A rough life - portraits

[bera]

Wanted to take a break from goblins.. So, portrait for the great troll appearing in Jacques Fol's 'A rough life' campaign. Kept his hands large deliberately, and I wanted him to be holding that massive hammer like thingy without any visible effort, I hope I didn't overdo it... I'll be back like in a week, may play over it again back then.

[PsychoticKittens]

I would expect a hammer with a head that big would require a much larger handle on it, or else it would be unbelievably unwieldy. Aside from the fact the way he's holding it he'd have to take a moment to flip it around before he could smack anything with it, anyway.

[potatomanjack]

One thing that looks odd to me is the size of his arm compared to the weight he's carrying. I know that he's supposed to be able to heft that hammer easily, but in order to be able to do so, I think his arm would have to be much bigger. It comes down to a muscle mass to weight ratio.

I'm not much of a portrait artist though, so feel free to ignore my comment if I'm missing the point.

Cheers,

PMJ

[bera]

Thanks for the quick reviews. While doing it I had some doubts about the way he was holding the hammer, and now I completely agree with both of you that the hammer is way out of proportions

[Lord Ork]

Rework it, as it also is strange from perspective. The hold is not perpendicular to the head. It seems a box with a lever to me.

[Turuk]

If you want to make it seem as if he can lift it easily, have him holding it in an off-hand manner, as if he hardly notices it is in his hand. Currently, with it angled down and backwards like that, it almost looks as if he would just be dragging it on the ground.

[Jacques_Fol]

First of all, that is a thread title to warm the heart of a UMC campaign developer. Glad you're taking this on, bera!

Secondly, I like where you're going with the Great Troll portrait, the current flaws notwithstanding. Just to be sure, you intend this for

Spoiler:

Gurk, the Great Troll leader in scenario 15, right? As you probably know, I already have a portrait for Krug appearing in scenario 11 (seen here).

As the player eventually finds out, Krug & Gurk (semordnilap, anyone?) are actually brothers, but it is safe to assume that Krug is much younger and fitter, fighting off the undead on his own, while Gurk has gone a little soft on the edges, living a life of relative luxury at the helm of his own tribe. Hence, I can easily imagine him developing a bit of a Bierbauch ("beer belly") as portrayed. Besides, one of them lives on top of a mountain and the other in a cave, so their skin tones etc. would be different as well. In other words, I don't see them being different a problem.

What's more, with a custom portrait coming Gurk's way, I am already tempted to add a few more lines to his speaking part - fine art should be showcased!

In any event, he does have a "home" waiting for him, so I'll be happy to see him come to fruition. As for the portrait itself, I agree that the hammer is too big, and am a little unsure as to the legs. Other than that, I like it a lot and will be happy to include him after you're finished with your corrections and refinements!

Going by the promising thread title, I guess it might also be useful to include a list of other characters in the campaign that would need or might benefit from having a portrait done for them, with notes as appropriate. This may get long, but then again it should be relatively easy to skim and see which character one is inspired to try out, and then some detail might be helpful.

The crucial are the following three:

WARNING! The following really includes spoilers.:

1. Jacques: the main character of the campaign and the protagonist of most dialogues is in serious need of portrait(s), as I currently use outdated mainline stand-ins. The crucial bit here is that he goes not only through advancements but also two transformations wherein his personality is deemed to change. Ideally, he would have three portraits: one for the initial stage of a young, spoiled but adventurous thief (with a dagger); the second for a somewhat hardened trapper, braving the sand and the sun (with a bow); and the third for his final incarnation as a commander (with a sword and a (hint of a) bow). He is, however, a little haunted by doubt throughout - which, of course, should be devilishly easy to portray, I'm sure.

2. Kyoko: the other main heroine, who goes through somewhat modified elvish advances: the first is a young but somewhat impertinent (and curt) maiden, the second is a (battle-prone) princess, the third a (young) queen. Her basic idea is that she is the daughter of an unlikely couple of a dwarvish king and an elvish queen, taking her looks from her mother but some of her character from her father. I suppose she would not need three portraits, but two to show some progression between maiden and the later stages would be excellent, in both cases with (the same) magical staff. (I wouldn't say no to three portraits either, of course).

3. (done) Ruphulus: the main villain of the campaign. Ideally, he would require two portraits - one for his human form of a seemingly good-natured mage and one in his shape as a fire dragon. He is very old, although he doesn't quite seem it. This portrait would suit him quite nicely for the human form, but it is already slated for Delfador's Memoirs, so I wouldn't mind having a different one. EDIT: The more I look at this "Perrin" portrait, the more I like it for Ruphulus (even as it currently is), so I might just use that one for his human form. And this one is perfect for his dragon form! So Ruphulus is sorted.

Caveat: Valkier said he might also look into doing one or two portraits for the campaign, although I don't know how much longer the skeleton portraits will occupy him, and I talked to him about these three. Ideally, I would like the same artist to do all the portraits for a given character (to maintain some continuity through the transformations), but I suppose the first choice should be given to the person who first decides to tackle them.

Beyond them, the other prominent characters include:

More spoilers!:

4. (soon-to-be-done) King Bombasan: the dwarvish father of Kyoko and the king of the underworld realm, the unit is Dwarvish Runemaster; has a talking role in a four scenarios (2, 7, 10 & 11). EDIT: bera is tackling this one next, so Bombasan should also soon be sorted.

5. (done) Arbor: the Ancient Wose that features in speaking roles in three scenarios (5, 6 & 16). I would, however, be perfectly happy to use thespaceinvader's Wose portrait for him once it's done, so that one is not of high necessity. EDIT: tsi's portrait is already so nice that it will be used, so this one is sorted.

