13 replies to this topic

[Echo]

Stupid Q, I know! But I get blind to my works when I gape into them. I need a second opinion.

 

I'm working on a portrait for ma NPC and right now I have a feeling he really lacks a manliness factor. Am I right, very right, or, maybe even wrong? I don't know anymore.

 

 

 

EDIT: Hmm... I did some further stuff on it, but the question remains. With a new one added: what is wrong with this face? I mean it looks bad on zoom-out and so something must be seriously wrong I just dunno what.

 

Edited by Echo, 03 January 2013 - 01:04 PM.

[Almateria]

what is wrong with this face?

It's green!
Your problem is fortunately really easy to solve, though.

 

[berelinde]

Yeah, the color balance makes him look a bit unhealthy. I like the second portrait better because it has more personality, but it's not terribly lore friendly. Wood elves and wild elves can have brown eyes, but most of the other varieties have more exotic coloring: vivid blues and violets, icy silver, or deepest black. Also, there's that whole thing with elves not having facial hair. Of course, if he's a half-elf, neither point is relevant.

[Echo]

Thank you for your input

 

I have a finished version of this actually, you can view it here: http://fc08.devianta...ien-d5qi65e.jpg

 

But aw! The beard must go? He's an elf plot-wise, but that beard makes him look so much better

 

As for the skin tone, actually it's just the ambient light that changes its hue.

 

But a quick degreenified and debearded lore-friendlier version:

 

Looking at it I guess while I may like my ambient light-plays this may work better for an in-game portrait xP
 

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Eyes wise... I need some catching up on FR elves

 

So wood and wild can have brown. I know there are... uh... there were sun elves, right? Dark elves. Winged elves. Snow elves. High elves.

 

Surely he's not a dark elf. He's not a winged elf either. But I don't know what kind of elf exactly he should be. I need an elfsultation it seems

 

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Eyes!

 

Edited by Echo, 05 January 2013 - 03:04 PM.

[Rhaella]

Sun elf, moon elf, wild elf, wood elf, aquatic elf, dark elf... eh, technically star elf... and possibly a couple more that I can't remember.

 

Where's he from and what does he do? That would make picking a subtype easier.

[Tempest]

Wild elves and winged elves, too.

[Echo]

Actually Lava PMd me and listened to my sob story then suggested Wild Elf as possibly the best choice for this fella

 

Aquatic elf? Omg, must google this

 

 

EDIT: after googling all the elves mentioned above, moon elf could fit too. Rest seems way too otherwordly.

Edited by Echo, 05 January 2013 - 06:12 PM.

[Almateria]

Don't do a heterochromy, it's never a good choice and it'll make him look like an even bigger mary sue.

[Echo]

Heterochromy makes someone a mary sue? Damn, I wear my contacts like that for the sake of annoying some people, I didn't know Okay!

[Almateria]

One of the most common symptoms, really.

[Echo]

An interesting fact, I've been guilty of creating a few Mary Sues in my time, but this never crossed my mind actually Maybe it should have. They'd be even moar awesum >D

 

Then again, I was oblivious to the fact that Drizzt was a Mary Sue for a long time so I can obviously miss things...

[berelinde]

If you go with the wild elf, the coppery-brown eyes can stay. They're vivid enough to be elven and the color works for a wild elf. If you're going with a moon elf, I like the gold-colored eyes on the top right. They're close enough to the chestnut you originally picked to work with the portrait's color scheme, but it's exotic enough to be a moon elf shade.

 

I too would recommend against heterochromy, but not for MS reasons. A character will be a Sue or not based on the writing, not the portrait, but the real reason is scale. The in-game portraits are tiny. I'm afraid that game-scale sized portraits will look lopsided if the eyes are of different colors. The pose will amplify this effect.

[Echo]

That's a very valid observation, Berelinde. I had some silly smaller-pic effects with the scars already and I could walk into that trap yet again Thanks for your inputs.