Please bring back the pencil drawings of items

[JerekKruger]

I'd love to see pencil style drawings for items, but it's not the end of the world if they aren't any (fingers crossed for future Pillars of Eternity games). What I do really want to see genuinely unique and memorable magic items. Baldur's Gate 2 did this well but in NWN2 you could craft as good, or better, items as you could find, and that's a shame to my mind.

[Grotesque]

I'd love to see pencil style drawings for items, but it's not the end of the world if they aren't any (fingers crossed for future Pillars of Eternity games). What I do really want to see genuinely unique and memorable magic items. Baldur's Gate 2 did this well but in NWN2 you could craft as good, or better, items as you could find, and that's a shame to my mind.

 

The single item that stayed with me all these years was the Gorgon Plate.

Not because it was a legendary or powerful armour because it was not, but because of it's drawing.

It's stats were long forgotten, but its design was not.

That's what I want from Pillars

Edited December 5, 2014 by Grotesque

[Quetzalcoatl]

 

This has already been answers by Kaz in the UI thread. The item sketches ain't happening.

 

http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/67093-sensukis-suggestions-005-item-descriptions-and-contextual-ui-rant/?p=1483759

A spiritual successor to the IE games with no item sketches, disgusting. I'm really sad right now.

 

The majority of the IE games didn't have item sketches. You must've been really sad playing all those games.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Quetzalcoatl

[constantine]

I really miss the simple pencil drawings of items & weapons in their description windows.

It would greatly increase the feel of a Infinity Engine RPG game.

 

Those drawings gave items personality because the artist was introducing graphical elements and details to the item that was impossible to reproduce in the engine.

 

 

Maybe items would not have the extensive lore backgrounds they have in the past games but at least Pillars of Eternity would preserve this exquisite and simple pencil presentation of them.

 

 

EDIT: If you agree and feel the same in this regard, please like this post to send the message across to anyone from the dev team that maybe is reading it.

Thank you.

I liked your post, as many others, to spread the msg.

 

Following discussion in this thread, I'd like to point out that the final KS Stretch Goal was to generally enhance the game. I thought that requests like theone we have here fall under that stretch goal.

Edited December 5, 2014 by constantine

[Sky_walker]

 

Didn't liked the item sketches tbh. Looked like they took the sketches from their concepts and put them there 'cause the graphics weren;t so good back then to make the items looks pretty good themselves. If they're gonna put drawn items at examine screen (if there is any) I'd prefer to be full drawings not just scetches.

The sketches were a catalyst for your imagination. Something that would be hard to explain to todays pretty grfx and mmo crowd.

 

I could say exactly the same about you. How about have a nice cup of "stop insulting other people" potion?

Descriptions are a catalyst for your imagination, not images. It's what really propells the game world, adds to it's depth, accelerates immersion and catalizes imagination. But I guess it's "something that would be hard to explain to todays pretty grfx and mmo crowd".

Edited December 5, 2014 by Sky_walker

[kat7ra]

Might be to late, might not be what the devs want, but I'd say +1 to the OP

 

Specially the special named weapons would be nice with a scetch or full fledged drawing.

 

Then again I'm probably biased, being a huge comic book and painting/drawing fan, carsomyr had such great art, might still be one of my fav swords of all time. And a simple scetch can be so detailed, and look so good.

[Sky_walker]

The item sketches were nice in BG games, but I don't think it's needed in this game.  Icewind Dale and Planescape Torment got along fine without them, and I rather Obsidian use their 2d art resources on other things (like more 2d portraits and making nice icons for items and spells).

100 times this.

Sketches are nice and all, but there's many more important things that would actually help making game feel less repetitive and increase the level of immersion. 2D portraits being one of most obvious things (to begin with: every head of every godlike should have corresponding avatar cause these are so unique that they really break immersion if you see godlike with a completly different avatar), and smiliarly other races should have faces with at least corresponding hair colors.

Same with the icons - the more unique icons we have and less repetitive they are the better.

Adding drawings only adds to the problem of re-using one image to tons of different items. It's already bad enough with icons, I don't want to see it made even worse.

I could keep going with other stuff, but I hope you get the picture by now.

 

And as mentioned - lack of pencil drawings in games like Planescape: Torment never really felt like there's something missing. While reusing of the same avatars, icons and graphics really does feel like developers run short on a budget - obvious example here being Shadowrun: Returns.

 

That said though - if drawings would be limited only to the unique items - I wouldn't mind them. But adding drawings all over the place is a waste of resources that could be put into something preventing these moments when immersion is breaking up.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Sky_walker

[Grotesque]

 

I really miss the simple pencil drawings of items & weapons in their description windows.

It would greatly increase the feel of a Infinity Engine RPG game.

 

Those drawings gave items personality because the artist was introducing graphical elements and details to the item that was impossible to reproduce in the engine.

 

 

Maybe items would not have the extensive lore backgrounds they have in the past games but at least Pillars of Eternity would preserve this exquisite and simple pencil presentation of them.

 

 

EDIT: If you agree and feel the same in this regard, please like this post to send the message across to anyone from the dev team that maybe is reading it.

Thank you.

I liked your post, as many others, to spread the msg.

