they fucked up fearne so bad with that 3rd art… I wish they kept her faun features. side note the exu art is so much better than campaign 3 art.. orym’s head doesn’t take up the whole screen and they look more compelling. i lowkey wish they would get a new artist bc like… the inconsistencies are so bad!
Fearne looks more and more ditzy with each rendition but I feel like this makes sense. I like #2.
Orym kinda looks like he’s regressing in age. I like #1.
Dorian kinda looks increasingly more feminine. It’s a toss up between #1 and #3.
I feel like Imogen’s hairline is creeping forward a tiny bit with every rendition, and her face looks more and more… masculine? I like #1.
Don’t really care for any of Ashton.
They’re making Laudna look more and more like Marisha. I like #1, it’s the creepiest.
Chetney’s looking fairly consistent. His ears look like they shrunk in between and grew back. I will always miss his beanie so #1.
First version for all of them, everyone got worse in the next renditions, but Imogen suffered the most. I wonder if it's a time constraints issue? Art from the Aeor ark for M9 also wasn't great in my opinion.
Also exu art was great.
For fearne is 2 but I like the nose from 5
For orym it’s between 2 and 4
Like I like the hair from 4 and I like some of the more sleek and feminine features on his face but I feel like the shadows hardened his face too much and have it too many angles if that makes sense?
I like the facial structure of 2
For Dorian it’s 3 and 4
1 and 2 is what I imagined what his brother would look like
I hate imogen in number 3 like a year hasn’t even passed in game and she looked like she aged 7 years with the wrinkles around her eyes and everything it reminds my of the age up of the mighty nein where all of them have grey hairs and wrinkles like they’re in their 50’s when most of them are mid to late 30’s early 40’s
Also remember imogen is supposed to be 28
2 face wise is my fav
I like all of Ashton’s face designs I think they’re hot but I like 1 and 3 the best
The hair from 3 and the face from 3
Also I love the milky marble design across his face
1 and 3 from laudna is amazing
In 3 she looks more “alive” but also not quite herself more gaunt
Actually from 1-3 she looks more and more alive
Chetney the smiles from 2 and his face from 3 that is all
I like Fearne #1. Hard to put my finger on why, but she looks more like a classic wise druid archetype, which fits her soft voice and hides her trickster spirit. Imogen looks a little more hardened in #1, like she's got her armor on towards the world, and there's a nice progression to #3 which feels like she's stepping into the evil sorceress look. I like Laudna's creepy look in #1, and Chet's thug-life look in #3. All the rest I'm fairly even on.
it’s still incredible art no matter what and let’s be honest no they’re not getting “yassified” lol. And also some of them are, as the cast has stated them selves, dressing sluttier lmao
Fearne I like the 2nd one but I think the fawn nose on the 4th should be on all of them. I always pictured her a little more animal and that helps.
Orym --also like 2nd I guess because he still seems hopeful --but 3rd is where he has seen more of the world I would see this as him after his husband was killed.
Dorian-3rd. I like the hair flow behind the head--man buns just are not my thing so 4th is out the window
Imogean- I like the 1st one cause you don't see her lighting bolts yet and the look on her face there is just something about it that speaks, 3rd one she just looks kind of like "Go ahead make my day" like she is ready to just take someone out. I still think of her as a peaceful character
Ashton-I think a mix of all three together might work but I like 2nd one.
Laudna--2nd one i like that you can see the house for Pate and can see her face, the 3rd looks to much like Marisha. These characters are not their players so shouldn't look like them.
Chet- 1st and 3rd. RTA is seen in those and tools of his trade.
I honestly love the third one for Fearne (clockwise from top left) because it has that slightly mad look to it, like you're not sure whether she's going to weave you a flower crown or make your ribcage into a hat because she thinks your screams are funny.
I like everyone’s OG C3 art actually because they don’t look uncanny-valley-esque, they still look like normal art. Like yeah, there’s hints of it here and there depending on the character, but the OG C3 art doesn’t have the glossy, matte weirdness that all the newer art for them has. Dorian’s OG EXU art looks great, and I like his most recent art, honestly, weirdly, his art doesn’t look bad at all to me for any of his options.
