your favorite alternate NPC portraits

[Lemernis]

Do any of you use alternate portraits for Bioware NPCs? Myself, I've never cared for the portraits for

 

Coran

Faldorn

Quayle

Xzar

 

Bioware Coran has a just plain goofy facial expression. His war paint (?) doesn't seem to match his rakish personality. It strikes me as more appropriate for a berserker or barbarian type. Bioware Coran's colors are pretty hideous, also.

 

Bioware Faldorn's portrait seems too rageful, I think. Faldorn's soundset is actually surprisingly serene, despite the fact that she's a militant Shadow Druid. In that respect, there's a sort of crazed energy to the portrait that doesn't quite match the soundset.

 

Quayle seems inspired by the RL stereotype of the obnoxious supernerd with zero social skills. In contrast the Bioware portrait actually looks someone who is possessed of charm, grace, and wisdom. I think something nerdier and more obnoxious looking for him would work better.

 

Bioware Xzar looks too primitive to me. His tatooed face puts me more in mind of a tribal shaman than a studious necromancer. Not to say that a psychotic necromancer wouldn't necessarily look that way, though.

 

I haven't looked that hard yet, but so far I've only found a decent alternate for Xzar. This one looks sufficiently deranged, and like he could be a necromancer. And he has a much more sophisticated appearance than the crazed wild man Bioware portrait. Give his skin a pasty palor (0x0C) with Shadowkeeper and make his main color violet, minor color bright red. Then it's at least a nice matchup of soundset/portrait/avatar--although it's definitely a more urbane Xzar. And that does subtley change the gaming experience of the character. Anyway, to my eye he looks a little more like someone the Zhents would use for a sensitive spy mission.

 

I realize there is extremely wide variation in how people conceive of these NPCs, so of course others may not like this at all for him.

 

If you do use any alternate NPC portraits, please share, I'd be curious to see what you use.

[NiGHTMARE]

There are some great alternate portraits in the BG1NPC Portrait Pack.

 

There's a complete alternate set by Amok, a Coran based on a NWN portrait, a Coran based on Orlando Bloom, and a Faldorn based on Eliza Dushku.

[Domi]

EDIT: Nightmare beat me to BG1NPC portrait pack linkie. My fav Coran is the one based on Owen Wilson, he is in too.

 

Also, Plasmocat has an awsome re-edited BG1NPC portrait pack here:

 

http://catalogingjunkie.net/BG1BG2style/index.htm

[Lemernis]

Nice work those folks have done, that's some very impressive editing.

 

Myself, I'm not keen on photographic portraits, though. And personally I kind of prefer looking for an entirely fresh, high quality fantasy art rather than an edit of the existing Bioware portrait. NWN is an excellent resource for alternates. There's a gazillion portraits out there for BG and NWN. Anyone found something entirely fresh for these characters?

 

Edit: I do really like some of the work done to some of the Bioware portraits, though. Eg, Kivan and Xan with facial tatooes removed, and Kivan not aiming the bow.

[Domi]

Well, that's what Amok's portraits for ASOIF actually are (used in BG1NPC portrait pack) - non-photographic, original artwork the same style and generally not available from the usual BG portraits sites.

 

If you want NWN portraits, Archmage Silver had done an awsome job extracting all of them from NWN and 2 expansions. He hosts them here:

 

http://ses.spellholdstudios.net/downloads.htm

 

It has all portraits - both characters and mosnters. Have fun choosing.

[cmorgan]

Gotta say, if you visit SHS and look for the thread on Plasmocat's grapics forum under that BG1inBG2style thread Domi was referencing, there is the best (in my opinion) version of Imoen-as-fun-little-sister-attractive-enough-to-match-her-charisma-and-personality; the Re-edited Imoen is great.

[Domi]

Dunno, I think she looks too much like that annoying Angelina Jolie...

[jester]

I always used the IWD portraits as soon as they where available.

[cmorgan]

Darn. NOW I know why I liked her... another guilty pleaseure, brough to light by the harsh glare of intelligent community discourse (goes off to see if someone has built a Imoen Croft mod for Tutu - "BhaalRaider")

[Lemernis]

Because in SoA and BG1 Tutu Imoen's avatar is a redhead, I use this alternate for Imoen. Then in-game for her main clothing color dark red and the minor color one of the grayish brown ones.

 

Might be interesting to see her the BG1 Bioware portrait with red hair, actually.

[Azazello]

Gotta say, if you visit SHS and look for the thread on Plasmocat's grapics forum under that BG1inBG2style thread Domi was referencing, there is the best (in my opinion) version of Imoen-as-fun-little-sister-attractive-enough-to-match-her-charisma-and-personality; the Re-edited Imoen is great.

I second this. Can't/won't use any other version of Immy but this one.

 

I use JPS' Portrait Pack for alternates of Aerie, Nalia and Viconia.

[Asgus]

Hi there!

 

First, please excuse my spelling, I'm german.

Well, it doesn’t fit perfectly into this thread, but nevermind...

I am currently working on a mod that brings Tiax (you know, that crazy little gnome from BGI) into BGII as a playable charakter (so you thougt he died in the battle against Irenicus in the Spellhold? Well, he didn’t! ). BUT….I think you’ll all agree that the original portrait of Tiax is…well…unbelievable ugly.

I like the work of Amok, so I wanted to use the alternative portrait from the “BG1 NPC Portrait Packâ€Â. The problem is: His site is down, and I don’t know how to contact him in order to ask for his permission to use it in my little mod. Can anyone help?

 

And in case you are interested: When it's finished, the mod will be available here:

www.rosenranken.de

 

So long

-Asgus