Papercraft Skins

Papercraft is one of those skinlines I keep forgetting exists until someone locks in Papercraft Anivia in my ranked game and I go "oh right, that's a thing." Two skins. Both Epic. Both from 2019. And honestly? Both way more charming than they have any right to be. The whole concept is origami meets League of Legends, paper textures on everything, folded edges, craft-paper particle effects. Kinda feels like Riot's art team had a slow week and decided to make something purely for fun. Not every skinline needs to be some dark cosmic event. Sometimes you just want your champion to look like a kindergarten art project that came to life.

What Sets Papercraft Apart on the Rift

Not gonna lie, the visual identity here is tight for a two-skin line. Everything looks like it was folded out of colored construction paper. The champions themselves have visible fold lines, creased edges, paper grain textures across their models. Its a small detail but the way light catches those paper surfaces in-game reads differently than any other skinline in League.

The color palette leans warm. Think craft paper yellows, sky blues, soft reds, and white paper accents. Nothing aggressive. Nothing edgy. Just clean and playful. Compare that to something like Dark Star where everything is purple void energy, or Coven where you're drowning in gothic blacks and greens. Papercraft sits in its own lane completely.

VFX carry the theme hard. Ability particles look like paper confetti, origami shapes, little folded birds and snowflakes depending on the champion. The recall animations especially. Could be wrong here but I think these might have some of the most creative recall animations in the Epic tier. Both skins show the champion literally being folded into existence or crafting something out of paper during the recall. Pure vibes.

Splash art ties it together. The backgrounds look like diorama scenes built from paper, with layered cutout mountains and paper trees. Almost like a popup storybook. If you've ever seen one of those paper theater boxes people build on YouTube, thats the energy. The splashes alone justify the skins existing. (Random aside: I had the Anivia splash as my Discord avatar for like three months in season 9 and got more comments on that than anything else.)

One thing I appreciate is the audio design. The ability sounds have this soft, papery quality to them. Not crunchy. Not metallic. Just... paper. Subtle shift from base skins but you notice it after a few games. The sound team doesnt get enough credit for stuff like this.

Best Papercraft Skins to Lock In

With only two skins this is less of a ranking and more of a comparison. But real talk though, there's a clear winner here.

Papercraft Nunu & Willump takes it. No contest. The champion design translates perfectly to the paper aesthetic because Willump is already this big rounded shape, and making him look like a giant origami yeti just works. The snowball (Q) rolling through lane looks like a crumpled paper ball picking up speed. Been running this in my Diamond games since maybe late season 9 and the novelty still hasn't worn off. Willump's model has these visible fold creases across his body that catch the light during his ult channel. Clean stuff.

The W especially. Biggest Snowball Ever as a giant paper ball rolling across the Rift. There's something inherently funny about watching an origami yeti tackle someone's backline with a craft-paper snowball. Had a game last week where I ganked mid with it and my Ahri one-trick duo partner lost it in voice chat. "Paper Willump sends his regards" became our callout for the rest of the night.

Papercraft Anivia is solid but not on the same level. The bird model translates well to origami, sure, folded wings, angular paper beak, the whole deal. But Anivia's kit is mostly about her wall and ult zone control, and paper-textured ability zones dont pop as hard as a giant paper Willump barreling at you. Still a good skin. Might be overthinking it but I think the issue is that Anivia's gameplay is more stationary. You drop your R, you wall, you poke. The paper aesthetic is better appreciated on a champion that's moving around the map like Nunu.

That said, Anivia's passive egg in Papercraft form is chef's kiss. Little folded paper egg sitting on the ground. If you main Anivia and you like the cute aesthetic over the edgy Blackfrost look, this is the one. Not sure if it's just me but the Q stun particle as a paper projectile feels slightly easier to track than base Anivia Q. Probably placebo. Probably.

The Papercraft Champion Roster

Two champions. Thats it. Nunu & Willump and Anivia. Both released in 2019, both Epic at 1350 RP. This is one of the smallest skinlines in League and honestly I think thats part of the charm. Not everything needs to be a 15-champion mega event with Prestige editions and battle passes.

Both picks make thematic sense. Anivia is a bird. Origami birds are maybe the most iconic paper craft. Nunu & Willump have that rounded, playful, almost childlike energy that fits the arts-and-crafts vibe perfectly. Willump literally looks like something a kid would build out of paper mache at school. Neither champion feels forced into the skinline.

Now, who should Riot add if they ever revisit Papercraft? Been thinking about this. Orianna feels like the most obvious choice. She's already a puppet-like figure, her ball could be an origami sphere, the geometric shapes would translate naturally. Ivern is another strong candidate. Tree made of paper? Paper Daisy? Come on. That writes itself.

Maybe just my experience but I think Zac could work too. His blobby stretchy form made of crumpled paper, bouncing around teamfights like a paper ball. Fair warning, I'm biased because I played a lot of Zac jungle in season 10 and I want more Zac skins in general. (Sidebar: Zac mains have been asking for basically anything that isnt purple or green for years now.)

Yuumi as a paper cat attached to a paper book. Kindred with origami wolf and lamb. The possibilities are there. Riot just hasn't gone back to the well. Shame.

Tier and Price Breakdown

Simple math here. Two skins, both Epic, both 1350 RP. No Legendaries. No Mythics. No Prestige editions. No chromas on either skin as far as I know. Straightforward.

For 1350 RP each you get new models, new textures, new VFX, new recall animations, and adjusted sound effects. Voice lines stay base for both. Standard Epic package. No new VO refresh on either one.

Is 1350 RP fair? For Nunu & Willump, absolutely. The model change is dramatic enough and the ability VFX carry hard. Spammed this in ranked for a solid two months back in 2019 and felt like I got my money's worth within the first week. For Anivia, its more of a "if you like the aesthetic" purchase. The skin is well-made but Anivia has competition at the same price point and above.

Real talk, the lack of chromas hurts this line a little. Imagine Papercraft Nunu in different paper colors. Red origami Willump. Blue construction paper variant. Green tissue paper edition. The chroma potential was massive and Riot just left it on the table. Could be coping but I genuinely believe chromas would have made this skinline more popular. A lot of players discover skins through chroma bundles showing up in the shop.

Neither skin hits Legendary pricing and neither one needs to. The concept is charming, execution is clean, 1350 feels right. Not every skin needs to be a 1820 RP production with new voice lines and unique animations. Sometimes a strong visual concept at the Epic price point is exactly enough. These dropped back in January 2019 I think, patch 9.2 era, and they still hold up visually five years later. Good sign.