot you into pieces!

I'm not too sure where they were going with Ezreal's design. I think I came to the conclusion that he's kind of like a young Indiana Jones with some character from an anime that I've never seen before mixed in or something. Ezreal's proportions always seemed a little off to me for being so even, usually characters are much more varied but Ezreal has some thickness to his boyish frame that looks a little weird to me. Ez always gets a bad wrap for looking a little more feminine than the next champ but I really gotta say that it's the communities fault for being so strangely infatuated with the idea of gender swapping champions from League of Legends.

Ezreal used to be kind of the circuit when the game was shifting to the Poke mechanic. He'd keep you at range, constantly dealing out the damage and then be able to zip out of there no problem with his abilities.I believe there was a point where he was touted as the most powerful character in the game by some high-ranking players. Now though the Meta has shifted and Ezreal just doesn't seem to cut it as much anymore. After seeing some nerfs hit him pretty hard it looks like he'll never tear the map up like he used to. Is anyone an avid explorer like Ez? Then dust off some relics and leave some hieroglyphics below!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 053 -Irelia, The Will of the Blades

Hooray! It's our 53rd highfive!

I have no idea what you are going to do. It's that crusher of carries Irelia! lets hope you have some hard CC to counting this monster maiden!

I'm not too sure what's up with Irelia's character design. It does look like some changes were made to make her appear more contemporary or human than her initial character concept. So it's my understanding that she's a super martial artist that wields these floating blades around her and can totally take down a ton of people. All of the "Ionian" characters are starting to have obvious similarities in theme, it's interesting that it appears to be the light red and silver/white in chunky armor like in Ionian Master Yi where you can clearly see some similarities even in the weaponry.

In game Irelia has fluctuated a bit but remains a very powerful character. If your team cant stun her or knock her up right away she'll be all over your squishier champs and there will be nothing you can do as you watch her rip them all new ones. She can jungle and lane and get a ton of health back with a well placed Ultimate. Her character can also deliver a ton of self healing and remain quite tanky with zero tank items, making her a viable off tank with minimal effort. All in all a super effective character. Is anyone a fan of this she-slasher? then sharpen your blades and slice in some comments below!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 052 -Shaco, The Demon Jester

Alright! the amount of cards in a deck AND our next highfive!

Ward those bushes and try and keep a straight face! It's that killer comedian Shaco! Ready to jam a twisted joke right into your stomach!

Shaco's design is pretty balanced with the majority of everything aside from color being mirrored across the character directly. I am a fan of his over sized weapons and pushed proportions. I suppose you could argue that he is a little generic looking but the whole killer clown is a fun angle to play with with a roster this crazy. His abilities aren't too flashy but they get the job done and he gives off this haunting aura that makes other players happy to not be dealing with him.

In Game good Shaco's can end them pretty fast. Sunfre Shaco used to be a popular build because when you'd split in half the effects would carry over to the clone and you could really dole out the damages just in an AoE. A good Shaco jungler can set up brutal ganks from a bush or nest together some jack in  the boxes and lead enemies into a brutal surprise. I could never get the hang of this guy down but have seen some really strong players on streams and stuff that know everything there is to know about using this creepy clown, and it's brutal. His deceive has made me want to put my fist through my computer on more than one occasion and some teams can just build around setting up Shaco ganks and win by the 20 minute mark. A powerful champion indeed.  Is anyone a fan of this fearsome fiend? put on your best harlequin suit and drop us off some comments below!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 051 -Nocturne, The Eternal Nightmare

Zounds! our 51st highfive! How gnarly is that!?

Looks like it's that nihilistic nightmare Nocturne! Better keep that night light on and hope that you didn't eat anything weird before going to bed or this guy is totally going to get you!

Nocturne's Design is pretty neat for something incorporeal. I'm a big fan of his lobstery battle-blades and I like how he swoops around the field doing all sorts of scary crap. His abilities really mess with the game itself by making it super dark across the whole map and leaving creepy trails as well as scary tendrils that grasp onto the enemy. All in all a very flashy assassin.

In game Nocturne is a newer champion, so he's got those kind of swiss-army abilities that do like 4 things at once and he is just overall a lot more flashy than the older champions. I know that updating the older champs would be an arduous task but sometimes taking some classic guys and fighting the newer guys with all those super combined abilities feels like your attacking a laser gun with a wooden spear. Nocturne's Ult alone is pretty much a global debuff that can lead into an easy kill if he's positioned right. Is anyone a fan of this spooky slaughterer? drop us a line with your jungle strats or experiences! or even if you just have a comment on his crazy design!

-jouste the drawbarian

Weekender vol. 011

Time for some Vespa violence in this weeks Weekender!

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One little hiccup last week but we are rolling again!