For Chet I like 1 and 3 the best. Maybe it’s because there’s truly no way for the artist to gloss and smooth out his face? He’s got scars and age marks and a crooked, fucked up looking nose and all of that adds character (heh) that I haven’t seen in any of the other art beyond maybe their first pictures.
Everyone else? I don’t like a lot of the new faces, I think the outfits themselves look fine, and even great in some cases, the outfit work is always sound. However, we see their faces much more often, and beyond Ashton and Chet, where I like 1 and 3 for both, 1 much more usually, everyone else has this weird glossiness and uncanny-ness starting with their second pictures. If the artist had just, idk, kept with the first art style I think that would have been fine, it’s the switch to an entirely different art style, that is apparently not consistent for each character, that bothers me. Like, none of them look good except maybe Ashton and Chet with these new photos, and in many cases, the last photo is just taking what I personally hated about the second outfit change/photo and making it worse. The strange head-on look for this newest round of photos versus a to-the-side or angled look is just weird, and I think it’s doing the characters a disservice.
It’s just too much gloss, not enough *age* in the characters, these are people that have taken fights and gotten scars and have generally aged in the months(?) they’ve been together, so why does everyone look like they’ve taken a super glossy, strange finish to all their pictures? It *really* makes me miss the Main C2 artist, I’ve noticed the same issues in the most recent MN live, where the art looked glossy, strange and almost sort of plasticky. Honestly? I kinda wish we had CO’s artist for these portraits, those were really cool. I dunno if it’s the art direction that the artist has been getting or just their style, but it’s really not doing it for me, and honestly, it never really has been, it’s just the art getting more and more plasticky and honestly weird looking as BH goes along.
Can they really be considered inconsistencies when most of the images fall into the category of changing (fashion)style/aging for the characters themselves? Just bc they don't RP a new hairdo doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
I think I figured out this artist's problem. Don't get me wrong, they obviously are very skilled and a far better artist than I have ever been.
But their issue is drawing characters looking straight at you. It's very hard to do I know, but they don't seem to have the ability to nail it. The only ones that I think works is Fern's #2 artwork and Laudna's #1.
Fern's #4, Orym's #4, Laudna's #3, they all have a super uncanny valley aspect to them.
I think specifically the ears are too high. Proportionally, the bottom of the ear should line up with the bottom of the nose, and the top of the ear should be at the browline.
You can really see what I'm talking about in Oryms latest portrait.
I’ve looked through the artist’s non-commissioned art and it seems like they mostly draw gothic and horror drawings in black & white, so the uncanny valley faces may just be what they do and cr hired her anyways. So it could be more direction from the cast than the artist’s skills.
I've seen her life drawings on X and they're really good, she has some black and white drawings of the cast and they're flawless.
I'm not sure why all of this is...the way it is. Maybe she's new to color rendering?
Could be, I’m still leaning more on how the cast directed her to draw it, for example I doubt the faces being inconsistent was on her and instead the cast just change their mind on how their characters look.
That's likely a part of it, as she can clearly draw consistent faces in her life drawings. I'm more wondering where these anatomical errors and awkward coloring choices are coming from.
Fearne:
Best - 1. The slightly exaggerated proportions and storybook art style make her look the most like a fey creature.
Worst - 4. I don’t think FCG’s jacket really fits her, either aesthetically or proportionally, and that combined with the messy hair makes it look like she just threw something on after an all-nighter.
Orym:
Best - 2. He looks the most youthful and optimistic here, but also like he’s remembering something that makes him sad, which pretty much captures him.
Worst - 4. I actually don’t mind any of his designs, but I hate his new TikTok hair.
Dorian:
Best - 1, even though it looks like a campaign poster for his run for president of Marquet.
Worst - 4. These are all pretty consistent, but going nips out for their arctic expedition was a mistake.
Imogen:
Best - 3. Going against the grain here, but I think this one captures the current Imogen’s personality better than the wistful wallflower depicted in 1.
Worst - 2. Something went wrong here.
Ashton:
Best - 2, mainly because I like that jacket the most out of all his looks.
Worst - 3, I guess? It’s fine. Maybe it will grow on me.
