Those dazzling League of Legends K/DA Code Pink skins; you’ve seen them, I’ve seen them, you want them, I need them. While, unfortunately, they won’t be coming to the MOBA anytime soon, the noir-style looks for Ahri, Akali, Evelynn, and Kai’Sa have taken over Twitter, with League of Legends fans from across the Rift hoping that someday they might become a reality. I caught up with the team who created them to chat about their newfound fame, and also ask the question that’s on all of our lips: are those skins inspired by Blackpink?
While we all assumed that the K/DA Code Pink skins were a Riot creation at first glance, they’re actually the product of a trio of talented fan artists: Richy ‘RichyDraws’, Doni ‘Yoomyoom’, and Emre ’Emriikun.’
“We all love to draw and have worked on similar but smaller projects in the past individually,” they tell me via Discord. “We brainstormed about things we would like to see as League players ourselves and quickly came to the realization that K/DA would be perfect!
“We were also introduced to League through K/DA’s Popstars and realized it’s been way too long since we’ve gotten content for them, which gave us inspiration to try it ourselves.”
Six months of work resulted in Code Pink, a full cosmetic line complete with in-game animations, as well as ward skins, icons, and emotes. When the trio posted their art to Twitter on August 20, the world went wild – and I mean, wild.
I was on the phone to my partner when I first spotted them and our jaws simultaneously dropped; others were fast to retweet, comment, and like. Some, as Richy posts on their Twitter, even made “NSFW animation commission requests.” People are obsessed with Code Pink.
“[The response] has been insane to say the least,” they tell PCGamesN. “We truly didn’t expect this amount of love. We certainly hoped for it but didn’t think it would actually happen. It just feels so motivating and fulfilling that all the work we put into this truly paid off.” Indeed it has – I’d call it a ‘Shut Down,’ to quote my beloved Blackpink.
Speaking of Korea’s premier girl group, I immediately spotted their influence in each of the different splash arts. Akali is giving me Lisa vibes, while Ahri reminds me of Jisoo in particular. Was the team inspired by the K-Pop queens? The answer is a resounding yes.
“These skins are definitely Blackpink inspired but not in the way some people think,” they tell me. “We didn’t necessarily attribute things from each Blackpink member to a K/DA member. It just happened when we discussed what we would like to see K/DA do next. We’re all massive Blackpink and K-pop fans in general, so the influence just came naturally.
“Besides Blackpink there are definitely Aespa influences hence why we used their instrumental for Salty & Sweet for the animation that Richy did!”
With over 65k likes at the time of writing and an army of adoring fans, this is easily one of the coolest skin ideas I’ve ever seen. It’s a testament to six months of hard work, and I can’t wait to see what Richy, Doni, and Emre cook up next.
In the meantime, why not check out our list of all the new and upcoming League of Legends skins to expand your cosmetic arsenal, as well as what’s currently on sale in the League of Legends Mythic shop – there are some bangers in there, trust me.