Portraits

[Nixl]

From my perspective, the PoE1 portraits had more range, especially with the female character art. 

 

Current art seems to be man-jaw or go home.  

[Baramos]

Love Eder's, but something about the others kinda creep me out.

You mean some kind of uncanny valley feeling?

 

Anyways I love them all and will definitely make use of them. Well aside from Aloth but that's only because I have a custom one ready for him already.

[Nixl]

I get that uncanny valley feeling from the current portraits.  I do not mean to be cruel or offensive to the artist, but I cannot get this image out of my head.  

 

Edited March 3, 2018 by Nixl

[Porcelyn]

Is anyone still doing portrait conversions? I'm an alt-a-holic so I have a few. Some of mine are just the face so I don't know if that would even work or not.

[InsaneCommander]

I think the original portraits are really good, but I like the alternate ones too. Maybe I'll use them on different playthroughs, with the characters having had different endings in PoE.

 

Original/Alternate:

 

Eder: Mayor/Night Market

Aloth: Dismantle/Lead

the Leaden Key

 

Pallegina: 5 Suns/Kind Wayfarer

Xoti: Monk/Priest

 

As for Ydwin, it'll depend on whether or not she becomes a full companion and one of the romance options.

[Frog Man]

Yeah none of them look like adventurers at all.

 

As long as you geeks can jerk your ding dongs all is well I guess.

Laughed aloud and woke up the baby I was rocking.

[Frog Man]

Could anybody convert this one for me please?

Hey thanks for my new main!! Perfect for a single class priest I was planning on running through Deadfire. Thanks !

 

Ehhh...sorry if the image didn’t come through. It was old white bearded man with the huge hat.

Edited March 4, 2018 by Frog Man

[Dant3]

 

May I humbly request a watercolour edit of a couple (ok, 3) of portraits? Do it for those who like short-haired girls!

 

Please and thank you.

 

https://imgur.com/a/QFwvF

 

P.S. it's the first time I link an album with more than 1 picture, if something is wrong with the link let me know and I'll try to fix it. ^^;

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much! Excellent work, as always   

[NegativeEdge]

 

 

The 'improved' potrait is very wrongheaded. It neuters and flattens the character.

Pallegina is all about dualism: Duty Vs Heart, Lace Vs Steel, Passion Vs Stoicism, Human Vs Godlike. You know she is a person deeply and dramatically divided by an inner conflict because of the enormous blood-red slash that is sundering her unyielding breastplate in two. She wears her heart on her breast. It's the most prominent block of uniform color and demands your attention, saying 'hey this person has a streak of heart literally a mile wide. It divides them'. Maybe that's too subtle? This simple visual representation of a person conflicted is suppressed in the new portrait. 

 

In the original her feathes are clearly demarcated from her natural hair - her humanity is distinct from her godlike divinity. Again, an uneasy truce, tense coexistence. In the new portrait, this is diluted. The feathers just bleed into the hair. Pallegina the human is at peace with Pallegina the Godlike. Boring.

 

Because the tone of her skin has been lightened the feminine lace of her shirt is harder to see, taking the energy out of its struggle to breathe free of the suffocating steel encasing it. She's no longer struggling to express a more caring, gentle side of herself.

Everything about the original portrait illustrates a tremndous pent up energy resulting from these layers of inner and outer conflicts. The half snarl she's wearing reinforces the impression that this character is sublect to raw emotional turbulence. She is the center of immovable objects meeting irresistible forces. That try as she might, she is unable to suppress her rich inner life because it bursts out of her collar, in brilliant feathers out of her eyes, in a huge slash across her body.

 

The new portrait sucessfully supresses Pallegina. Its as if the artist thought 'how can I take this powerfully conflicted person and pacify them?'. It sucks.




 

[SonicMage117]

True, I also do not approve of the changes. They are subtle at a distance but among closer inspection, there are severe issues with the characteristics of which it entails.

 

As artists, it's easier for us to see but I doubt many of the general populus of players will notice. Still, very intrusive when it comes to filling out race and special prominactivity. Shame on Obsidian for this.

Edited March 4, 2018 by SonicMage117

[Dr. Explosion]

Aramintai, if you're still in the mood to make some edits, I'd be much obliged if you could do these 4 (or at the very least the first one) for me.

 

https://imgur.com/a/0J9nw

 

And thank you for doing all this work for those of us who are ... less than adept at photo editing.

[Fardragon]

True, I also do not approve of the changes. They are subtle at a distance but among closer inspection, there are severe issues with the characteristics of which it entails.

