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New Portrait Sample (AMAA)

The_New_RomanceThe_New_Romance Member Posts: 839
edited August 2012 in Archive (General Discussion)
Okay, so the AMAA gave us this shiny new portrait http://i.imgur.com/N4s6x.jpg (at least those of us who're on PC or Mac will be getting it right away). It's from the portrait pack, done by Jason Manley (obviously the IWD portrait artist). In my opinion, it can't hide that heritage ;)

What do y'all think about it? I welcome the addition of non-white characters (Viconia aside), but I'm skeptical whether it will blend in as I think it's a little too much Icewind Dale.
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Comments

  • KlonoaKlonoa Member Posts: 93
    It looks lovely and I can appreciate that some people prefer the IWD portraits. I mean you get to see a little more of the Forgotten Realms "style" in something that's more than a portrait but...that was BGs thing. Plus I think I prefer the facial shots because for a small icon you can see more and its more about the individuals.

    But I get my opinion is nitpicky and kind of meaningless on its own. I appreciate any new art and sure lots of other people will too. I'm making some (nowhere near as good as that of course ;_;) and I hope others will too. The more, the merrier kind of thing. You can never have too many options right? Can't wait to see some more!
  • ElzarathElzarath Member Posts: 173
    Looks great! They've done an awesome job. But it's too Icewind Dale and not Baldur's Gate
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    @Klonoa Good attitude! :)
  • The_New_RomanceThe_New_Romance Member Posts: 839
    Schneidend said:

    Another instance where the developer can't really win.

    Yeah, that's probably a general problem with re-doing such a beloved classic game - loads of people have a strong opinion on it. It's also very difficult to get it to look like the BG1 portraits if you don't have the respective artist available, so Icewind Dale is likely to be as close as we can get 14 years after the original portraits were made.
  • SchneidendSchneidend Member Posts: 3,190
    The_New_Romance said:


    Yeah, that's probably a general problem with re-doing such a beloved classic game - loads of people have a strong opinion on it. It's also very difficult to get it to look like the BG1 portraits if you don't have the respective artist available, so Icewind Dale is likely to be as close as we can get 14 years after the original portraits were made.

    And that thought greatly excites me for an IWD:EE. Manley could do even MORE awesome IWD-style portraits for that game!
  • KholdstareKholdstare Member Posts: 160
    edited August 2012
    I like it. I'll have to see more before I decide whether I'll use one or not, though.
  • sandmanCCLsandmanCCL Member Posts: 1,389
    I'm all for it. I personally always ran with custom icons, so it "not meshing" with the original art style doesn't bother me. Who doesn't like to be a little bit exceptional?

    I used to have a Magic: The Gathering data-base I could nab images from. Will likely use M:TG cards for custom portraits yet again once BG:EE comes out.
  • ElzarathElzarath Member Posts: 173
    I don't think it hasn't been well received, people seem to be quite positive about the work done and effort put in, it just looks out of place along side the BG portraits for some people, myself included.
  • recklessheartrecklessheart Member Posts: 692
    Nope.
    The artwork is commendable - really lovely. But it's definately IWD (which was also created by the artist for BG:EE, so that makes sense).
    Even Dorn, Neera and Rasaad's portraits stand out a little too much for my liking, although I'm very eager to explore the characters. The only extra portraits I ever used in BG were the now-deceased workings of 'The Portrait Portal'. You could see the different, certainly, but even so it's the only place where totally new portraits for BG have been created where the style of the original BG was recognisable.
  • recklessheartrecklessheart Member Posts: 692
    Gosh. The more I look at that singular portrait release the more I like it - His work has in no way diminished from IWD, has it? (This does not make my aforementioned comment redundant, however.)

    Also, @The_New_Romance ... What about Valygar? Only one example. But still!! :)
  • LemernisLemernis Member, Moderator Posts: 4,318
    I like the portrait a lot. But I do agree that it's style doesn't blend well with the style of BG1 official portraits.
  • The_New_RomanceThe_New_Romance Member Posts: 839
    edited August 2012
    @recklessheart Yeah, Valygar is clearly a little darker, but he's BG2. I was only thinking about the BG1 portraits, and I believe there wasn't any non-Caucasian characters there. Of course, the whole thing takes place on the Sword Coast, where people would probably look European, but it's nice to have the option of having a darker-skinned PC.

    And no, you're right. He still has that IWD magic going on :)
  • SchneidendSchneidend Member Posts: 3,190
    The_New_Romance said:

    @recklessheart Yeah, Valygar is clearly a little darker, but he's BG2. I was only thinking about the BG1 portraits, and I believe there wasn't any non-Caucasian characters there. Of course, the whole thing takes place on the Sword Coast, where people would probably look European, but it's nice to have the option of having a darker-skinned PC.

