Some custom portraits
Axl_Krow
Member Posts: 69
These are just some portraits I made for myself for Pillars of Eternity. Luckily, the large portraits in that game use the same ratio(and I believe even the exact same size) as the large portraits for Baldur's Gate. Sharing's caring 
I'm sure I've got more floating around, but my computer isn't exactly.... "organized". Some of these are leftovers from a couple reformats ago. I know I've got some that are least 10 years old on a flashdrive somewhere in the house lol
I'm sure I've got more floating around, but my computer isn't exactly.... "organized". Some of these are leftovers from a couple reformats ago. I know I've got some that are least 10 years old on a flashdrive somewhere in the house lol
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A lot of you may already know about it by now, but I've only discovered it this weekend. I'm still in the habit of using paint and fine-tuning my portraits there, but I can't deny how damn nice and convenient this baby is.
Reverse image search won't work as I've cropped most of them and some of them have been outright put together via a photo editing software.
It'd probably be incredibly painful to have them smashed against your body, so it only makes sense for there to be a bit of room there.
https://www.tor.com/2013/05/06/boob-plate-armor-would-kill-you/
EDIT: Adding a reference.
Skip to 6:20. What difference would it have made if this armor had a U cleavage? By the same reasoning, a normal armor would crush your collarbone as all the force would collect there instead. As long as the sword hits somewhere where there is plate, well, that means the blow have a good chance of being absorbed by the armor. In fact, the roman murmillo gladiator had a sleeve armor, which was terrific at deflecting blows that land on the right arm, but rather crap against blows that land on the left arm. But it did not slice off your biceps every time the armor took a hit on the shoulder.
The boobplate is either terribly cleverly designed or not, because most sword stances makes you lean forward, giving your opponent a serious cleavage shot. This can be considered a distraction in which case the boobplate makes sense, or basically giving the opponent a large exposed area where to plunge his weapon of choice. But even if it's the latter, it can still make sense, because if you are really good at deflecting blow towards your head-neck-upper-chest area but really bad at defending from blows from below, leaving that area exposed will tempt the opponent to attack the area you are most skilled at defending.
Also noteworthy, berserks often fought naked, or wearing only a bear rug. Does that make you a better fighter? No, it's psychology man! It made the berserk more intimidating. In fact, some have suggested that the boxer in red headgear have a slight advantage against the one in blue due to color symbolism (such as the black and yellow color codes of bees, only red apparently symbolizes dominance which is why a lot of sports cars are red).
In the same way, would a gentleman not go easier on the ladies, being reminded of their delicate nature - if nothing else then on a subconscious level, just like the color red acts on a subconscious level? Oh yes they would! You KNOW they would!!!
Evidence:
(The other fighting style that became popular was trying to thrust at weak points in the armor. This led to the half-swording technique. You can see a medieval drawing of armored combat here. One combatant is half-swording, the other using the pommel of the sword as a mace.)
(Image Source: Codex Wallerstein)
Also, despite what the many fantasy RPG pictures depict, plate armor or mail would not be form-fitting. Such armor would never be worn without a gambeson or arming doublet (a padded jacket worn beneath the plate or mail armor) to absorb the force of blows and prevent chafing. So, plate armor resembling a metal bustier or corset is just not realistic.
Oh, and the whole "cleavage distracts the enemy" idea is just laughable. Notice that modern body armor for women has no cleavage or boob windows.
(Image Source: US Army)
And nobody gives men "crotch windows" to distract the enemy during battle.
(Image Source: Power Boy by Cory Walker)
If you're looking for a good example of female armor for a D&D type setting, look at Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones. No cleavage/boob window or boob plate, and you can see the arming doublet she wears beneath the plate armor.
(Image Source: HBO)
If you like the "sexy armor" pics, fine. But saying they portray realistic armor is as ridiculous as looking at S&M fetish gear and claiming it's rock climbing equipment.
EDIT: Reducing image widths
PS - A gladiator's armor was designed with spectacle for the crowd in mind. Manica protect the striking arm so that a small cut to it wouldn't end a fight prematurely, but still leave other parts of the body unarmored for maximum crowd-pleasing blooding.
(Image Source: Codex Wallerstein) Hogwash! If one were to start producing boob plates, one would design one that is comfortable. All these perceived chafing problems is merely a matter of adjustment. Why are you strawmanning? We are not discussing what armor people use today or what was historically used, we are discussing the potential pros and cons of a boobplate if such a thing would exist.
Secondly, fighting with rifles is NOTHING like fighting with swords. Fighting with swords is up and personal, you can see gobs of snot in the opponents nose, should he / she have such. Modern warfare is done at distances sometimes reaching hundreds or thousands of meters. This deflection of yours is weak, and reeks of desperation. Again, not true. Psychology plays a major part in battles, especially ancient battles, where they would impale people on spears to make a morbid alley. Berserkers did fight in the nude. This gave them a psychological advantage because that made them more intimidating. Boobs won't but again the point of boobs is distraction and enemy lenience, not intimidation. Again, we are talking about the potential pros and cons of the boobplate, not what was actually used. Stop strawmanning!
Protip: Just wear whatever you want, for there's no fashion police in Faerun.