Which artistic style do you prefer for artwork?

[licketysplit]

People will hate me for this, but I'm not particulary fond of Witcher's art direction. (Among other things)

I could.

There are many things I could criticize about The Witcher 2, but I think that in terms of general art direction and costume/armor design they are simply unmatched at the moment.

 

Same .

 

So, why is Witcher's art direction so great? And please don't tell me it's *realistic*.

 

Kinda of a loaded and somewhat silly question given the subjective nature of art. On topic: I like what they've shown so far of the character concepts. They're clearly thinking of practicality and they aren't over exaggerating armor and weapons - a pitfall too many fantasy games fall into these days.

[C2B]

People will hate me for this, but I'm not particulary fond of Witcher's art direction. (Among other things)

I could.

There are many things I could criticize about The Witcher 2, but I think that in terms of general art direction and costume/armor design they are simply unmatched at the moment.

 

Same .

 

So, why is Witcher's art direction so great? And please don't tell me it's *realistic*.

Kinda of a loaded and somewhat silly question given the subjective nature of art.

 

Uhm, I was asking about his opinion (if it wasn't clear). While I disagree with it, I'm fully aware that others think otherwise. (And most likely know better than me)

 

Edit2: (If you meant in the tone of my answer, that was because emotion swept in due to his answer. Furthermore, my dislike of him has nothing to do with his artistic opinions (Or his opinions in general)). (I actually think he has pretty good opinions)

Edited September 28, 2012 by C2B

[Tuco Benedicto]

Edit2: (If you meant in the tone of my answer, that was because emotion swept in due to his answer. Furthermore, my dislike of him has nothing to do with his artistic opinions (Or his opinions in general)). (I actually think he has pretty good opinions)

My answer ("I could") was meant simply as a joke related to your previous post. You took it in the wrong way and that's completely your right, but I'm not going to apologize just because you're so sensitive and so prone to be offended over nothing.

 

That said, if you have *other* reasons to dislike me, that's also in your right. On the other hand, I have absolutely no idea of what those reasons could be, as I don't know you, I never interacted with you at all and I didn't even notice you in any previous discussion I posted in.

Whatever.

Edited September 28, 2012 by Tuco Benedicto

[C2B]

Edit2: (If you meant in the tone of my answer, that was because emotion swept in due to his answer. Furthermore, my dislike of him has nothing to do with his artistic opinions (Or his opinions in general)). (I actually think he has pretty good opinions)

My answer ("I could") was meant simply as a joke related to your previous post. You took it in the wrong way and that's completely your right, but I'm not going to apologize just because you're so sensitive and so prone to be offended over nothing.

 

That said, if you have *other* reasons to dislike me, that's also in your right. On the other hand, I have absolutely no idea of what those reasons could be, as I don't know, I never interacted with you at all and I didn't even notice you in any previous discussion I posted in.

Whatever.

 

Yup, took it the wrong way.^^ Sorry. No need to apologize.

 

As for the second thing. Let's say I have a problem with a general attidude that you display in your posts. That's entirly my problem though, and I'm not going to be aggressive/sarcastic/whatever because of it towards you (at least not until I'm provoked). Just means that there's not going to be hugs and kisses between us. (Which you prefer too I assume )

 

This may sound weird, but it's really just that I'm overly honest.

Edited September 28, 2012 by C2B

[C2B]

The Cadegund artwork seems to have been edited since that pic

 

[nikolokolus]

Yup, not as much boobsies

[Godwin]

I would have voted for Edair over the Dwarf but I don't like Cadegund. It's kind of like a love triangle.

[Shardbearer]

I tend to prefer the Cadegund/Edair images over the dwarf, but it's hard to tell when they are both different types of artworks.

[Shades]

The thing is all of these are concept art, the dwarf giving us a feeling of the setting, Edair and Cadegund giving us a feeling of a couple of characters. I'd guess that these aren't final designs and things may still change along the way (as we've seen with Cadegund).

