Take a Look Behind Animation in K/DA's FIRESTARTER Music Video

K/DA has recently come back with FIRESTARTER and a new music video for the catchy song. We talked to Fortiche's director Marietta Ren and animation supervisor Rémy Terreaux to see how they brought their ideas to life.

Please introduce yourselves to our readers. What projects have you contributed to?

Marietta Ren: I am the director of the music video for K/DA’s FIRESTARTER. I've been working with Fortiche Studio for several years on various projects. I started as a storyboard artist on Arcane Season 1 and then served as episodic director on episodes 2, 4, and 5 of Arcane Season 2. As a K-pop fan, I've always loved K/DA, and it's an honor to have been able to bring them back with this music video!

Rémy Terreaux: I’m Rémy Terreaux, animation supervisor at Fortiche. I’ve been with the studio for about ten years now, joining before the production of Arcane as a lead animator and later stepping into a supervisory role on the show. Back in 2018, I got the chance to animate Akali’s neon rap sequence on the original K/DA – POP/STARS, which remains a very special memory for me. 

K/DA has been around since 2018. Are there things you wouldn’t have been able to do back then compared to today’s tech developments? How has your approach changed over the years? 

RT: What FIRESTARTER showcases isn't a radical break with the past, but rather an artistic and technical maturity built over the years. For us, tech is about giving our animators better control so the tools never block their creativity. Today’s toolsets and rigs gave us much more precision and freedom, which allowed us to push the performance further and be more subtle, letting us really focus on making the characters look like true experts on stage and in their dance moves for this music video. 

What was the workflow for K/DA’s FIRESTARTER? What software do you use and how? What makes it suitable for your goals?  

MR: We used TVPaint for the storyboard. Since every shot, character, special effect, and lighting effect was synchronized with the music, we needed a tool that allowed us to be very precise and gave us a bit more flexibility for animation than dedicated storyboarding software. 

RT: On the animation side, we use Maya. It has always given us the robustness and freedom we need. But it wasn’t just about moving rigs. Our animators had to truly understand the worlds of high-fashion and dance choreography, so our workflow always starts with deep study before animating. Video reference is key for us, and we use lightweight, very efficient tools like Keyframe Pro and DaVinci Resolve to analyze footage. They let us quickly sort through takes, annotate specific frames, and present our references clearly. 

In this research phase, we worked step by step. We received the main choreography from Riot, created by Sean Bankhead, which gave us the benchmark for the dance style and attitude. From there, we worked with a dancer to determine the rhythm, speed, and specific walks the characters needed throughout the video to set the tempo, like the catwalk and the horsewalk. For the rest, our animators essentially turned into high-level performers themselves, studying the musicality, breaking down the movement, and pushing what Fortiche does best with a unique stylization for the show, strong poses, and making these characters look truly iconic. 

The band has changed, with Sophie Powers and Mimi Webb filling the roles of Madison Beer and Jaira Burns. Has that influenced the animation or the characters’ attitude?

MR: Sophie Powers’ captivating voice has indeed influenced Evelynn’s performances in terms of her body language and the vibe she exudes. She embodies sensuality and mystery while radiating absolute self-confidence. To convey this visually, we also drew inspiration from several famous divas as well as the image of the femme fatale from 1940s and 1950s film noir, but from a female perspective. If I had to summarize her movement vocabulary, I’d say it consists of perfect, precise curved movements combined with a playful interplay of light and shadow.

Mimi Webb has brought a new, slightly more provocative side to Kai'sa, making her character – who is generally rather quiet and introverted and expresses herself through dance – more complex and surprising. She combines elegance with a badass attitude! We love it!

Sophie Powers and Mimi Webb have allowed us to explore other facets of the K/DA members’ personalities that complement Madison Beer and Jaira Burns’ magnificent performances. What’s interesting about the K/DA concept is that it presents female archetypes that are nuanced and enriched by the performances of several women, much like movie actresses. 

Fire in a painterly 2D/3D style is hard to make look good. How did you build the fire effects so they don't look like stock VFX? 

MR: Fire is a key element of K/DA’s comeback. It’s ambivalent, evoking rebirth, vital energy, destruction, and above all, creation. Together with the creative teams at Riot and Fortiche, we wanted to create a magical fire – one that embodies K/DA. To do this, we used one of Fortiche’s signature visual styles, which involves blending 2D and 3D effects. 

The 3D effects are designed to look like paint; we add textures and color nuances that would be difficult to achieve in 2D without spending a great deal of time on them. We then blend these with 2D effects that reshape the overall form of the fire and make it more graphic. We switch back and forth between the two techniques, with the goal of making it nearly impossible to tell the difference between them. This is particularly true for the wave-shaped fire and the big explosion in the middle of the clip. All the FX artists came up with ideas to refine this fire. It’s a true collaborative effort! 

The characters also exist as in-game skins. How much freedom did you have to restyle them, and where did Riot draw the line? 

MR: The K/DA designs are the result of a close collaboration between the creative teams at Riot and Fortiche. Early in the project, we had the opportunity to hold a workshop on the music video concept with the League of Legends skins team and the concept artists at Fortiche. 