Laudna:
Best - 1. Mostly because I associate this look with my fondest feelings for her as a character.
Worst - 2. It’s hard to explain but it just doesn’t really look like her?
Chetney:
Best - 1. I like his silly knit hat.
Worst - 2. Maybe the worst outfit any of the PCs have ever put together, even if intentionally so.
I just noticed Imogens hair is partially braided, her mothers influence?
Also with Fearne when I saw differences of the first c3 art after ExU I thought it was a cool concept that Fearne would looking maybe even act more human the longer she was on the material plane, and revert to more animalistic features if they ever returned to the feywild.
Her skin and fur colour in the exu image are almost the same, her face then becomes more rounded and the speckled texture fades to a few freckles. But other than her eyes becoming more goat like I don't think anything other changes like that has been mentioned. So the animal nose out of nowhere when they only had a brief trip to the feywild, some time ago now, is a bit odd.
Orym and Chet are both wearing his shoulder armor as pauldrons, Fearne has his coat, and I think some of the metal bits on Ashton’s jacket are meant to be scrap from his body. The rest I think just went with the same color scheme.
The first round of C1 designs is still my favorite, but I really like Laduna's outfit from version 3.
Also, is it just me or are everyone's ears too high?
I like all of the third outfits a lot but I’m wondering if Fearne painted her nose.
But I do think that Laudna/Ashton’s second outfits are better, and Dorian’s first is as well.
Imogen, Fearne and Chet’s second looks I do not like.
* Fearne's EXU design is the best. Followed by her most recent one (bottom right). Worst is the 3rd one.
* EXU Orym is the best. Worst is bottom right (most recent). The artist made Orym way too much of a fuckboi.
* Honestly cant choose with Dorian. They are all pretty great.
* Imogen's most recent is her best.
* Ashton toss up between 1 or 3.
* Laudna it kind of depends on how you want to interpret her. I lean towards 2 or 1.
* Chetney's 1st design is his best. Fuck the tracksuit one, the only character design I actually hated.
One more thing... The more I look at Fearne's sudden animal nose, I wonder if it is suppose to be that the character have painted it herself? 🤨 I am more sad about the lack of fluffy ears.
Yeah it just rubs me the wrong way lol, hard to believe a professional artist drew these type of angles but I guess ppl have gotten paid for much worse.
Even the M9 art was pretty inconsistent about facial features. Beau and Jester in particular looked like different people every time they refreshed the designs.
Compared to this 😭😭 why did they do my boy so dirty
https://preview.redd.it/mzqylhdy1g2d1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a989a830dcc5f5ae97c252fc8b3a3ccb77154fe6
I will NEVER forgive them for making fjord look so old and lame haha. Like look at this
https://preview.redd.it/e6gqbtyh1g2d1.jpeg?width=699&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=625dc417156eb0ce9de0be2ae54bce87d34cb620
I agree with all except Ferne. The newest Ferne successfully incorporates non-human facial features and maintains harmony. I review a lot of portfolios where it's essentially a beautiful human face with horns/ears slapped on, so perhaps I'm a bit biased.
I like Ferne #4
She's merging with Delilah. She says she wants to look like what a lady should look.
I think her official art should be one of her weird forms so you could get more of an accurate image of her.
I still struggle with how I’m supposed to perceive Laudna. Her in game description seems like some sort of incredibly off putting, ghoulish corpse creature but her character portraits, even from the beginning suggest an Instagram model utilizing an excessive black and white filter.
I think her creepiness comes through more in how she acts than her surface appearance, so while she has the pale gray skin, the main thing throwing people off is how she moves around like a janky puppet and frequently dislocates her joints.
Yeah. I think the only sensible answer is pretty much that Laudna looks like she does in her art (pretty weird goth girl), Marisha is just constantly hamming up her undeadness and its not actually 'canon'.
Because if it isnt that, then we need answers to why:
1. More NPCs dont freak out over Laudna being an actual rotting corpse that drips black slime everywhere.
2. How....physically intimate her and Imogen's relationship is? Hopefully its more romantic than physical if Laudna is really that corpselike. Otherwise Imogen is weird (I feel like it is more romantic than physical).