 

As far as final portraits go I actually liked the portraits in NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer a lot (no, not the PC ones, I'm talking about the companion artwork). Let me see if I can find them...

 

They give me a great sense of the characters that they are portraying, with each looking distinctive despite being headshots with plain backgrounds. Of course I'd be over the moon if we had a variety of portraits done by different artists to choose from (but that would probably be costly).

[rf5111918]

I am going to abstain from voting for now. I think the sample size is too small.

[Badmojo]

These are good, but I would like to see something more fringe...exotic? There is nothing wrong with these, they just seem...safe. Sort of like using elves and dwarves, nothing wrong with it, would just like to see something a bit different. There is so many amazing art on deviant art, would like to see some used in games.

 

These links are galleries with some amazing art work, something like these would be nice. *some nudity in some of the galleries so fair warning*

http://benlo.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://chase-sc2.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://cryptcrawler.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://davidgaillet.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://dsillustration.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://hgjart.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://igorkieryluk.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://janaschi.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://jasonengle.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://jenzee.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://jonasdero.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://kir-tat.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://korbox.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://michaelkutsche.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://navate.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://ourlak.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://paooo.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://ptitvinc.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://raphael-lacoste.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://raybender.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://sandara.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://tegehel.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://van-der-dot.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://yayashin.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://zephyri.deviantart.com/gallery/

[WorstUsernameEver]

The point of concept art is to offer a guide for the in-game assets, not to look fancy, so I don't really see the point of posting artwork that looks fancy from DeviantArt. I'm sure that when the time will come, Obsidian's artists will be able to provide something taht is just as good.

[Badmojo]

The point of concept art is to offer a guide for the in-game assets, not to look fancy, so I don't really see the point of posting artwork that looks fancy from DeviantArt. I'm sure that when the time will come, Obsidian's artists will be able to provide something taht is just as good.

 

The title said which styles do you prefer, I choose something else besides the only two choices listed. The concept art influences the direction, I just wanted to point out there are much more styles and direction than what has been shown which *again* I feel it is a little too traditionaly safe. I could be wrong and it might be something really amazingly original that will blow us away, but again they did say we will have elves and dwarves...sooo.... :/

[Vampero]

If it was up to me and it is not, I would like to see a dirty looking evil feel to the characters. It fits in with that time period .

[curryinahurry]

These are good, but I would like to see something more fringe...exotic? There is nothing wrong with these, they just seem...safe. Sort of like using elves and dwarves, nothing wrong with it, would just like to see something a bit different. There is so many amazing art on deviant art, would like to see some used in games.

 

These links are galleries with some amazing art work, something like these would be nice. *some nudity in some of the galleries so fair warning*

http://benlo.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://chase-sc2.dev...rt.com/gallery/

http://cryptcrawler....rt.com/gallery/

http://davidgaillet....rt.com/gallery/

http://dsillustratio...rt.com/gallery/

http://hgjart.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://igorkieryluk....rt.com/gallery/

http://janaschi.devi...rt.com/gallery/

http://jasonengle.de...rt.com/gallery/

http://jenzee.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://jonasdero.dev...rt.com/gallery/

http://kir-tat.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://korbox.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://michaelkutsch...rt.com/gallery/

http://navate.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://ourlak.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://paooo.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://ptitvinc.devi...rt.com/gallery/

http://raphael-lacos...rt.com/gallery/

http://raybender.dev...rt.com/gallery/

http://sandara.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://tegehel.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://van-der-dot.d...rt.com/gallery/

http://yayashin.devi...rt.com/gallery/

http://zephyri.deviantart.com/gallery/

 

The stuff your showing is a bit all over the map. Basically, what you've put up indicates that you want traditional high fantasy art. there is nothing really cutting edge or unique about what you've shown (or for that matter, what anyone else has). Not that there's anything wrong with that, they are your tastes. Some of the work styles I can see in the game, and some I think would be a poor fit.