 

As artists, it's easier for us to see but I doubt many of the general populus of players will notice. Still, very intrusive when it comes to filling out race and special prominactivity. Shame on Obsidian for this.

 

I think you underestimate the capacity of "non-artists" to subconsciously perceive effects that artistic training may make one consciously aware of. I would suggest that the alternative Pallegina portrait stems from someone feeling threatened by strong complex females, preferring a passive, biddable appearance.

[Porcelyn]

I'm sorry

Edited March 4, 2018 by Porcelyn

[IndiraLightfoot]

 

 

 

 

Somebody clearly detested Jay Leno chins and all kinds of pronunciated chins, so he or she decided to shave them off.

And rounder faces wasn't this artist cup of tea either, so he or she pressed them into something more of a horsie face look.

Noses? I forgot to mention noses. This 4chan artist hated big noses and made them smaller, but at least not Michael Jackson nose-bereft.

 

I certainly get where Wormerine's coming from. And his point certainly has nothing to do with "SJW". By the way, whenever I see the term SJW bandied around, I just sigh and think "Frigging uneducated cry-babies of today, they never ceases to amaze me in their prejudiced ignorance. Grow some temples, read some books, come on."

 

Aramintai, she could have made her great point without any such futile "I base my knowledge on the interwebz" reference, since most gamer women I know, including my teenage daughter, they do spend a lot of time on character creation, at least compared to me, and they love to make nice-looking gals, that's for sure. Games are escapism and fantasy, so I'm not surprised in the slightest. 

 

But were the changes in these 4chan portraits predictable? Yep. I saw them coming 10,000 miles away.

[Aramintai]

 

If you have time and don't mind, Aramintai, could you please do mine? I know I'm nuts bout characters so if you can't do them all that's okay.

 

https://imgur.com/a/Kzvsb

 

 

 

Um, are you gonna use all of them? Cuz, you know, I'd rather people posted only portraits they will definitely use, not just for the collection. These take time to make.

Edited March 4, 2018 by Aramintai

[CottonWolf]

Ah, apparently there's one more for Aloth. Here's all five modified portraits with comparisons, uh, "courtesy" of the 4chan thread that originally produced them (those words sound so weird in the same sentence... Anyhow, let's carry on):

 

 

Here's the thread for further digging (I think I saw a couple of curious orlan portraits too): http://boards.4chan.org/v/thread/408607021

 

I was wondering whether Maia's portrait from before had been changed, but apparently that's just vanilla Maia.

 

I prefer the official one for everyone but Aloth, and maybe Ydwin. The Obsidian Aloth's not gaunt enough, and something's odd about the official Ywdin jawline (not sure I'm keen on the generic "prettification" of the non-Obsidian Ywdin portrait either though).

[Heijoushin]

I certainly get where Wormerine's coming from. And his point certainly has nothing to do with "SJW". By the way, whenever I see the term SJW bandied around, I just sigh and think "Frigging uneducated cry-babies of today, they never ceases to amaze me in their prejudiced ignorance. Grow some temples, read some books, come on."

Aramintai, she could have made her great point without any such futile "I base my knowledge on the interwebz" reference, since most gamer women I know, including my teenage daughter, they do spend a lot of time on character creation, at least compared to me, and they love to make nice-looking gals, that's for sure. Games are escapism and fantasy, so I'm not surprised in the slightest. 

 

But were the changes in these 4chan portraits predictable? Yep. I saw them coming 10,000 miles away.

 

I know, right? The other day, I told my kids, "I taped Hawaii Five-0". And they were like, "Dad? Seriously? Taped? Like an old video tape? Are you, like, 40?" 

And I said, "Damn right I am, you little s**ts. Have some respect! Grow some temples! Read some books!"

 

Anyways, I guess I'm in the camp that likes the modified portraits. They look good. Now, we're all RPG nerds here. Can't we get along? 

Edited March 4, 2018 by Heijoushin

[Nixl]

 

The 'improved' potrait is very wrongheaded. It neuters and flattens the character.

Pallegina is all about dualism: Duty Vs Heart, Lace Vs Steel, Passion Vs Stoicism, Human Vs Godlike. You know she is a person deeply and dramatically divided by an inner conflict because of the enormous blood-red slash that is sundering her unyielding breastplate in two. She wears her heart on her breast. It's the most prominent block of uniform color and demands your attention, saying 'hey this person has a streak of heart literally a mile wide. It divides them'. Maybe that's too subtle? This simple visual representation of a person conflicted is suppressed in the new portrait. 

