Chapter 54: Why Does NXG's Style Look So Different from the Other Teams?
Creating Star-Level Stage Makeup for the Five Members of NXG!
This was a special request Jiang Ming made clear to the makeup artist from the very beginning.
Since they had decided to give the LPL rivals in Season 3, as well as the viewers watching the matches, a visual shock, how could they possibly do without the killer weapon of camera-ready makeup?
While other teams still relied on the same old bare-faced ID photos for their official portraits, Jiang Ming had already deciphered the rune—no, rather the modern esports visual presentation and its unspoken rules.
Imagine this: during a professional league broadcast, when the camera pans across the players, on one side are the opponents with dark circles under their eyes and pale complexions, and on the other side, the five NXG players look as if they’ve stepped right out of a romantic drama set. This kind of overwhelming image dominance would imprint a memorable mark on the viewers’ retinas.
Just thinking about the visual impact in that instant made one want to hum softly.
Considering that the players needed to be on camera for much of the match, Jiang Ming decided to use this opportunity during the official portrait shoot to experiment on his young team members and see how the effect would turn out.
“They definitely look much more spirited to the naked eye,” Lin Jingyi said, standing beside Jiang Ming as she observed the five under the bright exposure lights. “But we still have to see how the photos come out.”
After the twelfth burst of the studio’s ring light ended, Xu Jing finally collapsed into a folding chair. “This is more torturous than last night’s three-hour last-hitting drill. I feel like my pupils are about to lose focus!”
“Agreed,” Shi Zhenyu rubbed his stiff neck and teased, “I don’t think managing my expression during military training was this painful.”
“I think the number of photos I’ve taken today might equal the total from the past ten years combined.”
“Be confident—it’s only more, never less.”
“Stop! Raise the reflector at the back right by fifteen degrees,” photographer Lao Chen called out from behind the monitor, signaling the assistants. He then came over to the group. “Everyone, hang in there a little longer. After the group shot, we’ll take individual sets for each of you and then we’re done.”
“Wait, after the group photo, there’s individual photos too?”
“Ah… Ming, please have mercy. We still have training tasks to finish today.”
“I think we could actually increase our training volume a bit more!”
“I want to train; I don’t want to take photos.”
“I want to go back to base!”
“...”
On a certain social media platform.
The official NXG Esports Club account.
Thanks to Jiang Ming’s relentless efforts to draw attention, even before playing a single official professional match, this newly established team’s account had already garnered tens of thousands of followers.
Suddenly, under the previously silent NXG account, a new post appeared.
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NXG Esports Club League of Legends Division Starting Lineup Confirmed!
“Dear Summoners and friends who support NXG, hello!”
“After intense training and preparation, we are honored to announce the starting lineup for NXG’s League of Legends division in the upcoming LPL professional league:”
“Top Lane: norsha (Song Yuan)”
“Jungle: stone (Shi Zhenyu)”
“Mid Lane: yihan (Wu Zhiqiang), Substitute: JM (Jiang Ming)”
“AD Carry: sorry (Xu Jing)”
“Support: door (Pang Ran)”
“Head Coach: JM (Jiang Ming)”
“Data Analyst: JM (Jiang Ming)”
“Team Manager: Lin Jingyi”
(P.S. Attached is the team’s official portrait.)
At this time, the online buzz about NXG’s almost obsessive player schedules had not yet faded.
Therefore, as soon as the lineup and official portraits were posted, many comments poured in.
The casual viewers’ eyes naturally landed first on the finely retouched portraits of the NXG players.
When netizens clicked on the nine-grid photo set, the usual “internet cafe kid” narrative common in the esports world was suddenly rewritten.
Under the professional soft lighting, the NXG players’ sharp gazes pierced through the screen; their meticulously tailored team uniforms outlined stately physiques, and even their fingertips seemed to shimmer with the glow of streaming data.
“???”
“Whoa, are NXG’s jerseys really that cool?!”
“JM, explain why your online store doesn’t sell these styles. You’re keeping the good stuff for yourself, huh?”
“No way, coach, tell me these are really esports players?”
“Waaah, seeing them I feel like *I’m* the internet-addicted kid.”
“Why do these five NXG members look completely different from players on other teams...”
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“Emmm, I’d believe it if you told me they debuted just like this.”
“(Laughing and crying) Is NXG a combination of tall, short, fat, skinny, and handsome? Poor photographer must be having a hard time.”
“That tanky top laner actually looks like this? Definitely a bruiser (just kidding).”
“Why does the jungler look so goofy? JM, your jungler looks a bit slow.”
“The support looks really young, probably only about fifteen or sixteen.”
“The AD carry’s expression is so cocky…”
“To be honest, NXG’s players really seem full of spirit.”
One must admit, the portrait shoot, which had been so grueling for the players, was now serving its intended purpose perfectly.
The previously unseen NXG roster, through the official announcement of the starting lineup paired with these spirited, makeup-enhanced portraits, had already left a strong first impression on the audience.
When the LPL matches officially began, if the players performed well, the impression made today would be the best foundation for converting viewers into fans.
Of course, some players and team managers paying attention to NXG also noticed the uniqueness in the text of this announcement.
Putting aside the fact that the mid lane substitute is the top player in China.
Head coach JM, data analyst JM—wow, JM, the team owner, really is a jack-of-all-trades who does everything.
Yet the straightforward text also revealed much about NXG.
Regardless of whether it was the same person holding multiple roles, a team with a head coach, tactical analyst, and even a team manager showed clear professionalism.
Recalling the previously leaked NXG player schedules and training times, many LPL-qualified teams regarded NXG as a formidable rival not to be underestimated.
“Let’s schedule more scrims with them before the official matches start. JM seems to know his stuff; maybe we can learn a thing or two.”
“By the way, should we take an official portrait too? Our last one looked a bit like a mugshot lineup…”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
In this era, clever minds were not lacking. After briefly being stunned by NXG’s avant-garde portrait aesthetics, many team managers became inspired.
They planned to imitate Jiang Ming and NXG and post their own starting lineups and official portraits just before the LPL season kicked off.