Ideas and directions emerged from all sides. Each artist drew inspiration from the others’ work to refine the designs. Once the overall skin designs were finalized by the skin team, the artists at Fortiche adapted them with the distinctive graphic style we’ve come to expect from Fortiche, while also accounting for the technical constraints related to dance movements. These adaptations subsequently influenced the skin designs, which were then adjusted accordingly. The limit set by Riot was very much like a duet, with a lead dancer adapting to their partner’s personality. 

Such fiery songs require sharp camera angle changes, and sometimes animators come up with crazy tricks. Did you have to do something like that? 

RT: Totally! In a music video like FIRESTARTER, the camera is essentially the fifth member of the band. It’s part of the choreography and dances with the characters. The work from our storyboard and layout teams was essential to make that happen.

Also, our animators didn't really need to rely on crazy visual tricks or break the rigs. They could tweak the camera themselves in their scenes, making sure every beat and angle made complete sense. The one real trick we used on very few shots was keeping both the character and the camera in place, and moving the environment around them instead. It allowed us to reach that high level of sharpness and precision in animation, without having to fight against a moving camera on a technical level. 

Which tools or techniques were used for the first time in this project? 

MR: For FIRESTARTER, we developed tools to create hair a little differently than in previous projects in order to have a bit more control over its shape in motion. Our challenge was to ensure that the grooms remained lightweight in the final render while preserving a graphic look inspired by anime hair and still allowing strands to separate or come together.

This required us to take a different approach, which was both exciting and a little scary, since it might not have worked out during the compositing stage. Additionally, achieving hair of different yet uniform colors in Akali’s ponytail required a specialized tool. Since most of the visual elements are synchronized with the music, we needed some kind of visual score that could be used during the compositing phase. Even at that step, we added visual accents synchronized with the music. 

What was the most challenging shot? 

MR: All the shots were difficult to shoot. Each one presented different challenges due to our desire to use long takes and synchronize the visual elements with the music. We crafted everything down to the frame so that all the visual elements would appear at just the right moment, creating visual richness that remains clear and accessible. It’s a bit like listening to a piece of music performed by a symphony orchestra: you can hear the melody, but you can also hear each individual instrument. Everything is arranged to create a harmonious whole.

RT: As Marietta said, there really was no easy shot. Every single one brought a high level of challenge, whether it was technical, stylization, or pure character and dance performance. Hats off to all the artists involved! In that kind of “symphony orchestra”, keeping everything cohesive was only possible through incredible teamwork and a shared mindset.

Every shot deserves its own breakdown, really... but to name just a few, at the beginning, the long sequence shot going down the stairs that transitions directly into Ahri and Akali was very complex technically and for choreography cohesion. There are zero cuts. It brought together the work of several animators, yet it had to feel like one single, seamless performance.

We could also mention Akali’s two rap shots, where we gave the animators a lot of freedom to build a unique choreography and attitude. And staying on Akali, the skateboard shot was also a huge challenge in terms of camera choreography. The animator had to constantly adjust the camera to match the evolving moves, making sure every single trick felt sharp and hit with maximum impact. But there are so many shots we could talk about... 

Is there a hidden detail or Easter egg you are sure no one has spotted yet? 

MR: There's a visual reference to the blades in the audience! I hope they notice it – it's pretty subtle. Another Easter egg is hidden in Kai'sa's dance solo: Akali on a skateboard passing behind her.

What does a Fortiche frame mean in a music video compared with a 40-minute Arcane episode? What do you skip, and what do you exaggerate?

MR: In the two seasons of Arcane, we had already explored the music video format and the constraints it entails: creating powerful images that encapsulate an idea. So we continued to follow this guiding principle that we’ve had for a long time: every frame is a painting. 

RT: It’s also a mindset. The production schedule is obviously much shorter, yet the expectations are just as high. You really have to focus on what will actually be on screen and skip everything else. For example, if a character just needs to radiate confidence or joy, you definitely skip exploring angry expressions! You put your energy into things you've never done before. There's no time for unnecessary exploration. 

Are there any staples for Fortiche animation? Something that you always use, that makes your style recognizable. 

RT: In my opinion, there are three key pillars of the Fortiche animation style.

First is storytelling, wrapped in strong, hand-crafted, stylized poses, and built on solid body mechanics. The goal is to make the characters feel grounded, so you can go deep into the story with them. If they feel joy or pain, the audience really has to feel it.

The visual look itself has changed depending on the project, but those three keys create unity in Fortiche’s style. Behind all that, the secret sauce for me will always be teamwork. I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s a true collaboration between artists. We all complement each other, and that is our greatest strength, give the artists some freedom and the unexpected will shine! 

Fortiche’s work is called “Arcane-style” all the time. How do you feel about it? Is it flattering or upsetting? Do you think your style will be compared to another masterpiece in the future?

MR: Of course, it's very flattering to be associated with such a beautiful show! We're proud of it, and we certainly hope to produce shows that are just as visually striking. 

RT: It’s so rewarding to know that our work made such an impact and set a visual benchmark! That said, our real signature is how we adapt our craft to serve each specific story and universe. I can’t wait to see what the future brings!

What should fans look forward to seeing from the studio next?

MR: Something really cool and surprising! Stay tuned! 

Marietta Ren, Director at Fortiche

Rémy Terreaux, Animation Supervisor

Interview conducted by Gloria Levine