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EXII - Baldur's Gate Portrait Artwork (UPDATE: 1 New Portrait - Female Blackguard)

EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
edited September 2013 in Fan Creations
Hello everybody,

I'm relatively new to the forums but I have been playing Baldur's Gate since the original game. I started making my own portraits somewhere in the middle of BG2 when I decided the in-game portraits no longer matched my characters. I usually spend my forum time reading posts by everybody else instead of actually participating - but thought it might be a good time to get involved.

Here are my two most recent portraits, my digi-pen is broken but i'm impressed with what I managed to do with a laptop touch pad:

imageimage

I have a stack more stored on my badly damaged laptop. Will get those recovered soon I hope. If you guys like my work i'll post them here.

I also have a small selection stored on the NWVault: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=User.EntriesListing&id=85314

If you guys feel like re-sizing any of them to BG standards then feel welcome. I don't like them too much myself as I wasn't a very good digital artist back then.

Thanks all,

EXII
Post edited by EntropyXII on
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Comments

  • alannahsmithalannahsmith Member Posts: 143
    Thanks for sharing these! They are great! Keep up the good work :D
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    Thanks ey! The first is my own personal CHARNAME. Assassin that embraces his destiny. The second is my Male Elven fighter/mage. Not many of those about - thought it might be useful for anybody who wants Elven chainmail in their portraits.

    I have a few more portraits in the works among those i'm trying to rescue, so will post them once done :)
  • jakaminskijakaminski Member Posts: 100
    Great work, I like the style and the color palette in these.
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    Thanks - I try to recreate the official BG portraits as much as I can. It kind of bugs me if the portrait i'm using is completely out of line with what's in game. I think these two in particular are more in line with BG2 however. I still have some work to do on lighting and various effects, which I might even change in the above portraits. I haven't done this in a while so I need a bit more practice.

    I welcome constructive criticism and advice if anybody has any to give. Also, shall I post the different sizes so people can use them straight away or does everybody know how to do it?

    I remember when the (original) game first came out and most people online hadn't a clue how to do it! - including me, shhhh.

  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    @EntropyXII I like your style and 100% agree I like to use portraits that are along the same lines as the official portraits.

    I have to ask though, why so green? It doesn't look very natural to me. I'd imagine you have alternates or can fairly easily whip up alternates that look a bit more, natural lighting.

    Again, I like your work, just nitpicking for constructive criticism
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    @smeagolheart Agreed. Green is my favourite colour so it just seems to find a way in there. I'll see about some alternatives. The Elven portrait was intentionally green to match the Elven chainmail. Looking at some of the BG portraits it just seemed to 'fit' at the time.

    I might see if I can give him some different armor - Mail of the Dead? Red Dragon Plate? a little worried I might end up applying to much red in this case hah!

    I'm considering doing requests so if anybody has any, let me know. Trying to hone my skills!
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    The elven portrait might look "better" (subjective I know) if the background was blue or something to contrast with the green lighting on the character. I don't know, I'd just suggest making the color come from something, a light in the room or if outside from the background of trees or something
  • alannahsmithalannahsmith Member Posts: 143
    I have a request please: If and when you get to it.
    I would like a male (half or) elven dragon disciple with an actual dragon wrapped around his neck. Or something similar? (I love dragons!) :D
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    @smeagolheart - i'll see what I can do. Good idea!

    @alannahsmith - sure, I wouldn't mind giving it a shot. Do you have a particular photo you would like me to go from?
  • alannahsmithalannahsmith Member Posts: 143
    @EntropyXII, not particularly. Anyone you use will be wonderful I'm sure :) However, I have a school girl crush on Timothy Olyphant. So if you find a suitable picture of him I would melt.
    Thank you!
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    @alannahsmith Ok, that'll work. More details: What alignment and hair colour?
  • alannahsmithalannahsmith Member Posts: 143
    Ah, sorry! >.<
    Lawful evil, dark brown/black hair. Red eyes. Red or green dragon, black and red or green and yellow robes? I have no artistic talent what so ever so I have no idea what colors go good together.
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    @alannahsmith Alright, hope you don't mind if you give me a week or so. Gonna get this non-joinable NPC fan art contest out of the way first :)
  • alannahsmithalannahsmith Member Posts: 143
    @EntropyXII, by all means please take your time! :) I'm waiting for the NPC project before I start a serious game again anyway. Thank you so much. And good luck :D
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    edited April 2013
    @smeagolheart - two new versions of my Bhaal Assassin. Improved the skin tones and shadow and altered certain colours to improve lighting. Also added a new version with a bit of dramatic fire... being an evil child of Bhaal and so on. Made changes to the eyes so they appear more like Sarevok's glow.

