The games still use large and medium-sized portraits, but you have to manually register them in a configuration file and the filenames have to match a certain format.
1. Filenames have to be in the format xxxxxxxL.BMP for large portraits and xxxxxxxM.BMP for small portraits. "xxxxxxx" can be any character. The filename length, including size prefix, should not be longer than 8 characters.
2. Start up Near Infinity and open the file "BGEE.LUA". You should see a list of portrait definitions at the very top. Each portrait is listed in the format "{'NAME', X}," where "NAME" is the portrait filename without size prefix and X is 1 for male portraits and 2 for female portraits.
Example: To add the set of male portraits "MyThiefL.bmp" and "MyThiefM.bmp" (case doesn't matter, at least on Windows and Mac): Put the files into the "portraits" folder and add the following line to BGEE.LUA: {'MYTHIEF', 1}, Don't forget the trailing comma, except for the last entry in the list.
To add the set of female portraits "MyWizL.bmp" and "MyWizM.bmp": Put the files into the "portraits" folder and add the following line to BGEE.LUA: {'MYWIZ', 2},
If you have a portrait of wrong dimensions but that you don't want to crop, you can also create another image of the appropriate size with borders surrounding the original portrait.
For instance : you found a nice 900 × 1200 px portrait, which does not have the same ratio as 330 / 210. Open it with GIMP, create a new file of size 900 × (330 / 210) = 900 × 1414 px. Then, select everything in your original portrait and copy it to the new file. When you do this, GIMP will automatically center the image (vertically aligned in this case, with gaps below and over the portrait). Then in the Layers window, right-click "Floating Selection (Paster Layer)" and select "To new layer". You may then fill the Background layer with anything you like, a colour or pattern (I don't recommend keeping a white background, it's too distracting in the game). Then, scale the image and export as explained in the first post.
Was the name of Viconia's portrait file changed with the SoD? Because I put those in my "Portrait" folder, but it won't show up. I did the same with Safana and Neera and it works fine, so I don't know why that cursed drow lady is refusing to cooperate again .
Ever since the 2.0 patch my portraits don't always work. It's seemingly random as to whether or not they decide to show up. The large portrait will work, but 9/10 times the medium one for the sidebar is blank. If I can get the medium portrait to show up in a save game, however, it continues to work for the rest of that game.
ok so I am on a Dell laptop with Windows 10 on it and I am not the Administrator on it but I have the Admin PW. When I went to upload portraits there is no My Documents only a Documents File and it does not ave a Baldurs Gate EE folder either. I made one and a Portraits file but it did not work ... Is there a fix for this?
I've re-installed BGII:EE, but the game doesn't recognise my portraits folder. I've created it under C:\Users\XXX\Documents\Baldur's Gate II - Enhanced Edition\Portraits I haven't touched the images themselves since the days of Classic BG.
After years of being horribly outdated, the original post has finally been updated and it's better than ever. The instructions are current and encompass both original and EE games.
In IWD:EE, the size of the large portrait is 420x660.
Also, in the EE's, you can put your portraits in the Override folder instead of the portraits folder. If you're amending the Portraits table with a M_*.lua file, you need to put the portrait files in override or browsing them won't work correctly.
After years of being horribly outdated, the original post has finally been updated and it's better than ever. The instructions are current and encompass both original and EE games.
In IWD:EE, the size of the large portrait is 420x660.
Is there anywhere in the UI where portraits are actually displayed in those dimensions? It seems counterproductive asking people to have such big image files if 210x330 is the biggest size displayed.
Also, in the EE's, you can put your portraits in the Override folder instead of the portraits folder. If you're amending the Portraits table with a M_*.lua file, you need to put the portrait files in override or browsing them won't work correctly.
I think using M_*.lua files to separate custom portraits by gender, include names for portrait selector mods, etc. deserves its own guide. I'm pretty sure anyone who knows enough to delve into that doesn't really need this basic guide.
Is there anywhere in the UI where portraits are actually displayed in those dimensions? It seems counterproductive asking people to have such big image files if 210x330 is the biggest size displayed.
Yes, in the character screen. Take a screenshot of the char screen in IWD and one of the BG's and compare the sizes.
Well I just did that and it turns out not only it's not 420x660, but the portraits in the BG2 record screen are actually larger, at 180x279 as opposed to 168x268 in IWD. Check it out:
The largest instance of the portrait is still the portrait selection menu, where it's displayed at 210x330 in both games:
Screenshots were taken in the latest build as well.
I need help with trying to get a 24 bit bmp created on mac. The file is the right dimensions and the filename is fine. I'm using GIMP to export it as 24 bit bmp, which it says it does. The game doesn't recognize it. I've tried preview which also doesn't work, but I'm at a total loss as to why GIMP isn't working or otherwise why the game won't accept it.
Any one have any ideas? I'm open to using a different program altogether if anyone has a recommendation.