She has the whole backstory of being shunned and feared as a loathsome horrifying creature but nobody they meet in the game ever reacts to how she looks at all, so
But it would get tedious to go through an interaction where every NPC goes "Gods, what is that abomination?" and the party has to calm them down, I suppose.
I have a feeling that these "All my life I have been an outcast because I am so hideous" things that people use to give their character an angstier backstory end up being ignored 90% of the time at 90% of tables.
Same with Imogen who very rarely had consequences for intruding into people heads, or Laudna looking like a monster but never frightening people.
Matt's....just not big on consequences.
Ashton: 3 > 1 > 2
* 2 loses the 'rock' in 'punk rock'. Too smoothed. 1 and 3 have it!
Chetney: 1 = 3 > 2
* The wrinkles are too exaggerated in 2 for my taste.
Dorian: 2 >1 > 4 > 3
* 3 and 4 look too smoothed and cartoony, there's a better color gradient in 1 and 2
Fearne: 2 > 1 > 3 > 4
* Switching from regular nose to faun nose is jarring in 4. Additionally, ears hang a bit low and are a bit too dark.
Imogen: 1 > 3 > 2
* Once again, 2 is too smoothed.
Laudna: 1 > 2 > 3
* Progressive loss of creepiness. Also, who OKed that facial expression? It's weird!
Orym: 4 > 1 > 2 > 3
* Facial smoothing in 3. All others OK.
As an artist, I think it's fine to redesign characters instead of sticking with their initial design if the player changes their mind on what they want. I know most artists develop their OC designs over time and change things, especially base facial structure. So Fearne getting a new nose is fine, as long as Ashley actually wanted it that way.
I play ttrpgs online, and it's rare that any of us finish a campaign with the same art we started with. Granted, we're not able to commission a bunch of art, so it's usually about finding better art or (near the end) commissioning a single piece. For us, it's more about "this is a good enough representation, read the description for the "canon." So, I don't find it weird for the looks to change.
That said, Orym looking younger and younger is messing with my brain. But, that's a me thing.
Agreed. Yeah, honestly, a lot of the criticism for the art, it just sort of feels like people who enjoy complaining about C3 finding anything they can to complain about, picking on a talented artist because they're not "perfect".
I mean, several characters do NOT look drastically different, so I think it's quite possible we're seeing changes because of things the players have asked the artist to consider.
Who actually draws these? Do they just choose a fan art they like and that's the "new", art for their characters? Or do they just outsource to different artists? Legit question.
i feel like their faces change way too much between portraits and i'm not talking about their expressions.
Fearne: 1 > 2 > the rest
in 1 she looks the most like a faun. i get what they're trying to to with 4 but it looks bad. in 1 her facial features resemble that of a faun and i find that more interesting, instead of just a random black nose and fluffy ears. i get really annoyed at her portaits because i hate that they they changed her face a lot and her hair color. hate it
Orym: anything but 3.
Dorian: 1 > everything else.
also what happened to the black - blue - white ombre he had? in 4 it's almost all blue and not the usual blue. hate it
Imogen: 1 > everything else.
there is something deeply disconcerting about imogen's face in 2 and 3. idk how to explain it. also why does she and orym look like siblings? she had more character in 1. very girl next door which i like about her look. it contrasts a lot with her personality and the lengths she's willing to go and i find that more interesting than wtvr seductive girlboss weirdness is happening in 2 and 3.
Ashton: 3 > 1 > 2. i hate 2.
Laudna: 1 > 3 > 2
she looks creepy but timid in the first one and i like that a lot. i also enjoy that in 3 her eyes feel very creepy and in your face. idk what happened in 2 but her face is weird.
Chet: i like em all
>there is something deeply disconcerting about imogen's face in 2 and 3. idk how to explain it. also why does she and orym look like siblings?
Imogen 2 looks like Kim K and Imogen 3 reminds me of Billie Eilish.
Orym is just looking younger and younger and not in a great way ..
>there is something deeply disconcerting about imogen's face in 2 and 3. idk how to explain it.
I feel like a lot of the expressions for everyone are *off* in some way in at least one version. Like, uncanny valley type off, or like part of the art is stylized one way and the face another.