 

In the original her feathes are clearly demarcated from her natural hair - her humanity is distinct from her godlike divinity. Again, an uneasy truce, tense coexistence. In the new portrait, this is diluted. The feathers just bleed into the hair. Pallegina the human is at peace with Pallegina the Godlike. Boring.

 

Because the tone of her skin has been lightened the feminine lace of her shirt is harder to see, taking the energy out of its struggle to breathe free of the suffocating steel encasing it. She's no longer struggling to express a more caring, gentle side of herself.

Everything about the original portrait illustrates a tremndous pent up energy resulting from these layers of inner and outer conflicts. The half snarl she's wearing reinforces the impression that this character is sublect to raw emotional turbulence. She is the center of immovable objects meeting irresistible forces. That try as she might, she is unable to suppress her rich inner life because it bursts out of her collar, in brilliant feathers out of her eyes, in a huge slash across her body.

 

The new portrait sucessfully supresses Pallegina. Its as if the artist thought 'how can I take this powerfully conflicted person and pacify them?'. It sucks.

 

 

 

 

 

I am not sure I follow here.  I am not going to get into the "duality" of the character, because I do not remember the game ever going that far with the characterization for any character.  Therefore, I am just going to leave it at that, but I do have one point of disagreement.

 

Specifically, Pallegina's PoE1 portrait was not "ugly" by any means and already had "super-model" qualities to it.  If anything, the PoE2 portrait changed her skin tone, jaw, and nose, and made her feathers stick out more from her hair.  The revision does go overboard, but I find it more consistent with the PoE1 portrait than the PoE2 portrait.  Quite frankly, I find the PoE2 portrait more of a "suppression" of the character than a revision at this point.  

 

It would be one thing if there was a range of portrait types, but instead the PoE2 portrait artist was the Oprah of massive jaws (everyone gets a massive jaw!).  

[Sannom]

What? You do realize there are Africans and people of African descent with varying skin tones? Are you suggesting it isn't "right" for them to have lighter skin tones?

Yes and no. You do realize I was comparing the two portraits, right?

 

I get that uncanny valley feeling from the current portraits.  I do not mean to be cruel or offensive to the artist, but I cannot get this image out of my head.

Oh my god. You actually brought up the Bogdanoff into this.

 

I am not going to get into the "duality" of the character, because I do not remember the game ever going that far with the characterization for any character.

The conflict between the two facets of her duty (obedience to the Ducs vs. working toward the best interest of the Republics) was unmistakable, as was the fact that she was a Godlike and this universe's version of an atheist.

 

Quite frankly, I find the PoE2 portrait more of a "suppression" of the character than a revision at this point.

If it's a retcon, it's one a mostly enjoy, especially the fact that the feathers stand out a lot more on her brow. Edited March 4, 2018 by Sannom

[jf8350143]

I actually like the  Pallegina and Eder portrait. But really hate the Xoti one, her portrait seems really out placed.

[algroth]

 

The 'improved' potrait is very wrongheaded. It neuters and flattens the character.

Pallegina is all about dualism: Duty Vs Heart, Lace Vs Steel, Passion Vs Stoicism, Human Vs Godlike. You know she is a person deeply and dramatically divided by an inner conflict because of the enormous blood-red slash that is sundering her unyielding breastplate in two. She wears her heart on her breast. It's the most prominent block of uniform color and demands your attention, saying 'hey this person has a streak of heart literally a mile wide. It divides them'. Maybe that's too subtle? This simple visual representation of a person conflicted is suppressed in the new portrait. 

 

In the original her feathes are clearly demarcated from her natural hair - her humanity is distinct from her godlike divinity. Again, an uneasy truce, tense coexistence. In the new portrait, this is diluted. The feathers just bleed into the hair. Pallegina the human is at peace with Pallegina the Godlike. Boring.

 

Because the tone of her skin has been lightened the feminine lace of her shirt is harder to see, taking the energy out of its struggle to breathe free of the suffocating steel encasing it. She's no longer struggling to express a more caring, gentle side of herself.

Everything about the original portrait illustrates a tremndous pent up energy resulting from these layers of inner and outer conflicts. The half snarl she's wearing reinforces the impression that this character is sublect to raw emotional turbulence. She is the center of immovable objects meeting irresistible forces. That try as she might, she is unable to suppress her rich inner life because it bursts out of her collar, in brilliant feathers out of her eyes, in a huge slash across her body.