 

Following discussion in this thread, I'd like to point out that the final KS Stretch Goal was to generally enhance the game. I thought that requests like theone we have here fall under that stretch goal.

 

 

I doubt that adding 2D pencil drawings was thought of when they said to enhance the game even more. More like 3D effects & stuff. Characters models still blend in the grass though.

The consensus is clear and overwhelming regarding the subject of 2D pencil drawing for items.  

[Quetzalcoatl]

Those don't look all that great, to be honest. They're competently drawn, I guess, but to say the game will be less fun because it's 'missing' a couple of unremarkable pencil drawings is absurd.

 

I think this game does have such drawings in the bestiary, though?

Edited December 5, 2014 by Quetzalcoatl

[ctn2003]

I really miss the simple pencil drawings of items & weapons in their description windows.

It would greatly increase the feel of a Infinity Engine RPG game.

 

Those drawings gave items personality because the artist was introducing graphical elements and details to the item that was impossible to reproduce in the engine.

 

              

 

Maybe items would not have the extensive lore backgrounds they have in the past games but at least Pillars of Eternity would preserve this exquisite and simple pencil  presentation of them.

 

 

EDIT: If you agree and feel the same in this regard, please like this post to send the message across to anyone from the dev team that maybe is reading it.

Thank you.

I whould like to see art for the items however the thing is the "in game"  models for the weapons in BG1 BG2 and Icewind dale where basicly just the same sword model but just with deffrent coloers. In POE the models acouly look like what their supoost to. However the real problom for me is the sizes for the elements for the weapons armor their just to small. In fact the size's for all the menus for iteme's and descriptions of classes are "ALL" to small and i think need to be widened.   

[ctn2003]

Well i think it takes about 1 and half days to make 1 peice of art from BG1 and 2 so it it possble after all backers have been asking for this for a long long time but if i was a dev i whould focuse on loot system and bugs and UI first. But it is possble at some point.

[lolaldanee]

maybe at some point they could be rendered, as a compromise

can look quite good once you know what you are doing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seG4QOgGd8E

[Jotra]

These were probably the one single thing that added most immersion to the IE games. So yes bring them back!

[Grotesque]

 

 

 

I've always liked  the games that renders items in minute detail. And all these details are lost if also the items are not big.  

[Trodat]

^ I agree with you. Diablo 2 had really nice big item icons.

 

 

From newer games Path of Exile did it best IMO.

 

Edited December 6, 2014 by Trodat

[Shevek]

I think pencil drawings would fit this game best to match the pencil drawings in the scripted interactions and beastiary. The detailed items above look nice but dont fit thematically with the rest of the 2d art in this game.

 

In any case, its a shame pencil drawings of items arent included.

Edited December 6, 2014 by Shevek

[Grotesque]

 

This is PoE art from the latest update.

This artwork will appear shrunk with lots of details lost or this will appear in this size or bigger in the item description window?

[ryukenden]

I can't express this enough. The first thing I did in the BB was to check on the pencil sketches. I hope they reconsider and put them in the game. I don't care if the game is delayed several months as a result. 

 

WE want Pencil sketches.

[Sky_walker]

WE want Pencil sketches.

No. YOU and a few other guys want pencil sketches. That's all. Stop talking for everyone.

[Sarex]

No. YOU and a few other guys want pencil sketches. That's all. Stop talking for everyone.

 

No. YOU and a few other guys don't want pencil sketches. That's all. Stop talking for everyone.

[Sky_walker]

Read my post again, only this time carefully. I'm not talking for everyone. Majority of people never even seen this thread to begin with.

[Sarex]

Read my post again, only this time carefully. I'm not talking for everyone. Majority of people never even seen this thread to begin with.

 

Neither am I.

[mrmonocle]

+1

[Gairnulf]

Contrary to what some people point out as a reason why there wouldn't be pencil drawings in descriptions, they don't seem to take that long to make.

 

I asked my girlfriend yesterday how much she thinks it would take to make one of those drawings. She has done some drawing in school and in university. Apparently people who study medicine often tend to have some amateur drawing skills. She said it depends on the drawing, but generally it wouldn't take her much to make sketches similar to those in the OP. The scale armor I've attached took her about 15 mins, but she said it was copying from another drawing, so it was easier. The antlered helm, our favorite piece of armor in the BB took her about an hour, most of it to get the skull right.

 

So my guess is a couple of professionals would do an even better/quicker job at drawing pencil sketches for description windows.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Gairnulf

[Grotesque]

Contrary to what some people point out as a reason why there wouldn't be pencil drawings in descriptions, they don't seem to take that long to make.

 

I asked my girlfriend yesterday how much she thinks it would take to make one of those drawings. She has done some drawing in school and in university. Apparently people who study medicine often tend to have some amateur drawing skills. She said it depends on the drawing, but generally it wouldn't take her much to make sketches similar to those in the OP. The scale armor I've attached took her about 15 mins, but she said it was copying from another drawing, so it was easier. The antlered helm, our favorite piece of armor in the BB took her about an hour, most of it to get the skull right.

 

So my guess is a couple of professionals would do an even better/quicker job at drawing pencil sketches for description windows.

 

 

These are some sweet drawings!

I might give it a try also and time myself while doing it