You could try just opening it and saving in a viewer or converter. I've had the occasional portrait made in PaintShopPro fail, then I saved it in IrfanView and it was fine.
Hi @stargazerb, I use GIMP no probs (although on PC) to export to BMP, would you be able to upload a pic and I can give it a go on my game/system to see if the problem is the picture itself?
How to we tag portraits as female-only, or male-only? At the moment my custom portraits are all in a big bunch for both sexes, and that doesn't seem practical to me.
How to we tag portraits as female-only, or male-only? At the moment my custom portraits are all in a big bunch for both sexes, and that doesn't seem practical to me.
There's a table in the game called "portraits" that has two columns for the name and gender number. The name is the filename without the L or M, and the gender is 1=male and 2=female. To add portraits to that table, create a file named M_(something).lua, where (something) is 6 letters or less. For example M_myport.lua.
In that file, put the following:
function addPortrait(name, gender)
table.insert(portraits, {name, gender})
end
addPortrait('FAnn01', 2)
addPortrait('FAnn02', 2)
addPortrait('MHaCl02', 1)
addPortrait('MHaCl03', 1)
Put one addPortrait line per portrait and put this in your override folder. This works best if you put your portraits in the override folder instead of the portraits folder.
I name all my portrait files with an M or F as the first letter, so I wrote a PowerShell script to create the M_ file automatically.
Accidentally posted this in an old thread, however after reading through this thread I'm still having issues:
Ran across an issue on Mac that I haven't seen in this or the other forum posts.
My M sized portraits show up fine on the character creation screen, and they also appear on the screen when the "reform party" option is selected... but they do NOT show up on the sidebar.
I've followed the custom portrait instructions very carefully, and I think I did it right since I can see the M portraits elsewhere. I don't know why they don't show up in the sidebar however.
Accidentally posted this in an old thread, however after reading through this thread I'm still having issues:
Ran across an issue on Mac that I haven't seen in this or the other forum posts.
My M sized portraits show up fine on the character creation screen, and they also appear on the screen when the "reform party" option is selected... but they do NOT show up on the sidebar.
I've followed the custom portrait instructions very carefully, and I think I did it right since I can see the M portraits elsewhere. I don't know why they don't show up in the sidebar however.
Anyone else encountered this?
I finally resolved it. In my case, I had to make the M portraits the same size as the L portraits, 330 x 210, in order for them to show up on the sidebar.
I literally couldn't do it despite trying everything but ended up clicking of edit on one of portraits in the Portrait file (already in the game) which load up paint, I then clicked on edit with paint 3D (shown near the top right of paint) which allow paist and paisted my image in front of the shown image and saved it saving all changes (as well as when leaving 3d paint) AND IT WORKED LOL
The small portraits seem to have borked entirely for me. I've tried renaming, I've tried adjusting the size, they don't have 8 characters, all characters are uppercase, one portrait ends in L while the other ends in M, they're all bmp files, etc. etc. Large portraits show up, but I cannot for the life of me get the small portraits to show up. Any ideas or help?
Edit: Whether or not I've figured it out, I seem to have gotten it working. Converting to 24bit bmp seems to have done the trick, although it was supposedly converted to that in the first place. But best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, I suppose.
The small portraits seem to have borked entirely for me. I've tried renaming, I've tried adjusting the size, they don't have 8 characters, all characters are uppercase, one portrait ends in L while the other ends in M, they're all bmp files, etc. etc. Large portraits show up, but I cannot for the life of me get the small portraits to show up. Any ideas or help?
Edit: Whether or not I've figured it out, I seem to have gotten it working. Converting to 24bit bmp seems to have done the trick, although it was supposedly converted to that in the first place. But best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, I suppose.
I've seen that too. Often when a portrait is showing as black, I just pull it up in Irfanview and hit save. Then it shows up, even though I haven't made any changes.
I am having difficulties with custom portraits in Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition. If I go to 'C:\Users' there are only three folders there: 'Default', 'Public' and '(my name)'. No "Documents" folder at all. And within those three folders there are various folders for many games and programs (including saved games for such, though these seem scattered inconsistently throughout) but nowhere in any of those three folders are any folders for ANY of the 'Enhanced Edition' games from Beamdog that I own (and I own them all through GOG).
I have still been able to use my custom portraits because of EE Keeper, which seems to use the 'Portraits' folder I placed within the main 'C:\Gog games\Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition' folder. Also within game, for my main/created PC I can change her appearance to use a custom portrait but clicking the 'Custom' button within game does nothing at all (save for giving me a brief instruction on using custom portraits) but a great number of custom portraits do appear within the select-able portraits, though these for the most part do not contain the customs within the 'Portraits' folder I created for BG EE.
Sorry about my confusing mess of a post. Any help is appreciated.
