Gameplay New Tactician Exploration — Tiru (Teamfight Tactics)

This concept of Tiru, a new tactician for Teamfight Tactics, was created with Riot’s character design goals in mind: a clear silhouette, readable shapes, and a strong, charming personality.
My aim was to design a small creature that feels playful and full of life, while staying readable from the top-down camera used in TFT.
Working on Tiru was a great chance to explore how tacticians balance cuteness, simplicity, and expressive design. I wanted him to feel unique but still fit naturally into the TFT world, with colours and shapes that stand out without becoming noisy.
The process followed a full mini-pipeline: early silhouettes, shape tests, colour explorations, lineart for poses, an action splash, and final turnarounds for Tier 1 and Tier 2. Each step helped refine how Tiru moves, emotes, and communicates personality through small details.
What I enjoyed most was exploring how his plant-inspired elements: petals, leaf-horns, and soft gradients-could support his expressions and give him a warm, friendly presence. Even though he’s a simple creature, I wanted every part of the design to feel intentional and easy to read during gameplay.
Overall, this project helped me practice building a tactician from start to finish, keeping clarity and charm at the center of every decision. I learned a lot from developing Tiru, and I’m happy with how his final design captures both his playful nature and his gentle fantasy theme.
Unofficial fan concept created for portfolio purposes.
All characters and IP belong to Riot Games.