Replacing NPC portraits: Do you do it?
SassyGoldElf
Member Posts: 73
Lately I've been ranting about the BG2 portraits a lot because frankly every time I see them I sort of want to gouge out my eyes. I've overridden every single one of mine and am very pleased with my party's appearance now.
Two characters, Nalia and Mazzy, I don't really think even fit their portraits. That's just not how I picture them, and I especially hate the hair. Why is Bioware so obsessed with that same random braided shoulder-length style? I've replaced both ladies with completely different appearances altogether:
This is what I use for Nalia:
by hel999 on deviantART
When I saw it I immediately thought it was perfect. A young noble girl with a slightly defiant look to her eyes but still overall poised and proper. Her hair is neat and simple but not overly fussed over.
And for Mazzy:
from the original Neverwinter Nights
Just looks far more like a proper knight to me, and I can hear her voice from that image more too. I just ignore the hair color inconsistency.
It's made me curious if others ever do this. Are there any NPCs that you picture differently in your mind? Have you ever seen a picture and thought that it really fits an NPC better than their default one?
Two characters, Nalia and Mazzy, I don't really think even fit their portraits. That's just not how I picture them, and I especially hate the hair. Why is Bioware so obsessed with that same random braided shoulder-length style? I've replaced both ladies with completely different appearances altogether:
This is what I use for Nalia:
by hel999 on deviantART
When I saw it I immediately thought it was perfect. A young noble girl with a slightly defiant look to her eyes but still overall poised and proper. Her hair is neat and simple but not overly fussed over.
And for Mazzy:
from the original Neverwinter Nights
Just looks far more like a proper knight to me, and I can hear her voice from that image more too. I just ignore the hair color inconsistency.
It's made me curious if others ever do this. Are there any NPCs that you picture differently in your mind? Have you ever seen a picture and thought that it really fits an NPC better than their default one?
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EDIT: hurr durr I cant link
A few that I do switch are Imoen, Minsc and Jahiera. I change them back to their BG1 portraits because I think they look better. I don't know what they did to Jaheira in BG2, but it never really sat well with me.
I remember picking the second one for my NWN character and it'll be nice to see it in BG2. I think the first one needs to be Baldurized a bit before I use it though it does fit quite well.
But I use her default one in BG2 because she's more melancholy in that game.
I love this one for Coran too. His default picture looks pretty stupid but this one makes him the dashing rogue he's supposed to be.
@nano Agreed. Coran's supposed to be a lady killer and he looks like a psychopath in his portrait. Sometimes I make more of an effort to Baldurize than others. I liked that first picture too much to mess with it. I did put a decent amount of effort into one for Anomen in an attempt to hate him less. Problem is now he's so hot I forgive him for more than I should. /shallow
original art is here http://nathie.deviantart.com/art/Endres-Portrait-301422136
I still wish I'd smoothed it more. And he needs more shadows around his neck... Augh why am I so fussy?!
@Eudaemonium I do love her Edwin stuff! I have a tendency to prefer really 'smooth' looking art though, so I never did DL her pack.
That said, there are some absolutely amazing artwork out there that are not only fit well within the BG art style, but also capture the personality of the characters and improves on the original artwork, particularly for characters where I feel the originals didn't do the character themselves justice, like Imoen.
There are a few of Arta's representations that I'm not much a fan of, and she often does things like removing distinctive scars or facial markings that I'm not always on board with, but in general I really like her style and having artistic consistency is, like I said, fairly important for me in terms of immersion.
I gave Imoen a fat nose, since I run her as a gnome. My own character's portrait will slowly change if I play through the whole saga. Gaining scars and such after being tortured by Irenicus. But completely changing the looks of a character I've known for about 15 years is just too much.
However Jaheira? Best portrait in BG1. In BG2 she looks like ET's girlfriend.
I also HATE the braided short hair look that they always go for. Jaheira's cornrows with metal rings was especially bizarre. What was that? Chain mail for her hair?
The one portrait I always hated was Ajantis. He's supposed to be a young squire yet he looks like a middle aged samurai. The "Generic Handsome Man in Plate Armor" that most people use for their warriors would have been a better choice for him.
Also.... wtf was with that Cherokee Apache Warrior Elf with the goofie expression? I made a silly bard with him once but never got far. I wonder if anyone actually used that for their character?
I like that Anomen portrait, I might steal that one too
I changed Mazzy's pic in my game and Shadowkeepered her hair to match. It's very weird seeing her with a different face after all this time with the default pic. But it is an improvement.
BG2 on the other hand, I actually somewhat dislike those portraits....but I still don't replace them. I guess I'm just attached to them.
I have posted a couple of other versions of this portrait within the Alternate NPC and PC portraits thread, but I like this new version the best.
@Fredjo
Thanks for your Imoen picture. It is what I've put in place for both the first and second games.
For the first game, I've replaced Jaheira with her BG2 portrait. Viconia as well, but now I need to get that darker version of Viconia. For the second game, I've replaced Edwin with his BG1 portrait. Aerie has been replaced with a cropped version of Aerie as done by NixxiCal on deviantART: