199 replies to this topic

[Enkida]

Yaga Shura, with the face model by ISOStock:

[Quester]

That looks good, Enkida.

I want to see a better Hubelpot portrait!

[Lava Del'Vortel]

I really like the portrait, but doesn't Yaga Shura have short hair?

[Enkida]

He does, but I was lazy. Also, that stock dude had some seriously luxurious tresses. It would have been a crime against hair to let those curls go to waste.

[Lava Del'Vortel]

Yet the problem is that his animation in game (and if I remember correctly, he has his own, special animation - I may be wrong, though) has short hair. This mismatch may seem really strange.

[Galsic]

Yet the problem is that his animation in game (and if I remember correctly, he has his own, special animation - I may be wrong, though) has short hair. This mismatch may seem really strange.

Uh, you've played BG before, haven't you? Cuz Minsc would like to have a word with you...

Also, if I ain't mistaken, the only unique animation Yaga Shura has are those balls of energy swirling around him. He otherwise looks like any other fire giant.

And yeah, that Yaga Shura portrait kicks ass.

[Lava Del'Vortel]

Uh, you've played BG before, haven't you? Cuz Minsc would like to have a word with you...

But Minsc animation is a limitation of the engine.

There is Yaga-Shura slot (0x7f3f animation slot), yet I don't remember if it's used in game. However, his animation still shows short hair. While I can understand making a new version of a poor portrait, I'm not sure if changing his appearance that much is a good idea. Yet that's my personal opinion - I'm not saying the portrait is bad. It technically amazing and Enkida knows that I'm a fan of all those portraits, yet it's about change of important character's feature.

[Galsic]

Uh, you've played BG before, haven't you? Cuz Minsc would like to have a word with you...

But Minsc animation is a limitation of the engine.

Well, the point I was really trying to make was that portrait-avatar discrepencies are all over the place in the BG series; Minsc is just one of the most glaring examples, whatever the reason may be . With this new portrait, Yaga-Shura would only be fitting in with this pattern (which, at this point, I find quite charming ). Why should Yaga-Shura stand out in that regard from the other Four, anyway : / ?

[Lava Del'Vortel]

Hmm, I would say that you already gave us the reason. BG is full of inconsequences. The question is - should mods fix those inconsequences or make BG even more problematic? It's like a pineapple winning prize for being most tasty apple...

Enkida, as I wrote, it's just my opinion. Technically the portrait is breath-taking, amazing and mostly exquisite, yet wasn't your reason for creating this mod to apply more suitable portraits for each creature that needs it?

Obviously, it is an optional component, so maybe this isn't really significant opinion, yet I'm just being honest Please, don't hold a grudge against me because of that

[Galsic]

The question is - should mods fix those inconsequences or make BG even more problematic?

#1 Personally, I don't think it's a problem (a quirk, perhaps, but like I said, it's a charming one!) #2 How would you go about fixing this "problem" through mods? Ideally, one would want to change the avatar to match the portrait (crap-ton of work I think, but I could be wrong). Seems more realistic that the portrait would have to be made to fit the avatar, though, and avatar variety ain't that great. My advice to Enkida would be to just not worry about it.

Edit: Here's a thought I've had about your Ellesime for a while now: she looks too devious for her character. It's in them scowling eyes. And speaking of her eyes, they're oddly darker than those on your Illasera portrait (still disagree with your decision there, but I doubt there's anything more I can say to change your mind about it).

Edited by Galsic, 25 January 2012 - 06:45 PM.

[Lava Del'Vortel]

But currently portrait is matching the animation, so there's nothing to fix. And even if there was something, I'm not someone who is able to fix that since I never work with animations and bams. However, if Yaga-Shura doesn't use slot that was prepared for him, it is possible to use it - edit Fire Giant animation to make Yaga look different and then set the animation slot to use the animation.

So, if that's not a problem, then why should we care if Bodhi has blood on her face? Why there were people looking for stock photos that would suite particular NPCs, while we can leave the rules and just add *just* nice looking portraits. I thought it was supposed to be something more. Suitable, rule-wise + good looking.

Still Enkida is the artist here and I'm not going to bind hands of the artist. I just feel that constructive criticism and question about the purpose is essential if we want mod to be even better than it is now.

And I'm done with the discussion. I said what I was supposed to say, gave you some reasons. I suppose that Enkida won't change it because of the work that was put in creating the portrait, but that kind of comments may help in futher work.

[Eric P.]

Lava, I agree with your view on the issue 100%. If the long-haired portrait isn't used for Yaga-Shura, it could be used for another NPC. Looks too good to me not to be used for something

[Enkida]

Ellesime less mean, ears moved, eyes a little greener than before. She is green eyed according to BG1 lore, as far as I remember. Also, this is the picture of Illasera I ended up making. It's not William's because his file turned out to be corrupted when I tried to resize it on my own computer, but it's basically the same edit. On Yaga Shura: We'll see if I edit him or not. I didn't cut his hair because I was a bit lazy about editing the original portrait. Yaga Shura is not a character that compels me to make good art, LOL. If I do give him a shorter haircut, it will be low on the list, because I'd rather finish the Kivan portrait right now and the other mod NPCs first. I'd rather people did not take stabs at editing him on their own, though.

[Enkida]

Alright, since you guys asked for it, here is lore correct Yaga. I'll include both versions in the mod for people who want a choice

[Lava Del'Vortel]

Nice. I would still say that it may be good to shorten his hair even more, to make him remind the animation - like here:


Yet probably it's pointless to spend days on one portrait, so...

[Galsic]

Since when was there lore on Yaga-Shura's appearance : / ? I think Yaga's portrait is fine as is, but then, since he doesn't have a unique avatar anyway, that the portrait doesn't match really doesn't bother me. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, if he can't have a unique avatar, he ought to at least have a portrait that shows that he stands out on some conceptual/design level from other fire giants. Looks good regardless.

I was wondering how you'd go about changing Ellesime. Seemed to have been a fairly easy edit for you, though, so kudos there. Also, Illasera is much better now, too .

Can't wait for your next portrait .

[MiLeah]

Ooooh! I love the Yaga portraits! I never came across him, but I like him with all that long pantene hair! I can totally see him swinging it around in slow motion while he's in battle. Makes one wanna run a hand through those smexy silky strands!

I'm also diggin' that armor in the second portrait. Nice one.

Also, I don't count the in game character models, cause first off: ALL the females have this 'mullet-time' hair-do going on, and we all know that that's not true according to their portrait. And like Galsic mentioned, Minsc has this gross white fungus growing on his head even though he's suppose to be bald. And some of the character's armor colors are off according to their portraits (i.e Keldorn and Valygar). So I think he's totally fine just the way he is.

[Oh, and to your reply about licking Yoshimo...You can't keep lickin' folk!! ]

Edited by MiLeah, 26 January 2012 - 07:53 PM.

[Eric P.]

It may be too late in the game to bring this up, but if memory serves, Ellesime is a wild elf, as are the inhabitants of Suldanessalar. Wild elf skin is dark brown. Vanilla never bothered with that detail, but I'd love to see a wild elf as described in Realms lore

Illasera the Not-so-Quick looks marvelous!

[Enkida]

I totally can keep licking people. It keeps my monitor clean! XD

Also there is lore on Yaga Shura - he's a fire giant, so he should have flaming red or orange hair, red eyes and dark black skin. Obviously Bioware doesn't give a fruitcake about lore, so neither will I. ;-)

Also, it seems Robert Patterson is making it to the list as Tsujatha, too. If you get the joke more power to you! If you think Twilight is a good work of literature and I'm being mean, don't worry, I will do a good job on him *anyway*. XD

[Enkida]

Kivan, face model Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, who is the same as Herd's. The bow comes from GIN7GIN8 stock



* hs head is too big for a bg2 portrait, that will be fixed later

Edited by Enkida, 28 January 2012 - 02:25 AM.