6. (about-to-be-done) Luxor: a Silver Mage with a large and important speaking role in two scenarios (8 & 9). Is a typical silver mage with the twist that he is old and a little crazy. EDIT: This portrait, originally used for Crelanu of Legend of Wesmere, might work. However, it is now slated to be replaced by this made-to-order portrait, once it's finished and polished.

7. (done) Lieutenant Popper: is a typical Lieutenant with a speaking role in three scenarios (2, 4 & 7). Is well-intentioned but not the brightest (ok, let's say not a typical lieutenant, then). EDIT: Sorted by bera, as seen here.

8. (done) Gronar: one of the slaves (the unit is Orcish Leader) who leads them on the hunting expeditions to the desert. Is rough on the edges with a hidden softer side, speaking role in two scenarios (3 & 4). EDIT: Sorted by bera, as seen here.

Finally, there are a number of minor characters with talking roles that appear in a single scenario, for which I would be more than happy to also use the mainline generic portraits, but just for completion's sake:

Spoiler:

9. (sort-of-sorted) Evil Goblin Trader: the goblin rouser by appearance, a slave trader by trade (scenario 1). I am including bera's LoW rouser portrait and may replace it with another (s)he made if that one gets completed. (Btw, the goblin spearman already has three speaking lines and looks snazzy.)

10. Yin: a female Naga Fighter with a relatively large speaking part in scenario 15. (Note: forms a romantic whole with Yang.)

11. Yang: a male Merman Fighter with a slightly smaller speaking part in scenario 15. (Note: forms a romantic whole with Yin.)

12. Krug (the 2nd): a Troll Whelp that has a brief speaking role in two possible follow-ups to scenario 15. In both, he is very angry. (Note: also, the son of Gurk.)

13. Mud Slime: a Mudcrawler and an unlikely "ally" in scenario 1 with a "speaking" role. This may be the only portrait of them all that I could perhaps pull off - if I wanted to draw Jacques, that is.

14. (done) Pollox: a Bandit who is, indeed, a bandit, and has a brawl of a discussion in scenario 4. I don't like him and almost refuse to give him a custom portrait.

15. (sorted) Hatrox: a Gryphon with a brief talking part in scenario 5 - I am perfectly content to use the mainline generic Gryphon portrait for this one.

16. (sorted) Choki: a Dwarvish Fighter with a brief speaking part in scenarios 8 & 9 (and so an exception to the minor-part rule, but still not prominent enough to be upgraded). EDIT: as pointed out by catwhowalksbyhimself in the subsequent post, the alternate fighter portrait created by DUHH supplied with the game will work just fine, so this one should be sorted.

17. (soon-to-be-sorted) Bone Marshall: a Draug with a one-liner in scenario 11. EDIT: the draug is about to be worked on by Valkier in this thread, so, given that it is only a one-liner, this one should soon also be sorted.

18. Pet of Death: a Skeletal Dragon with a one-liner in scenario 11.

This, I believe, should be all of the "credited cast" (omitting extras) that don't have custom portraits yet. Of course, this list is to be taken as a guide rather than a list of "demands". I will be grateful for any and all quality art that will come my way.

Let me know if there's anything else that I can or should provide you with in terms of story detail or character intentions, and I hope you enjoy working on these!

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

For the dwarf fighter character, there is an alternate portrait included with the game that has seen no use so far that I am aware of. You might consider using that one for him.

[Jacques_Fol]

Ahh, I see, the elusive "fighter-2" portrait. I certainly will use that one, works just fine for the character of Choki I had in mind. Much obliged, thanks!

[bera]

Allright, back.. Follows is a refined version. I imagined the hammer's head resting on a boulder or something.

Jacques: Yeah, I suppose this one should be used for Gurk. Next I'll work on Gronar.

[Lord Ork]

A lot better. The hammer has more defined shape, and seems more balanced. Also, the "stick" is more perpendicular. The only thing is that I don't know if it's nice to make the viewer imagine that stone the hammer is resting on.

Good work!

[Turuk]

The only thing is that I don't know if it's nice to make the viewer imagine that stone the hammer is resting on.

Agreed. If it has to be explained then the viewer will not know that is why it is the way it is.

[Jacques_Fol]

Ahh, Gronar - I look forward to him!

As for Gurk, he will be going in the campaign, and I'll think of what further lines to give him to showcase the portrait a bit more. I am not too concerned about the missing stone holding the stone, although I agree with Lord Ork and Turuk in the sense that, as the portrait is right now, the viewer will just imagine Gurk strong enough to be able to hold the hammer effortlessly like this.

The only detail that I think would warrant a small fix is the little stray lines that are visible on the transparent portrait. There are four of them - three at the top of the portrait (on of them on the left, two at the right corner), and one at the bottom (between the legs and the hammer). As suppose these lines may also be visible in-game, so it might be better to delete them. (I can also do it myself, I suppose, but perhaps you'd prefer to post the absolute final version yourself).

Great job, can't wait to see (and use) more!

[bera]

For the troll.. I'm attaching a version with the stray lines cleared, sorry about that. And, it's up to you, if you wish I can make it 400x500, and can squeeze in a boulder that we can rest the hammer on, what do you say?

I also had a go for the Gronar today. So far at the flats stage I like it myself, I hope you'll as well. I took the liberty to add a mask like thing (the one hanging from the his helm) since this guy spends most of his time in open desert. I also wanted to colour him with desert tones, but in order to discriminate between skin and the jacket I only coloured his helm and shoulder pads with yellow.. I'm telling you this to explain his somewhat colourful attire I won't shade this until I get a go from you, until then I think I'll work on the lieutenant.

[thespaceinvader]

He's leaning back WAY too much. You need to rotate him a good deal forwards, and probably reduce the distance his shoulders are back from his hips, too.