 

The new portrait sucessfully supresses Pallegina. Its as if the artist thought 'how can I take this powerfully conflicted person and pacify them?'. It sucks.

 

 

I don't disagree with your comments regarding the changes, but I also feel that, if the idea in Obsidian's portrait is to represent a conflicted and divided individual, then it too is dissonant in the portrayal of Pallegina's personality therein. Her pose inside is a very stoic one, her gaze fixed directly at the viewer with a half-lidded expression that suggests impassivity above all else - more so, as with the other portraits the art is favouring a wider, squarer and stouter contour, and as per traditional visual language this is an indicator of firmness and steadfastness instead, or even sheer might for that matter. All of these are indications of a character who is at peace with this duality, who is strong and steadfast, who is determined and undivided, not someone whose, as per the a few of the epilogues in the game, "strange appearance made her feel like an outsider wherever she went". Granted, the above is also the portrait for a Pallegina who remained in the Frermàs mes Canc Suolias, and maybe this conflict would be more visible in a Kind Wayfarer portrait instead.

 

Mind that I'm not exactly championing the user-made portrait either, certainly the main criterion guiding it seems to have been to make her "pretty", which seems all the more pronounced when you compare her to both the male portraits, which were clearly guided with an intention of "restoring" an original appearance instead, or with the new female character for that matter, of whom we know next to nothing and we thus cannot determine whether, say, the fact that Ydwin is not conventionally attractive or appears of an older age are in fact parts of the character's design (which would be in complete discord with this "waifu" reinterpretation of her). Not to mention that I cannot for the life of me tell why the red banner on Pallegina's armour was recoloured into a cooler violet. But I will say that if there is one thing that the user portrait strikes true at for me, even if accidentally, is in her more wide-eyed stare, which seems to on one hand add a bit more hesitation to her expression but on the other reinforces a certain perceptive and attentive quality that is extremely prevalent in the character as per the original game. All in all this is why I also feel like an ideal Pallegina portrait for me would probably be somewhere between the two, or have elements of both at least.

Edited March 4, 2018 by algroth

[Nixl]

 

What? You do realize there are Africans and people of African descent with varying skin tones? Are you suggesting it isn't "right" for them to have lighter skin tones?

Yes and no. You do realize I was comparing the two portraits, right?

 

I get that uncanny valley feeling from the current portraits.  I do not mean to be cruel or offensive to the artist, but I cannot get this image out of my head.

Oh my god. You actually brought up the Bogdanoff into this.

 

I am not going to get into the "duality" of the character, because I do not remember the game ever going that far with the characterization for any character.

The conflict between the two facets of her duty (obedience to the Ducs vs. working toward the best interest of the Republics) was unmistakable, as was the fact that she was a Godlike and this universe's version of an atheist.

 

Quite frankly, I find the PoE2 portrait more of a "suppression" of the character than a revision at this point.

If it's a retcon, it's one a mostly enjoy, especially the fact that the feathers stand out a lot more on her brow.

 

Bogdanoff! That's the name, I knew it started "Bog" - something.  

 

If you like the PoE2 portrait, that's fine.  I do not have issue with that per se, I just believe it is disingenuous to call the revision "suppressed" and terrible, when the PoE1 portrait had similar features.  If anything, the PoE2 portrait is an attempt to suppress certain features. Furthermore, there seems to be a lack of range in the current portraits.  

 

As for her character, I disagree.  There were certainly inklings of conflict, but I do not believe it received much spotlight (or as much spotlight as it needed).  Personally, I feel Obsidian ran out of time, and an example would be the out of sequence dialogue sequence with Aloth and the Twin Dryads.  

Edited March 4, 2018 by Nixl

[Baramos]

Why are people still getting so worked up over this? It's very simple. If you like the edits use them, if you don't like them don't use them. Someone using/not using the edits does not in anyway effect your playthrough.

[algroth]

Why are people still getting so worked up over this? It's very simple. If you like the edits use them, if you don't like them don't use them. Someone using/not using the edits does not in anyway effect your playthrough.

It's a very little thing to get *worked up* over, I agree, but also there's no harm done in talking about them. Personally at least, that's where I'm standing on this matter. I enjoy the discussion (so long as it's civil anyhow).

Edited March 4, 2018 by algroth

[nonemoreblank]

I found some neat looking Toshiro Mifune portrait on artstation so I gave it the PoE treatment. Some day my posts will be approved by the mods here. :-d