Astafas' thread for creating custom portraits

[Astafas]

It's been some time but now I'm back on this forum, at least for a while. I just did two more custom portraits and thought it would be nice to share ideas and discuss various technics in a new thread. Everyone is invited to post their own portraits as well!

[Astafas]

I have used a recent photo of myself to create this Half-Elven Bard. The armor is created from pieces of armor from Mazzy and Haer'Dalis.

Update: there is a remade version of the portrait on page two, for which reason I removed this earlier one.

[Astafas]

Here I have used a recent pic of my fiancée to create an Elven Paladin. Being a new player, she will use it on her first adventure in the Realms. The armor is made of pieces from Keldorn's armor.

[Sytze]

I like the picture of yourself quite a lot. Not too much lighting or fancy clothing. The simplicity of the work makes is great.

I wish I could post a portrait of my own creation, but simply put: I suck at editing them. Changing the sizes of portraits is something I can do, but that's about it. I often wished I could change the colour of clothing. For example, I wanted to make the guy in my current portrait wear red clothes instead of green, but I don't know how to. So I stuck to changing the sizes of portraits instead of doing all these fancy thing you're doing.

[SP101]

hehe... same here. I lack of artistical talents

Congratulations for your portraits. They're pretty well-done.
I never liked the Idea of starting from a Photo to make a portrait for BG2, but these 2 looks great!

The background on the 1st portrait (and the portrait itself) is a bit too dark... but that's just my opinion.

Keep up the good work!

[Astafas]

Originally Posted by Sytze

I like the picture of yourself quite a lot. Not too much lighting or fancy clothing. The simplicity of the work makes is great.

I wish I could post a portrait of my own creation, but simply put: I suck at editing them. Changing the sizes of portraits is something I can do, but that's about it. I often wished I could change the colour of clothing. For example, I wanted to make the guy in my current portrait wear red clothes instead of green, but I don't know how to. So I stuck to changing the sizes of portraits instead of doing all these fancy thing you're doing.

Hehe, I don't know. Should I be scared?

About your problem: In Photoshop CS, use the Magic Wand or Lassopolygon (normally easier) to select the area you wish to change. Then press CTRL + U to get the Nuance(?)/Saturisation window. Use the upper arrow to switch colour, the middle to adjust the amount of colour and the lower arrow to determine the brightness.

[Astafas]

Originally Posted by SP101

hehe... same here. I lack of artistical talents

Congratulations for your portraits. They're pretty well-done.
I never liked the Idea of starting from a Photo to make a portrait for BG2, but these 2 looks great!

The background on the 1st portrait (and the portrait itself) is a bit too dark... but that's just my opinion.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks!

Actually, the two portraits are both a bit too dark - otherwise, they would look to bright when used in BG2. I find this a bit strange since the original portraits, when extracted with WinBiff, seem to be perfectly normal in brightness.

If you look at the faces of the two portraits rather than the background you will find that they are very similiar in brightness. However, I desired to make the paladin more "holy" by giving her person a bright glow, thus the extra light in the background. And of course, a shining armor is more or less standard for every pally nowadays...

[SP101]

Just a bit curious : How much time did you spent (sp?) on these 2 portraits, from photo to the final product?

[Astafas]

Originally Posted by SP101

Just a bit curious : How much time did you spent (sp?) on these 2 portraits, from photo to the final product?

About 10 hours for the first one, slightly less on the second one. I normally have to use up to 20 layers... A quality photo is absolutely critical, but even with that there is much to do in order for the result to look good.

[Brynn]

Wow, the elven Paladin looks really cool! Man, you ARE talented

[Astafas]

Originally Posted by Brynn

Wow, the elven Paladin looks really cool! Man, you ARE talented

Hehe... I'll put up the portrait I made for you later today, along with a few more I've made earlier.

I'm actually very pleased with the pally myself. I've even asked my fiancée if she could consider pointed ears on a more permanent basis...

[Sytze]

Originally Posted by Astafas

About your problem: In Photoshop CS, use the Magic Wand or Lassopolygon (normally easier) to select the area you wish to change. Then press CTRL + U to get the Nuance(?)/Saturisation window. Use the upper arrow to switch colour, the middle to adjust the amount of colour and the lower arrow to determine the brightness.

Ahh, thanks. I downloaded a demo version and tried changing the colour. Not that easy I confess!
Changing the colour itself isn't hard, but getting every green part red, and also a 'believable' red is a whole different matter. This stuff needs practice, and patience.

[Astafas]

Originally Posted by Sytze

Ahh, thanks. I downloaded a demo version and tried changing the colour. Not that easy I confess!
Changing the colour itself isn't hard, but getting every green part red, and also a 'believable' red is a whole different matter. This stuff needs practice, and patience.

Practice and patience do indeed come in handy. There is also a function called Replace Color which you could try. It does exactly the same thing and I find it harder to use, but try it out and see for yourself.

A general advise is to always work in layers. Copy your portrait into a new layer placed on top of the original. This way, there is no risk of making changes you then regret - you may simply remove the new layer and start again with another one. You may also remove all but the armor/clothing in the new layer in order to make changes without affecting the rest of the picture. You could then for example try the Pencil (set on Color instead of Normal) without risk of changing the rest of the picture by painting outside the desired area.

[Astafas]

This is a portrait of a Human Mage I made for Brynn last year. Robe made of Jan's armor, the necklace is added on afterwards (it's actually a present I gave to an ex, I took a photo of it at a party for this very portrait).

[Astafas]

This is once more made from a pic of me (I actually took this one myself, holding the camera in one hand). I've used Edwin's cape and some armor from Imoen, although that last is hard to see. Lots of black to give the Human Mage a sinister look.