Yikes, what a pile of busy last week. work was loads of fun but a little extreme in some cases, I spent most of my spare time working on some smaller games and I think it may be catching up with me. Last week was a full 5 highfives of females! I've never been the greatest at drawing the dames but I'm glad that I got the practice. I'm actually over half done the League of Legends roster although I'm sure that there will be a few more releases in the weeks to come.

So everyone should head over to polycount and vote for thier amazing BRAWL competition! holy cats was that ever a cool contest! it was taking any fighting character/environment in any game and re-imagining them/it! was it ever a toss up for me. I was torn three ways between rv_el's fisherman Haggar, Massbot's Ken the Eagle in Aztec attire, and JFletcher's surreal Super Mario. And the Environment guys are absolutely astounding!

A pretty amazing thing about this contest is the only thing you win is rights to brag and say your awesome, no I-pads, ball-caps, or t-shirts here. Just competition for the sake of competition. so I salute all entrants for showing up to BRAWL!

have a good week everybody!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 050 -Caitlyn, The Sheriff of Piltover

Crabthief fridays and the 50th DH5 is here!

Looks like that crafty crustacean is at it again! this time thieving from that sassy sniper Caitlyn! Oh no! it's one of her totally practical thigh-belts! whatever will she do without one!?I suppose she sports four for occasions just like this!

Caitlyn is another character design that I'm not the hugest fan of, she's basically the exact build of every 20-something League of Legend girl with a goofy steam-punk hat. She's sporting the Victorian-esque sort of corset thing that comes off as confusing because she's supposed to be some sort of authority figure but it looks like she's on her way to Comi Con as opposed to enforcing the law. Her weapon is pretty interesting but, as I find with a lot of details in League of Legends, gets lost very fast when viewed from so far away. I suppose that the draw to her design is the eclectic approach, but again it just isn't my cup of tea.

In game I'm pretty sure Caitlyn was underpowered upon release and had to get shifted around for her to be viable. I read that people weren't to happy with her not really behaving like a sniper. Her abilities are actually pretty cool, the cupcake trap, the net cannon, and the peacemaker are pretty neat and I like the martyr mechanic of the ult but am pretty sure all Caitlyn players hate it. Any players out there rock the steampunk-sheriff? leave a comment below as our Women Week comes to completion!

-jouste the drawbarian.

DH5: 049 -LeBlanc, The Deciever

 

Let's try this 49th Highfive again!

Blast it all! the Blogger Gods deleted my previous post on LeBlanc! now I msut attempt to re-type what was said before! Here goes!

I've never been a fan of Leblanc's design. The whole "Sexy caster" thing seems to be trying to score high with the lowest common denominator. I like some of the geometry used on her acessories but she's pretty much the typical League of Legend girl with pink skin and a staff. Casters have always fascinated me because they can wear anything and still be powerful. They don't need layers of armor of a giant weapon in order to do their job. LeBlanc is a fine example of a mage in my opinion, just not a very interesting one.

In early game noone can ruin someone's day like LeBlanc. She can dash in and out super fast abd basically deal damage as if she was right beside you only to disappear before any retaliation shows up. I'll always remember playing against her when she runs a flash as well, so she can basically triple blink away from ANY attempt at a gank! Luckily once you get some MR and the game picks up you can catch up to her power curve. Is anyone a fan of this femme fatale? I know I lost a comment previously due to the Blogger headache but please post again! I loved it!   

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 048 -Soraka, The Starchild

Looks like it's our 48th highfive!

Better be aware that the enemies have a healer on their side! It's that super supporter Soraka! ready to wish away those ailments and drop the very stars onto her foes!

Soraka's design is kind of a satyr like Draeni. I'm a fan of her obscure weapon and her hair is an interesting element that breaks up her back visually. the horn seems kind of superfluous and I decided to opt out of the swirly tattoos just for the sake of simplicity. So again there's some interesting ideas going on here but they may have been simply too many suggestions going into the design of Soraka.

In game Soraka has had to deal with the changes to healing. Healing was once very strong and almost every team had a Soraka or a Taric on it and it would change the tides of battle very often. I remember playing with a mid lane Soraka that would just wreck the other team and use wish straight away to aid in a tower dive or a baiting that was happening halfway across the map. The ability to globally heal your team is pretty powerful, especially when you are organized on vent supremely well. Is anyone a fan of this Starchild? heal up our fingers and post some comments below!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 047 - Janna, The Storm's Fury!

The 47th highfive is here!

It's that howling wind storm Janna! always on the move and ready to deal out some devastating tornadoes and support her team through the art of the hurricane!

Yikes where to start, Janna's design seems to be missing a lot in my opinion. Her recent visual updates have helped but I've never really been a fan of the bathing suit magician types. The geometry on her staff is a little confusing and I may be wrong but I believe her original voice acting was changed? Either way, visually Janna is a little on the dull side. Luckily her abilities make a big impression on the map and her floating presence is always a good one to have around. Here she is pushing a kite with her super cool air-powers!

