What are your favorite portrait artstyles?

[Lilura]

Just put this together:

If you don't know what game they're from, don't worry about it.

Also:

Hired Guns, Amiga version (1993):

Jagged Alliance 2 (1999):

 

[Mark Richard]

Those AoD portraits are harder to differentiate than the portraits of Baldur's Gate, but I can appreciate them in context. AoD is a gritty and political low fantasy setting, whereas Baldur's Gate is a high fantasy swords & sorcery adventure. The latter needs to make their larger than life heroes pop, hence the vibrant artstyle.

What would you call the portraits from Fallout: Tactics? They sort of run the gambit, from realistic humans, to LARPers and 3D rendered Deathclaws.

 

[Humanophage]

By far the most unwelcome option are 3D portraits, even the better ones, as in P:T. It is a travesty to pass on such an opportunity to infuse your characters with some additional depth.

I wouldn't put BG1 and BG2 portraits in the same category. BG2 portraits are heavily influenced by the unfortunate artistic direction in D&D3E, where dwarves and especially elves have deformed stylised skulls. Humans also look awful. You can see the influence especially well in Aerie's portrait (but not Viconia's, though there is some influence in the palette). They did much to destroy the classic fantasy style from the 90s with this:

By contrast, BG1 portraits are the pinnacle of the classic style. They offer a broad range of character and attractiveness, and they look rather realistic - I imagine they are heavily doctored photographs. About as realistic as AoD, in fact, just with a different light.

I'm also quite happy with simply using slightly altered photographs, as in Pathologic.

 

[Gepeu]

Arcanum has a fine set.

 

[DraQ]

Pixel art is not a fucking style, but technique that can be used to realize multiple different styles.
If you think it's a style, then chances are you're an incorrigible hipstard and should be put down for your own good.

 

[Sigourn]

Those AoD portraits are harder to differentiate than the portraits of Baldur's Gate, but I can appreciate them in context. AoD is a gritty and political low fantasy setting, whereas Baldur's Gate is a high fantasy swords & sorcery adventure. The latter needs to make their larger than life heroes pop, hence the vibrant artstyle.

What would you call the portraits from Fallout: Tactics? They sort of run the gambit, from realistic humans, to LARPers and 3D rendered Deathclaws.

LARPers no doubt. It's why I couldn't stand the game: that very small detail completely ruins the experience for me.

DraQ Pixel art is a style. It can be used in conjunction with other styles, but it is the predominant one of those conjunctions.

 

[Anthedon]

AoD & IWD purely from an autistic artistic point of view. They just look fantastic. I'd hang those on my walls.

Closely followed by BGI/II, excluding Imoen's BGI portrait.

 

[eric__s]

Can't believe you flippin noobs still don't realize Ishar 3 has the best portraits there are and ever will be smdh

 

[Gepeu]

I have these games for some time and I didn't even think about finally playing them.

 

[G.O.D]

I don't necessarily have a favorite just as long as it's good, but generally i tend to dislike a cartoonish style.

Age of Wonders has great portraits.

As does Heroes 3.

And Disciples 2 for example which I think I like the most.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Fowyr]

shit vogel's wife drew in her spare time

And she got a city named after her!

 

[Dorateen]

No portraits, just character names and stats.

 

[Bester]

I still can't tell what was going through Numenera team's mind when settling on portrait art style and designs, but at some point side cut was deemed vital.

Ugh. It may have been edgy when they started prototyping, but it won't be a few years from now. PST didn't have a single haircut that could be pinpointed to the 90s, it was a game made to be enjoyed for centuries. To immerse into a certain setting, it must be agnostic of its own time of creation. This is just SJW style game made in 2015 by sjw for sjw, you can just tell it by the side cut alone. Instantly not a classic.

 

[Zed]

the most important part is that it should fit the game's atheistic, not be ugly, and have a ton of babes

 

[Luckmann]

I really fucking love the portraits in Age of Decadence, and I think that they're amazing, but when push comes to shove, they're an exceptional outlier. "Pure" realistic types are usually exceptionally trashy and simply look bad, for one reason or another.

If I really have to pick, I'm going to have to pick Stylized Realism. Arcanum, Baldur's Gate 1 (2 much less so), and the entire Icewind Dale series had some truly exceptional portraits and I can't possibly vote for anything else.

I still can't tell what was going through Numenera team's mind when settling on portrait art style and designs, but at some point side cut was deemed vital.

Ugh. It may have been edgy when they started prototyping, but it won't be a few years from now. PST didn't have a single haircut that could be pinpointed to the 90s, it was a game made to be enjoyed for centuries. To immerse into a certain setting, it must be agnostic of its own time of creation. This is just SJW style game made in 2015 by sjw for sjw, you can just tell it by the side cut alone. Instantly not a classic.

If you can go "haha, oh wow what were we thinking?" in 10-15 years time, you can already tell that you've failed in your designs. Things like this in Tides of Numenera will be like looking in high school yearbooks, pointing as the most uninspiring and vapid people at that time, and laughing at how retarded they looked, trying to look topical and modern.

 

[Kitchen Utensil]

It depends. Execution is often more important than style and it has to fit the game's art direction and atmosphere. One of the more memorable recent examples:

I still can't tell what was going through Numenera team's mind when settling on portrait art style and designs, but at some point side cut was deemed vital.

Ugh. It may have been edgy when they started prototyping, but it won't be a few years from now. PST didn't have a single haircut that could be pinpointed to the 90s, it was a game made to be enjoyed for centuries. To immerse into a certain setting, it must be agnostic of its own time of creation. This is just SJW style game made in 2015 by sjw for sjw, you can just tell it by the side cut alone. Instantly not a classic.

Yes.

 

[Zombra]

PST didn't have a single haircut that could be pinpointed to the 90s.

If you can look at TNO and see anything besides "white dude with dreads", consider yourself lucky.

 

[Night Goat]

All two-dimensional art forms are plebian, I am the patron of a sculptor who crafts my characters' renditions into marble busts that I keep at my desk whilst'm've I play RPGs.

 

[JarlFrank]

I still can't tell what was going through Numenera team's mind when settling on portrait art style and designs, but at some point side cut was deemed vital.

Ugh. It may have been edgy when they started prototyping, but it won't be a few years from now. PST didn't have a single haircut that could be pinpointed to the 90s, it was a game made to be enjoyed for centuries. To immerse into a certain setting, it must be agnostic of its own time of creation. This is just SJW style game made in 2015 by sjw for sjw, you can just tell it by the side cut alone. Instantly not a classic.

Worst thing is how their artistic style declined from pretty good-looking initial art (far left) to decent art (second from the left) to meh and finally crappy art.

Portrait to the left actually has a cool style to it.
Portrait to the right just looks like a pic with hipster filters thrown on top.

 

[Mexi]

AoD portraits are boring you fucking fanboy cucks. I liked Arcanum and Pillar's style.

 

[Neanderthal]

If you can look at TNO and see anything besides "white dude with dreads", consider yourself lucky.

Blue/grey dude.

AoD for realism, U6 for stylised.

 

[Ogg]

Can't believe you flippin noobs still don't realize Ishar 3 has the best portraits there are and ever will be smdh

Agreed

 

[PorkBarrellGuy]

I liked Icewind Dale's portraits, style-wise.

 

[Mexi]

By the way, you can make that shitty AoD-style portraits in GIMP really simple. Just take a picture in a dark room, add a filter, color curves, and then use the smudge tool. FFS, this forum is just full of edgy, autistic, neckbeard-cuck fanboys.