Blurring the image at the start doesn't always work for me and the problem becomes very apparent at the final stage when resizing images into 90:141 and 76:96. Are there any other alternatives to "smooth out" the details?

So I followed the instructions, starting with the lg portrait size, so I can get my bearings.  When I finished the portrait looked washed out, so with some trial and error I took the blur layer.  I erased everything but the character, and set the opacity at 85%.  Overall it was a little more involved than I was hoping for, but I can't argue with end results.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hS3mdD7C9LpUl7WtTVTccWMxzMSBqR6k/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1TWpc1iOH7fSe5ChdwBYgSmgb5HPP63EJ

 

This is my first post, just wanted to say thanks.

This are my attempts:

 

--- 

 

--- 

 

Due to the  borders not being well defined when using your technique I used a photocopy layer with white to alpha instead.

Second attempt turned out better, due to much nicer lightining of base image. Thank you for your help. This are the portraits for anyone who wants them.

 

lg

 

sm 

 

convo 

 

si 

 

 

My second attempt...well 3rd attempt, 2nd completion.

 

lg:

sm:

convo:

si:

Off topic: I just can't believe the difference between 3D models in PoE 1 and 2. PoE 2 models are fantastic, while most of the time those in PoE 1 literally look worse than in e.g. Neverwinter Nights 2 which is a game from 2006. I'm talking about both models and wearable (cloth, boots etc). Is PoE 2 using some third-party middleware for this, or it's developed in-house? Because the difference is just HUGE

 

Edited August 17, 20187 yr by Voodoo

Well dagnabbit...I guess I'm still trying to figure out how to post images.  And Voodoo, I agree they look far better than PoE 1.

 

So here they are in the method I know.

 

lg: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1b8rVH4FYAux09OomczqvYSYAvxX12jW9

sm: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hUF2U3bTWTIDe78CgekdP8JB8AiBk0TN

convo: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Al7VB4DqXi9nKQSVWc1ab0Oja3_L3MaQ

si: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sp3ShvdNkGfZSaTGHM0MXxVgaaqQn-m7

Thank you so much for thisTutorial , the instructions are so clear and concise as to what to do,  

I have been a heavy GIMP user for years since that was the standard tool when I did web production and graphic design. GIMP is very powerful and does a ton of other stuff in addition to drawing (photo editing, basic animation, etc) .

A good drawing tablet is almost a necessity. I use a XP-Pen Deco 03 Graphic Tablet with GIMP ,  It's a great tablet. For slider adjustments, spot, brush edits it's pretty good.