In game Janna is pretty powerful, she's so mobile and she makes everyone else move super fast as well. Her tornado can be cooked and unleashed for big knock up and damage, and her ultimate can move people around the immediate area. Janna tends to fall into the realm of support but I've seen a few that just ruin the other team with very aggressive playstyles. Those kind of champs are always my favorite, the ones that can fill a few different roles depending on  the player. Anyone a fan of this master of the airs? Blast a comment or two below with the first spell you have off of cooldown!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 046 -Katarina, The Sinister Blade

Our 46th highfive is here!

Let's stab out the first ladies of LoL week with that killer Katarina!

Katarina is a pretty neat looking character. She's totally decked out in darts and blades and her hair becomes very cape like in game. She's gota swashbuckler vibe that totally works and her spiky braclets add another layer of dangerousness to her already mean physique. Her abilities are pretty much ninja stuff which is okay but I'm still looking for another Poppy kind of character that can crush foes with brutal strikes, like a she hulk kinda character or something. Kat's still cool though and a pretty big player favorite. 

In game Kat has been shifted around power wise for a bit, she becomes super strong when working with a team that can maximize the power of her death lotus ultimate and as long as she can't be hard stunned or interrupted she'll usually be scoring tons of kills. Plus when her damn Ult kills somebody the cooldown like goes away and she can do it again! what's with that!? with bouncing blades, healing de-buffs, and extra gold and CDR on kills Katarina can snowball out of control pretty quickly if she isn't kept in check. Any fans of this cunning killer? throw down some daggers in the comments below and let her know you care!

-jouste the drawbarian.

Weekender vol. 010

Some old-school archery gets drawn into action!

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Alright! getting into the double digits of highfiving!

Last week was another busy one. I had some great meet-ups with some very cool people and am getting really excited about some future projects. I always have a habit of taking on way to many projects, recently I haven't even thought off picking up a new game (I bought portal 2 but haven't even torn into it yet). I can maybe snag a match or 2 of league but I'm just always finding something else to be working on.

Doing fast stuff like the DH5s has been really fun and to be honest I never thought I would be getting this many done. So many times I've proven to myself how great I am at starting something and how lousy I am at finishing. I think if I approach this project as always starting then I'll be  able to get a lot of it done.

So everyone have an awesome week and i'll be getting back to you all soon! next week will be all the ladies of LoL! Well not all of them but all 5 will be females so wish me luck because nobody likes my girls!

Oh and just because I haven't linked anything for a while, do yourself a favor and if yo appreciate games at all check out the extra credits series on the escapist. It's amazing and super cool.

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 045 -Amumu, The Sad Mummy

Crabthief fridays and the 45th DH5 together at last!

Better bulk up and strap on those merc treads! It's that bawling brawler Amumu! Totally ready to wrap up your whole team in a bandage bombardment!

Amumu is another character that relies a lot on the look of his abilities in order to stay interesting. His appearance is after all just a small character wrapped in green bandages with yellow eyes. Amumu's spells look pretty cool, I'm a fan of his tantrum and despair graphics and when his big yellow cataclysmic ultimate drops you definitely know that your dealing with a pint-sized powerhouse. I suppose that it's a nice balance and lets yo appreciate the effects of the spells on top of a simple character. I've always been a big fan of the more simple designs. Looks like Crabthief got a little personal on this one and has truly upset the small mummy! what a jerk!

In game Amumu can be a real beast. a jungler that can hook shot his way right to an enemy and unleash a team destroying ultimate that turns off everybody in a pretty large radius. Lane Amumu's are a little less crafty and can sometimes be out zoned and harassed. Having a tanky Amumu on your team is usually a lot of fun as you can plan some really big team fights knowing that 2-3 of their champions might not even be able to participate after the mummy unleashes his curse. Anyone a fan of this tiny tank? Bandage toss out some comments and keep that crying crusher zoned!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 044 -Evelynn, The Widowmaker

Double fours! It's the daily highfive!

Let's all hope somebody has oracles, It's that sneaky assassin Evelynn! Totally ready to twist out of the shadows and take down the injured!

 

Evelynn is a spiny, fetish gear garbed stealther who has a teased up hairstyle and blue skin. There's a lot of "femme-fatalizm" in League of Legends but Evelynn is probably ranked pretty high or at least the first of them.  Her outfit is pretty outrageous but I guess that it's pretty much the only thing that sets her apart as her own champion. She's gone through some interesting skin changes and even a recent splash page revamp.

