What are your favorite portrait artstyles?

[Sigourn]

Realistic - Believable: portraits attempt to be realistic, but also look like they fit into the setting instead of looking like people from a Rennaisance fair.

Age of Decadence is a fantastic example: characters look straight out of a movie, realistic but with good expressions that make them feel part of the world.

Realistic - LARP: portraits attempt to be realistic, but the characters look like people in costumes (LARPing).

Might & Magic VI is a prime example.

Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II are examples of Realistic - LARP, with a dose of stylization. Characters have very accentuated expressions so get a good idea of what kind of people they are, typical of LARPers.

Realistic - Stylized: portraits attempt to be realistic, but they have a lot of stylization going on that separates them from hard reality.

The Icewind Dale series uses a lot of stylized realism. Characters look like they fit into the world, but the portraits aren't exactly "photographic".

Arcanum also does this: the stylization is meant for the portraits to look like actual portraits from the era.

Tides of Numanuma is another good example: the realism is there, but the characters look like paintings.

Cartoonish: self-explanatory. Characters look like western cartoons.

Here, Dungeons of Dredmore.

Japanese: characters look like they come from manga and anime.

Chrono Trigger's artstyle was designed by Akira Toriyama, creator of the Dragon Ball franchise.

Final Fantasy Tactics also has anime-inspired art.

3D renders: here the defined traits is that characters don't have pictures as portraits, but are 3D rendered.

Pixel art: usually the older RPGs have pixel art due to technical limitations of the time, but some games still make use of it, usually poorly because the developers have no skill.

 

[Bester]

Don't put MM photographs along with BG heavily repainted ones into the same category. CHange it.

 

[Tigranes]

I don't really care for those categories. Arcanum and IWD are fantastic examples of portraits that look good in and of themselves, and fit seamlessly into the setting and the rest of the art style (which is something they also achieve, not coincidentally, with their UIs).

The M&M stuff was always massively uncanny valley for me & looked horribly B-grade, but I know some people like them? The 3D renders are typically the worst, because even the highest quality million polygon piece usually can't compare.

 

[Cross]

There is quite a shift in portrait art style going from BG1 to BG2 (for the worse), so grouping them together doesn't really work for me.

One thing that I miss is animated portraits. They used to be quite common (Lands of Lore, Might and Magic, Planescape: Torment, etc.), but they've been virtually non-existent in RPG's since the 90's/early 2000's.

 

[JarlFrank]

IWD portraits are just damn good fantasy art.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Background Character]

I'm between AoD and IWD

 

[Catacombs]

Here, Dungeons of Dredmore.

His eyebrows in the mugshot look fucking ridiculous.

 

[Trashos]

The AoD portrait artist should be cloned and his genes preserved.

 

[Zombra]

Context is more important than anything else. When the portraits fit seamlessly into the rest of the game's art style, it's good. Of course if I hate the game's whole style, that's another thing.

Tangential to art style, I like it when portraits are animated, e.g. Jagged Alliance/Wizardry 8; or have different versions for different states, e.g. Might and Magic's poisoned, insane etc. portraits. When a portrait is just a painting that never moves or does anything, it may look pretty but come on now, disappointing. Might and Magic X was very guilty of this, Wasteland 2 was a letdown, etc. Why take backward steps?

 

[Sigourn]

I think this is very important for me to mention because the Codex isn't brimming with smart people (as one would expect). I'm not asking "which one do you like most: Blade Runner or Forrest Gump?". I'm asking "which genre do you like most: sci-fi or comedy?".

The games listed here are just representatives of the categories I made up. My intention is that you vote on the categories you like, not the specific examples I posted to illustrate these categories. Hope that clears it up.

My personal preference is:

1. Realistic - Stylized: Icewind Dale, Arcanum, love that kind of portraits. Tides of Numenera simply had shit artists.
2. Japanese: only in Japanese games, else it stands out like an eyesore.
3. Pixel Art: as long as you don't have indie artists, this style can look great.
4. Realistic - Believable: feels tacky to have these in a game that doesn't look particularly AMAZING.

