Reinventing the BG portraits....
DosEquis
Member Posts: 28
So..... I created this thread to show off my work redoing the BG portraits one by one for my epic mod-loaded replay fest! All of my images are 1536x978 in 24bit bmp, which just so happens to be the exact ratio that portraits need to be for the game.
Post edited by DosEquis on
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Obviously the first couple could be described as purist, while the next three are my own unique interpretation based on how I play her!
But by all means continue! It is always a blast to see well done renders.
They are looking nicely, but there is something that is strange to me. I think I noticed this before when atcDave showed some images. Something in the level of detail seems ... off; it's hard to say what. For instance, in the above image, it almost looks as if the rendered face (if it is a rendered face) has significantly fewer details than the rest of the image. And it almost looks as if it is generated with a specific theme that originates from elsewhere. Like if you have a 3D engine in a game, then all the generated images will look very similar to one another in "style". The skin texture also looks very odd, almost as if flies left stuff on the skin rather than skin pigmentation. Very hard to say what feels off because the image is not bad at all. But strange.
atcDave wrote:
> Years ago it could be really tough to find such good work, now it really isn’t.
That's an interesting comment as you also showed some images generated (fully by AI, I suppose), and the image here appears to have more details, if I recall correctly, compared to the images you showed in the past; but more importantly the image here seems closer to what I may call BG2 theme. Whereas some of the images you showed appear to be almost as if originating from a totally different theme. Now, if someone asks me "what is a proper BG2 theme" then this is very difficult to answer, but I think I would probably say the main BG2 portraits would be the best representation of a "proper" BG2 theme. And if you compare that style with the images generated by AI, it does not (yet?) seem to match.
The bottom line is.... I don't care. I enjoy the process. There is an artistry to it that is very satisfying, and in my image above, when I play Viconia, I picture her in the Nashkel mines, slaying pesky kobolds, finally loosening up and enjoying the company of her half-orc companion Zarek (the yet-to-be-revealed Bhaalspawn of the narrative), and his quirky, annoying childhood friend Imoen, who recently saved Viconia's life from an unnoticed trap. Hmmm... maybe there's something to be said about these backward, barbarian surface dwellers after all....
Can you see how utterly impossible it would be to find the absolute perfect portrait by combing through literally thousands of creations made by other people? Naysayers can whine and complain about "AI slop" all they want (not to imply that you are one of these people, shevy).... I just don't care... AI is not going away. As Ellie Sattler says when clinking glasses with John Hammond and Alan Grant, "where's the plane?" 😏
....that is, until a T-800 comes knocking on my door, inquiring about someone named Sarah Connor....
Bioware never gave him a surname, so I did.
I didn't really like the reinterpretation of Viconia, though. It strays too far from the original in my opinion, and her face is too sweet for a remorseless dark elf.
BUT both Montaron's reinterpretations are flawless and very faithful. Also, most importantly, they don't give off that AI/uncanny valley vibe. It's cool too see this guy like this after nearly 30 years. Congrats!