 

Anyway, I like the concept art and have played around with it in photoshop with colors etc., and I think that they will lead to some really nice finished character designs that have a realistic basis. I think that will create a nice juxtaposition to environments and creatures.

[Umberlin]

I prefer the styles seen in the old Fantasy artwork that'd you'd see attached to Dragon Lance and other franchises with similar artwork. Artists like the one that created my avatar as well. I love the painted look of the old fantasy artwork, again I'd point to Dragon Lance, or the portraits for games like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and many other games. Heck the source books for the various editions typicall had great art in them. This is the sort of artwork I appreciate, and I'd love to see more of it. I'd especially love to see a game just plain in that painted style, but that's likely just a pipe dream.

 

 

^ Baldur's Gate II (Vampires or Shadow Thieves oh my!)

 

 

^ Dragon Lance

 

 

^ Icewind Dale (Duh)

 

 

^ BG Portrait

 

 

And so on.

 

The particular style is less important than just the quality of the style, and that what the style depicts is fitting of the themes and moods the game wishes to explore.

Edited September 28, 2012 by Umberlin

[Tuco Benedicto]

If it was up to me and it is not, I would like to see a dirty looking evil feel to the characters. It fits in with that time period .

...What?

[Baudolino05]

I picked the ranger too, but, frankly, we are still far away from the art style I'd like to see in this game. Considering the main theme of PE (souls and all that stuff), if I was in the art director shoes, I'd tray to achieve something more historical accurate and at the same time "exotic".

 

If it was up to me and it is not, I would like to see a dirty looking evil feel to the characters. It fits in with that time period .

...What?

Edited September 28, 2012 by Baudolino05

[Lulla-Isra]

I picked Ranger for both options. I feel like that kind of artwork shows off the character's personality a bit more out of the two choices.

 

Although really I'd love artwork more in line with Icewind Dale.

[mkreku]

I can't vote, I like them all.

[Boof]

I prefer the styles seen in the old Fantasy artwork that'd you'd see attached to Dragon Lance and other franchises with similar artwork. Artists like the one that created my avatar as well. I love the painted look of the old fantasy artwork, again I'd point to Dragon Lance, or the portraits for games like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and many other games. Heck the source books for the various editions typicall had great art in them. This is the sort of artwork I appreciate, and I'd love to see more of it. I'd especially love to see a game just plain in that painted style, but that's likely just a pipe dream.

 

 

 

^ Baldur's Gate II (Vampires or Shadow Thieves oh my!)

 

 

 

^ Dragon Lance

 

 

 

^ Icewind Dale (Duh)

 

 

 

^ BG Portrait

 

 

 

And so on.

 

The particular style is less important than just the quality of the style, and that what the style depicts is fitting of the themes and moods the game wishes to explore.

 

What he said.

 

Let's cool it a bit on the heavily stylized art. I miss having some good old fashioned BG art.

[Badmojo]

These are good, but I would like to see something more fringe...exotic? There is nothing wrong with these, they just seem...safe. Sort of like using elves and dwarves, nothing wrong with it, would just like to see something a bit different. There is so many amazing art on deviant art, would like to see some used in games.

 

These links are galleries with some amazing art work, something like these would be nice. *some nudity in some of the galleries so fair warning*

http://benlo.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://chase-sc2.dev...rt.com/gallery/

http://cryptcrawler....rt.com/gallery/

http://davidgaillet....rt.com/gallery/

http://dsillustratio...rt.com/gallery/

http://hgjart.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://igorkieryluk....rt.com/gallery/

http://janaschi.devi...rt.com/gallery/

http://jasonengle.de...rt.com/gallery/

http://jenzee.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://jonasdero.dev...rt.com/gallery/

http://kir-tat.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://korbox.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://michaelkutsch...rt.com/gallery/

http://navate.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://ourlak.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://paooo.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://ptitvinc.devi...rt.com/gallery/

http://raphael-lacos...rt.com/gallery/

http://raybender.dev...rt.com/gallery/

http://sandara.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://tegehel.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://van-der-dot.d...rt.com/gallery/

http://yayashin.devi...rt.com/gallery/

http://zephyri.deviantart.com/gallery/

 

The stuff your showing is a bit all over the map. Basically, what you've put up indicates that you want traditional high fantasy art. there is nothing really cutting edge or unique about what you've shown (or for that matter, what anyone else has). Not that there's anything wrong with that, they are your tastes. Some of the work styles I can see in the game, and some I think would be a poor fit.