Man, do I HATE stealthed champs, the only thing that I like about them is when they jump me and I turn around, toss up an exhaust, and melt them apart with Mundo. I would think that balancing these guys must be the biggest pain ever, or at least instill the most ire in newer player who get dominated by them. Evelynn has some neat abilities but her Ult really takes the cake, she pops it after killing a champion and gets a ton of health back and some movement speed, then it instantly refreshes and she can do it again, chaining through your team like a horrible plague of spikes and slices. I understand that stealthers have their place and I actually really like the spin they end up throwing on the game, it's just super easy to get bent out of shape by a couple stealthed slayings. Fan of the obfuscated oblivion-sender? Write down or sneak some comments in and tell us some tales or strategies for this blue skinned babe! 

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 043 -Anivia, The Cryophoenix

It's the forty-third highfive already!

Better put on a scarf and some gloves because it looks like it's Anivia that chilly artillery!

Nothing too much beyond an icy bird but Anivia's spells are fairly interesting with the likes of a giant frozen wall and an on command blizzard. Perhaps the most memorable aesthetic is her passive where she forms into an icy nest and egg to be reborn i a flash of freezing frost. In Anivia's skins we start to see some interesting variants, like her Noxus Hunter skin and Hextech skin. All in all, I've never really been blown away with her design but find her to be an interesting approach to an ice mage.

I don't think I've ever played Anivia ever, but I know her playstyle and have really seen a lot of players light it up with her super long range and powerful spells. I'm sure we've all been in the jungle at one point or another and had a crystallized wall pop up and separate us from our friends or totally screw up your escape. getting nailed by her big combo usually wields some insane damage as well and just pray that the skilled enemy Anivia isn't stacking or those kills are going to steamroll into a real mess later on. I enjoy playing alongside a skilled Anivia, usually the ballsier ones that aren't afraid to get right into a surprise fight from the bushes. So are you pretty cool? do you like the frozen flaps of this frosty phoenix? then drop us a line! we've recently had some great discussion on the previous champs regarding some game balance and favorite strats! It's been awesome!

-jouste the drawbarian

DH5: 042 -Fiddlesticks, The Harbinger of Doom

Hooray for forty two highfives!

Hear that sound from the bushes? get ready for a crowful demise because it's none other than Fiddlesticks the super scary spell slinger!

I've always liked scarecrow characters and fiddles is no exception. I've done him before but had to tackle him in the DH5 format!I think my favorite thing about him is his super twiggy legs and how he hobbles around on them while throwing crows at you. His palette is a little simple and could use some more interesting geometry on his model but there's a tendency for most of the original champions to need a little bit of an update when compared to the more recent characters. Fiddles skins are great, my favorite of course is "Fiddle Me Timbers" where he's a drunken pirate, apparently made from drift-wood and peg-legs.

In game I've played with some real mean fiddlesticks. You know the ones that get their ult and are instantly ready to ruin a team fight? And every time that sucker is off of cooldown he's ready to scream in again and fear everything apart with bouncing crows and life drains. I know he's gone through a series of hard nerfs and changes and i think now he's a little underpowered but he'll always be a neat champion with some pretty nifty abilities. I like that he can jungle although I'm not sure if he can do it anymore? Any fans of that stumbling stick man? sharpen your scythe and scrawl in a comment before bouncing crows silence you!

-jouste the drawbarian 

DH5: 041 -Rammus, The Armordillo

The 41st of the highfives! happy new-week everyone!

Ok. Lets get things rolling and taunting with that armored initiator Rammus!

Rammus is one of the more monstrous looking champions and I'm  a big fan of how he looks. The array of back spines, his hunched over defensive curl, and his Sonic power-ball form make me picture him gouging trenches into the ground as he tears around the map. the segmented shell makes for an interesting design and the color choices are a lot of fun. His skins have been pretty slick although mostly just elemental in nature which is understandable because of his unique character geometry.

I'm sure we've all played against a strong jungle Rammus. That guy is a monster out of the river. spinning into you with a knock up and a quick taunt to lead you into his friends. A good friend of mine rocks Rammus and spends mostly the entire game at 20% health, diving into turrets and dragging foes out into he open to get crushed by the team. A super powerful tank and a great initiating character that can also turn on the tremors and melt towers down in no time. Anyone a big fan of this scaly spinner? Comment your spiny stories and thoughts below!

-jouste the drawbarian

Weekender vol. 009

Budget aerial combat training! Frugal spaceman is saving up for a bargain jet-pack but wants to hit the skies running with some punching practice!

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The ninth week of highfiving and my hand isn't even sore!

The week was a pile of fun and I feel like i'm getting a handle on working on a web comic. It's faster and simpler than my finished work but I'm really excited to see things starting to come together. It's really quite strange revisiting characters form over 8 years ago and drawing them again, I remembered a lot more stuff than I thought I would about them and I never even wrote anything down.

So if you have a hankering for following the pre-production phase of a funny book on the web you can check out the Rooftop Seven blog and watch 2 amateur web comic guys bust out some cool, pulpy monster killing action! Thanks everybody!

-jouste the drawbarian