Comments
1. Filenames have to be in the format xxxxxxxL.BMP for large portraits and xxxxxxxM.BMP for small portraits. "xxxxxxx" can be any character. The filename length, including size prefix, should not be longer than 8 characters.
2. Start up Near Infinity and open the file "BGEE.LUA". You should see a list of portrait definitions at the very top. Each portrait is listed in the format "{'NAME', X}," where "NAME" is the portrait filename without size prefix and X is 1 for male portraits and 2 for female portraits.
Example:
To add the set of male portraits "MyThiefL.bmp" and "MyThiefM.bmp" (case doesn't matter, at least on Windows and Mac): Put the files into the "portraits" folder and add the following line to BGEE.LUA:
{'MYTHIEF', 1},Don't forget the trailing comma, except for the last entry in the list.To add the set of female portraits "MyWizL.bmp" and "MyWizM.bmp": Put the files into the "portraits" folder and add the following line to BGEE.LUA:
{'MYWIZ', 2},For instance : you found a nice 900 × 1200 px portrait, which does not have the same ratio as 330 / 210. Open it with GIMP, create a new file of size 900 × (330 / 210) = 900 × 1414 px. Then, select everything in your original portrait and copy it to the new file. When you do this, GIMP will automatically center the image (vertically aligned in this case, with gaps below and over the portrait). Then in the Layers window, right-click "Floating Selection (Paster Layer)" and select "To new layer". You may then fill the Background layer with anything you like, a colour or pattern (I don't recommend keeping a white background, it's too distracting in the game). Then, scale the image and export as explained in the first post.
F*.BMP,2?
Portrait Utility
Was the name of Viconia's portrait file changed with the SoD? Because I put those in my "Portrait" folder, but it won't show up. I did the same with Safana and Neera and it works fine, so I don't know why that cursed drow lady is refusing to cooperate again
BDVICONM
All of my portraits still work fine with IWD:EE.
When I went to upload portraits there is no My Documents only a Documents File and it does not ave a Baldurs Gate EE folder either.
I made one and a Portraits file but it did not work ... Is there a fix for this?
C:\Users\XXX\Documents\Baldur's Gate II - Enhanced Edition\Portraits
I haven't touched the images themselves since the days of Classic BG.
Can anyone help me out, please?
Happy adventuring.
Also, in the EE's, you can put your portraits in the Override folder instead of the portraits folder. If you're amending the Portraits table with a M_*.lua file, you need to put the portrait files in override or browsing them won't work correctly.
Can you include information about this bug into the OP?
The largest instance of the portrait is still the portrait selection menu, where it's displayed at 210x330 in both games:
Screenshots were taken in the latest build as well.
Any one have any ideas? I'm open to using a different program altogether if anyone has a recommendation.
Thanks
Gus
In that file, put the following:
function addPortrait(name, gender) table.insert(portraits, {name, gender}) end addPortrait('FAnn01', 2) addPortrait('FAnn02', 2) addPortrait('MHaCl02', 1) addPortrait('MHaCl03', 1)Put one addPortrait line per portrait and put this in your override folder. This works best if you put your portraits in the override folder instead of the portraits folder.I name all my portrait files with an M or F as the first letter, so I wrote a PowerShell script to create the M_ file automatically.
Ran across an issue on Mac that I haven't seen in this or the other forum posts.
My M sized portraits show up fine on the character creation screen, and they also appear on the screen when the "reform party" option is selected... but they do NOT show up on the sidebar.
I've followed the custom portrait instructions very carefully, and I think I did it right since I can see the M portraits elsewhere. I don't know why they don't show up in the sidebar however.
Anyone else encountered this?
Edit: Whether or not I've figured it out, I seem to have gotten it working. Converting to 24bit bmp seems to have done the trick, although it was supposedly converted to that in the first place. But best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, I suppose.
I've seen that too. Often when a portrait is showing as black, I just pull it up in Irfanview and hit save. Then it shows up, even though I haven't made any changes.
I am having difficulties with custom portraits in Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition. If I go to 'C:\Users' there are only three folders there: 'Default', 'Public' and '(my name)'. No "Documents" folder at all. And within those three folders there are various folders for many games and programs (including saved games for such, though these seem scattered inconsistently throughout) but nowhere in any of those three folders are any folders for ANY of the 'Enhanced Edition' games from Beamdog that I own (and I own them all through GOG).
I have still been able to use my custom portraits because of EE Keeper, which seems to use the 'Portraits' folder I placed within the main 'C:\Gog games\Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition' folder. Also within game, for my main/created PC I can change her appearance to use a custom portrait but clicking the 'Custom' button within game does nothing at all (save for giving me a brief instruction on using custom portraits) but a great number of custom portraits do appear within the select-able portraits, though these for the most part do not contain the customs within the 'Portraits' folder I created for BG EE.
Sorry about my confusing mess of a post. Any help is appreciated.