 

Anyway, I like the concept art and have played around with it in photoshop with colors etc., and I think that they will lead to some really nice finished character designs that have a realistic basis. I think that will create a nice juxtaposition to environments and creatures.

 

I was just pointing out different styles, high fantasy art is nice I do admit. I also like the other posters mention of the old gaming books art style, that was nice too. I do want something more exotic though than the general fantasy art. One cool thing that would be neat that I have not seen before is if the art changed on your world view and how you play. Going with the generic good/evil paths, if you are playing the hero, the art would get more hopeful, characters would seem more sympathetic, friendly, the world is brighter, it still has darkness, but it is more muted. However, if you went the evil route, the art would get darker, the same characters would look more sinister darkness is prevelant.

 

An example, if your 'good' you might see an art of a smiling elderly lady(grandmother? neighbor?) watching some kids playing a game with sticks, covered in dirt and laughing in the sun with innocense in their eyes. The evil art, would show the same elderly women, bent over, eyeing the kids with suspision (is she a witch that is going to capture the kids and eat them? An elderly woman worried about being mugged by the kids?), the kids are not playing with sticks, but with human bones in a dark overcast sky. Laughing with curled lips, their clothes are dirty with bloody cuts, cruelty in their eyes.

 

This is to show the affects of the world, but also the mentality and how the character views the world.

[Umberlin]

I prefer the styles seen in the old Fantasy artwork that'd you'd see attached to Dragon Lance and other franchises with similar artwork. Artists like the one that created my avatar as well. I love the painted look of the old fantasy artwork, again I'd point to Dragon Lance, or the portraits for games like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and many other games. Heck the source books for the various editions typicall had great art in them. This is the sort of artwork I appreciate, and I'd love to see more of it. I'd especially love to see a game just plain in that painted style, but that's likely just a pipe dream.

 

 

 

^ Baldur's Gate II (Vampires or Shadow Thieves oh my!)

 

 

 

^ Dragon Lance

 

 

 

^ Icewind Dale (Duh)

 

 

 

^ BG Portrait

 

 

 

And so on.

 

The particular style is less important than just the quality of the style, and that what the style depicts is fitting of the themes and moods the game wishes to explore.

 

What he said.

 

Let's cool it a bit on the heavily stylized art. I miss having some good old fashioned BG art.

 

Mind you, I've no issue with heavily stylized art . . . it's just this particular style, BR as just one example, is a really nice one . . . and far too long neglected. It's just, since we're bringing back the old style Infinity Engine with this project it feels like the perfect time to bring back the visuals associated with them, such as in the portraits or otherwise.

[LadyCrimson]

I'm not terribly sophisticated. I just like art/paintings that are more on the realism side and aren't too "smudgy." I do like the dwarf painting, but that's about as "smudgy" as I like to go. The BG portrait type style, I always like that.

 

On the other hand, a lot of more modern 3D art starts to enter the uncanny valley (not just the faces, for me), because they're really cool looking in terms of detail but at the same time, they often feel a bit sterile, and sometimes, way too "shiny." I would like to see less "shiny" in games, I think some are getting carried away with it. If there was that much shine in the real world I'd be blind by now.

[Umberlin]

I don't mind there being bright scenes, but some developers seem to confuse a bright day with a day where the sky has been completely whited out by the overuse of bloom . . . or did you just mean that sometimes 3D models can look a bit plastic by the shiny comment? Heh.