    imageimage


    imageimage
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    Oops sorry, missed the medium portraits:

    imageimage
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    @smeagolheart Re-colouring and added light shading, as per advice :)

    imageimageimage
  • DrugarDrugar Member Posts: 1,566
    I'm totally stealing that assassin portrait. It looks really cool, nice work!
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    edited April 2013
    @Drugar Cheers dude! It can also be used for some variation of evil wizard/sorcerer as well I suppose. I considered making an alteration with red trim to signify the robe of evil arch magi.. but decided against.

    @alannahsmith Will make a start on your request soon :) need a short break from painting. Haven't even left Candlekeep yet on my first EE character :-O Found a suitable photo to use though.
  • alannahsmithalannahsmith Member Posts: 143
    @EntropyXII. No prob! Please play Baldur's Gate. Geez. Lol. I'm leaving for Cuba here in 2 weeks. So please take your time. :)
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    @alannahsmith aha! have fun. I'm half tempted to wait to start my game anyway. I'm hoping that they include 'Bladesinger' as a kit in the new update... Cheesy I know, and I probably still won't get it :(
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    Hey guys - just an update. After I have finished the portrait for @alannahsmith (very soon) I am undertaking a project of 10 original portraits, so no celebrity enhancements.

    So far I only have a handful of friends to agree to let me use a photograph of their faces, or ones with copyrights over the photo.

    If anybody would care to volunteer for me to use a photo of themselves then let me know please. I need two more men and 4 more female (5 female portraits and 5 male portraits) ... I just realised I have a severe lack of female friends. Girl gamers, heed my call!

    Photo's must be large with a high resolution in order for me to use them well.

    All portraits will be of the highest quality, up to BG standard and take me to the brink of my abilities so they may take some time to complete.

    Regards,

    EXII
  • Zzidolfas86Zzidolfas86 Member Posts: 77
    Awesome stuff :)
  • alannahsmithalannahsmith Member Posts: 143
    @EntropyXII Girl gamer reporting for duty! :)
    Can't wait to see what you have for me! <3
    Also I have some pictures of myself that I could send you. Would you prefer a straight on picture a side shot, a bust or full body shot? In normal cloths or cosplay? Anyway I can help please let me know! It's the least I could do! :)<3
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    @alannahsmith - Send me what you feel comfortable sending - we all like to pose a bit and whatnot! :) Cosplay isn't necessary as I can create and paint the outfits myself, but if you'd prefer you can send them to me and i'll see if they're usable.

    Photo's can be bust, portrait or full body - I can always crop the bits I don't need, as long as it is large and high-res around the face. The best advice I can give is to take a look at the BG2 portraits and see how they are posed. My portraits will be a mix of BG1 and 2.

    Let me know how you would like your portrait to look also. Ultimately I will use my own creative license but it will give me an idea of good/neutral/evil and class etc.

    I should have put a disclaimer in the above post, but if you could, can you send me a PM confirming your DoB or age? I'm not 100% informed on copyright issues and age restrictions but it's best to be sure (if a Dev or Moderator can confirm this for me I'd be grateful).

    EXII - :)
  • KilivitzKilivitz Member Posts: 1,459
    Hey @EntropyXII do you still need some male models? I'd love to see what you'd do with a picture of mine.
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    @Kilivitz - Of course, 2 more places. If I take on any more than 5 I might never get finished :-O

    Same as with Alannah, PM me with your DoB and with confirmation that you agree to let me edit the photo for the purposes of BG1 EE and BG2 EE. I'll need the copyrights of said photo in order to start working on it.

    After you PM me, i'll PM my email to you. You can send me a selection to choose from if you'd prefer. I only ask that they are very high resolution and in portrait format. Outfit doesn't matter. Take a look at the standard BG2 portraits - they're similar to the format i'd like :)

    Cheers!

    EXII
  • KilivitzKilivitz Member Posts: 1,459
    Right on! I'll contact you soon.
  • MalicronMalicron Member Posts: 629
    I like the hooded one. Taking after our brother, are we?
  • EntropyXIIEntropyXII Member Posts: 656
    @Malicron - Sarevok? Of course. If Sarevok can channel his Bhaal essence into glowy bright eyes then you can be sure evil CHARNAME can too! ;)
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