These all look like shit: Cartoonish, Realistic - LARP (thank God for PaintBG, gives stylized portraits to the Baldur's Gate cast so I don't have to watch their LARPer portraits), 3D Renders.

 

[Leitz]

DOOM portrait is the winner.

 

[Fowyr]

 

[Rahdulan]

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.

 

[Shadenuat]

I like JRPG portraits that change expressions, because they're cheap but effective at adding life to the dialogue and game screen and abstract graphics; it is also why I like portraits in M&M, Wizardry 8 and Planescape. There's something cheeky about your characters winking at you from game screen like they're other players with you on an adventure.

 

[Rahdulan]

I like JRPG portraits that change expressions, because they're cheap but effective at adding life to the dialogue and game screen and abstract graphics; it is also why I like portraits in M&M, Wizardry 8 and Planescape. There's something cheeky about your characters winking at you from game screen like they're other players with you on an adventure.

It's a wonder what couple of frames can do. I think Front Mission games always stood out for me in that department.

Shame I couldn't find any GIFs.

 

[Cael]

 

[Feyd Rautha]

Also, Expeditions: Viking got some good "Realistic - Believable" portraits

 

[Elex]

Realistic - Believable: portraits attempt to be realistic, but also look like they fit into the setting instead of looking like people from a Rennaisance fair.

Age of Decadence is a fantastic example: characters look straight out of a movie, realistic but with good expressions that make them feel part of the world.

Realistic - LARP: portraits attempt to be realistic, but the characters look like people in costumes (LARPing).

Might & Magic VI is a prime example.

Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II are examples of Realistic - LARP, with a dose of stylization. Characters have very accentuated expressions so get a good idea of what kind of people they are, typical of LARPers.

Realistic - Stylized: portraits attempt to be realistic, but they have a lot of stylization going on that separates them from hard reality.

The Icewind Dale series uses a lot of stylized realism. Characters look like they fit into the world, but the portraits aren't exactly "photographic".

Arcanum also does this: the stylization is meant for the portraits to look like actual portraits from the era.

Tides of Numanuma is another good example: the realism is there, but the characters look like paintings.

Cartoonish: self-explanatory. Characters look like western cartoons.

Here, Dungeons of Dredmore.

Japanese: characters look like they come from manga and anime.

Chrono Trigger's artstyle was designed by Akira Toriyama, creator of the Dragon Ball franchise.

Final Fantasy Tactics also has anime-inspired art.

3D renders: here the defined traits is that characters don't have pictures as portraits, but are 3D rendered.

Pixel art: usually the older RPGs have pixel art due to technical limitations of the time, but some games still make use of it, usually poorly because the developers have no skill.

the one with a chubby elf.

 

[Somberlain]

Portraits that never remembered.

 

[Rahdulan]

Realistic - Believable: portraits attempt to be realistic, but also look like they fit into the setting instead of looking like people from a Rennaisance fair.

Age of Decadence is a fantastic example: characters look straight out of a movie, realistic but with good expressions that make them feel part of the world.

Final Fantasy Tactics also has anime-inspired art.

Shame you usually have to look in every nook and cranny to find Japanese artists of note who draw anything other than most generic anime style out there. That Tactics Ogre PSP remake didn't even fuck up updating the art style, for example.

 

[Morkar Left]

Completely depends on the styöe of the rest of the game... But I ususally like rpgs which lean to "realistic" gameplay.

 

[Lilura]

These are from my blog:

Aribeth de Tylmarande

 

[Ovplain]

IWD portraits by a MILE!

 

[Commissar Draco]

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.

Second from the left was actually quite cute shame that game went so far into SJW that no prettty womny nor white PCs were allowed. As to portraits goes I like them realistic but stylized so they fit game well; like those from AOD or Arcanum.