We've done voices, we've done names, what about portraits?

[Pirengle]

What portraits do you like to use with your games? Are you a fan of artwork, animation, or photographs? What do you look for in a portrait? Do you like any of the portraits that come with the game? Where do you get your portraits? Do you make any of your own portraits?

I'm incredibly picky when it comes to my portraits. I go for realism. I don't like ones that look too much like art, and I don't like ones that look too much like photographs. [img]tongue.gif[/img] I try to find ones with the same three-quarter face area so it'll sort of match the NPC portraits.

I'm also fond of taking portraits people make for NWN and playing with them through Fireworks and Paint to make a BG2-friendly version. Or I'm browsing a portrait gallery and looking for decent ones, or ones I can edit to make decent. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Is it just me, or is there a lack of believable female portraits in online galleries? The amount of, well, exposure, is astonishing. Nuts to realism, I guess. People really think a female fighter is going to charge into battle wearing nothing more than a mesh bikini and a cape? As for the others, I find myself thinking "that may look interesting, but all that's really doing is giving your enemy a clear shot at your vitals." C'mon, let's get some dressed female portraits.

(Then I find myself thinking of Irenicus' outfit, and how much exposure that has and deciding that he's hard as heck to hit, so tagging his totally unprotected flesh is a problem, and when you get a real shot at him, well, if you've finished the game you know what I mean.

I also managed somehow to give four of my characters four different versions of Aribeth's portrait from NWN. They all look different, somehow...

[Dundee Slaytern]

I actively use well-dressed female portraits too. I know about suspension of disbelief, but even I have my limits. You will be hard-pressed to see any belly-buttons or cleavage in the female portraits that I use for my female characters.

I tend to go for the elegant look, or the graceful look, or the noble look, depending on the female character that I am using.

[IronDragon]

I stopped using the portraits provided by the game itself some time ago. While I might enjoy using Valygar’s portrait for my PC that means that Valygar is stuck with Khalid’s old picture (an elf eared caucasian in a roman gladiator’s helmet) and it just does not fit Valygar.

This means I rely heavily on other portraits from the net to provide my PC portrait.
My first demand of a portrait is that it matches the style of the NPC’s various portraits. Which means shoulder and head shots with a neutral background.

There are only two of photograph portraits that I keep around for use. One of Ben Aflek from “Shakespear in Love” and one of Kevin Anderson form “Xena” I have played a little with both to make them look less like photographs though. I enjoy the portraits from the Portrait Portal epically the Michael Jordan picture. Now if only Karse Soze at the Portal would come out with a couple mage portraits to complement their warrior pics using say Odid Fehr as a model for that. I have used the Portal’s Keanu Reeves portrait to permanently replace the Solaufein portrait and find that I like the character much better with the change.

I have also replaced the awful pink haired Imoen portrait with the alternative Imoen portrait posted at Weimer’s BG2 website.

I agree entirely with your assessment of the over abundance of half naked women but I find a similar problem with male portraits. I find it hared to believe any man can comfortably swing an eight foot two handed sword while wearing nothing but a chain mail thong. Ouch.

[dragon_lord]

I prefer somewhat realistic looking portraits. If it looks like a particular class should and looks good I'll usually get it. I know what you mean about female portraits though. I have only found a few good ones. One was a female ranger/fighter, it looked great and how a ranger/fighter should look. I wish there were more like this one:

[LennonCook]

I use the Portral's Jude Law one... best portrait I`ve ever found for, well, almost anything. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Malthaussen]

My tastes in portraits is rather catholic. I have no difficulties with photographs of the famous (or near-famous), since I rarely watch movies or TV and don't know any of these people anyway. [img]smile.gif[/img] There is a photograph of Alyson Hannington floating around the 'net that just screams "Imoen" to my eyes, so I always use it for her.

I don't care for most of the female portraits provided in BG2, so whenever I recruit a female NPC I change to a portrait I cropped myself from something on the 'net. Most of the males seem pretty inoffensive, so I don't change the male NPC portraits. My PCs, however, male or female, are always a custom portrait I've either d/l'd off the net or cropped from a larger picture. This is because when I create a character of my own, I have a definite "look" in mind, and try to make the portrait reflect this.

As for the issue of clothes, well, I don't much care. I think of my portraits as portraits, not "in action" pictures. This is especially true of mug shots, which I tend to prefer, anyway. While a male or female fighter would not, realistically, charge into battle wearing a thong and a pair of pasties (unless he or she was using bracers, lol), he or she might easily have a photograph taken or a portrait painted in such a condition. And I really doubt any character sleeps or carouses in his full plate mail.

Bottom line: I look for portraits that look (to me) like the character I'm using them for. Whatever (and whoever) works is just fine.

-- Mal

[SixOfSpades]

The issue of "butt-floss" in fantasy art is so well-known that I'll sidestep it and instead regale you with my favorite choice of "I think I'll charge into battle wearing something stupid today."

It was the cover of some lesser known, X-Men type comic book, called Youngblood or something, and I think it was their very first issue. The guy who appeared to be the leader of the group (at least, he was in front) looked a lot like The Flash, since his "Battle Gear" consisted of red spandex from neck to toe (no head protection at all). But the feature that caught my eye was the fact that his shirt had an emblem of a big, gold, 4-pointed star with a circle around it.
Now, let's review.
- The symbol looks exactly like a rifle crosshairs.
- It's about a foot in diameter and very easy to see.
- It's positioned directly over his heart.

"PLEASE DON'T SHOOT ME HERE!!!"

[Tancred]

I like the portraits from Neverwinter Nights. Or, to be more exact, I like the portraits from Neverwinter Nights that look like the same artwork from BG2. There's two, especially... one with a blonde young man with a slightly upturned nose, dressed in golden armour and bradishing a sword, that became my paladin, Tancred... and another of a brown-haired thick-set man with a scarred, serious face that became my blackguard, Malvolio.

A whole bunch of these also became the faces of my Icewind Dale 2 Party.