    And no, you're right. He still has that IWD magic going on :)

    Dynaheir is mysteriously particularly dark, and her portrait is available to the player.
  • StrangeCatStrangeCat Member Posts: 39
    Very Good Painting reminds me of Massive Black
  • The_New_RomanceThe_New_Romance Member Posts: 839
    @Schneidend You're right. Although I have always wondered how she got that dark, hailing from Rashemen, whereas Minsc looks totally different. Anyway, I didn't mean to start a racial inclusion debate or anything, just noticed that they put in additional choices (which I hope will also be there for, say, Half-Orcs, who have only one portrait in the whole series).
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    The_New_Romance said:

    (which I hope will also be there for, say, Half-Orcs, who have only one portrait in the whole series).

    Well, now we will have at least two. One that looks like a very stereotypical Barbarian Half Orc and the other is the hot mess that is Dorn.

    Okay, so that came off a bit awkward but wouldn't people agree he's actually pretty good looking from his portrait, especially for a half orc?
  • The_New_RomanceThe_New_Romance Member Posts: 839
    edited August 2012
    He is. Probably got around 18 CHA as well, being a Paladin kit. Now we only need a female half-orc. Let's have bets whether they can make her hawter than Dorn ;)
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    edited August 2012
    The_New_Romance said:

    He is. Probably got around 18 CHA as well, being a Paladin kit. Now we only need a female half-orc. Let's have bets whether they can make her hawter than Dorn ;)

    I suspect he'll have a 17, but I would laugh if he had an 18 Charisma, as he would be beating Ajantis and Safana. "The most influential, most attractive character in the game is a half-orc!"

    On this note, some of the Charisma rolls in this game are total bull. Xan with a 16 ... he doesn't exactly inspire me, or make me think he's a good leader, sorry. Love the guy to pieces, but seriously they just did that so he could be an Enchanter. Ajantis with a 17 ... he's a naïve kid, I'm not going to follow him instantly sorry. Kivan's is 8, which is both true and untrue; while his personality is very gruff and he's not all that nice, a ton of the characters compliment him on how they feel safe with him around, how he's a good fighter, and of course Safana wants to see what "other abilities he has." Mixed bag there.
  • sandmanCCLsandmanCCL Member Posts: 1,389
    Dorn is already a rule-breaker. I suspect his Charisma will be "high" but won't incur any positive benefits.
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    sandmanCCL said:

    Dorn is already a rule-breaker. I suspect his Charisma will be "high" but won't incur any positive benefits.

    Hopefully not, but you could totally be right. I just would prefer if, despite being very evil, he was actually charismatic. (in terms of personality, not just stats) It would make his character much more interesting, and as the Devs seem pretty well convinced they're proud of all 3 new NPCs, I'm sure his character is far from dull. We'll see how they pulled it off though. From the AMAA yesterday, he honestly just sounds like a big jerk (they kept mentioning that he will attack good characters), here's hoping I'm wrong and he has more depth than that.
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    Writers rarely sell their characters well enough, if they're doing their job right. @Dave is a solid writer, and I trust him to do his job right.

    I also trust @PhillipDaigle to kill enhance all of Dave's jokes. :)
  • kiroskiros Member Posts: 119
    Great image, but would not integrate well into Baldur's Gate in comparison with other portraits.
    I don't see any reason why the portrait can't be modified further to give it that Baldur's gate feel.
  • hansolohansolo Member Posts: 136
    Jason Manley has done an awesome job on the IWD portraits and this sample look gorgeous, too.
    If he would draw alternative portraits for all the NPCs in the same style, that would be truly magnificent ^^. This way, the art style would stay coherent and one could choose between classic style and the new one.
  • reedmilfamreedmilfam Member Posts: 2,808
    Nice work, but it doesn't fit for me. Still, I'd rather have lots of styles and options so that I can pick the one I like - especially if the NPC's have styles that match. This would give us an IWD look with canon NPC's, so... I'm not sure it works for me.
  • immagikmanimmagikman Member Posts: 664
    edited August 2012
    Doesn't look anything like my Female Halfling thief...


    humor ;)
  • Jean_LucJean_Luc Member Posts: 228
    I love the IWD portraits so, in that sense, I like this one too though it's true that it's kinda un-BG-like.

    Could be useful for the Black Pit since you can create a whole new party IWD-style so you can use portraits that share a common style.
  • LadyRhianLadyRhian Member Posts: 14,694
    Reminds me of Nasir from 'Robin of Sherwood'.

    http://namenookdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/htvs-robin-of-sherwood-nasir.png
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