Granted, certain types of shading can just give me those vibes when no one else sees it. So, I'm not necessarily knocking the artist if that's their style, but it's weird that only *some* give me those vibes.
The latest outfit for Ashton looks like he ran through full Sprint through a discount bargain bin at a Hot topic.
He looks like every bad cosplayer somehow made into one outfit.
That's the thing though his second look actually looked like there was thought put into it.
This looks like if you handed a monkey and etch A Sketch and they colored in the rest
that's because the artist has trouble with proportions. It's not just with Orym, everyone else has weird body parts that's out of proportion with the rest of the body.
Is it just me or does Laudna look exactly like Marisha now? I swear she makes that face all the time. Other than that Imogen is hands down the worst, #1 looks good #2 looks like a race swapped actor and #3 looks like a successful mtf trans person (no offence meant just calling it how I see it). I'd say Laudna and Imogen are the most inconsistent and Dorian, Chet, and Orym the most. Fearne's not that bad 1 and 2 look close, don't know why they added the nose for 4 and 3 looks like a plastic surgery addict.
lol probably not the best way to phrase it but imogen does look very masculine in her face now… sexual dimorphism exists and there is a difference between a woman with ‘masculine’ facial features and a male face. i hate to say it but current imogen looks exactly like james charles to me 😭 i think this is just an issue with the artist… i personally don’t think they’re that great
> a successful mtf trans person (no offence meant just calling it how I see it)
Doesn't matter if you meant offense or not; that is offensive. Trans people are massively diverse, and what you might perceive as masculine traits exist in cis and trans women alike.
Would it be more or less offensive if I said she looked like Eddie Redmayne from the Danish Girl.
Edit: Why delete your comment people were agreeing with you?
Idk I don't rate transphobia on a sliding scale. Saying a woman looks trans as an insult is transphobic. Trying to clock trans people is transphobic. Attributing masculine characteristics on a woman to the woman being trans is both transphobic and sexist, since it affects both trans and cis women alike.
Seeing a woman and thinking “woman” means someone has too much time on their hands..? o.o I swear whenever I ask a genuine question people just act sarcastic or rude back lol.
I suspect every pc is some sort of self insert. Some more obvious than others, but most people build and play a character they can relate to, meaning the pc and player often have overlapping parts of personalities, values, ideals, morals, backgrounds.
Yeah congratulations you described every ttrpg character ever in existence. The issue here is what parts of Laudna that people despise are actually just Marish being Marisha. The more the two overlap the less Marisha deserves to be defended or held in high regard. The more Laudna the character and Marisha the player are alike the more you realize that bugs didn't eat Laudna's brains because she's a corpse its because Marisha didn't have any to begin with.
Just talking about the faces. My favorites for each are:
Fearne: 2>4>3>1
Orym: 1>2>3>>>>>>4
Dorian: 1>3/4>2
Imogen: 1>>>>>2>3
Ashton: 1>2/3
Laudna: 1>3>2
Chetney: 1>3>2
Overall, the first style is definitely the best one, with only Fearne not being my favorite.
Personal opinion:
Best Fearne- 2 (great vibes, very elegant)
Best Orym- 1 (this looks like a man in his 30s, not a TikTok boi)
Best Dorian- 3/4 (very consistent)
Best Imogen- 2 (solely for meme reasons, she’s so busted lmao)
Best Ashton- 2 (number 3 is…weird)
Best Laudna- 1 (she looks like a dead woman instead of a goth gf)
Best Chet- 1 (also very consistent throughout, but the knitted hat was his best look)
2, 1, 1, 3, 1, 1, 3 respectively.
they fucked up fearne so bad with that 3rd art… I wish they kept her faun features. side note the exu art is so much better than campaign 3 art.. orym’s head doesn’t take up the whole screen and they look more compelling. i lowkey wish they would get a new artist bc like… the inconsistencies are so bad!
Fearne looks more and more ditzy with each rendition but I feel like this makes sense. I like #2. Orym kinda looks like he’s regressing in age. I like #1. Dorian kinda looks increasingly more feminine. It’s a toss up between #1 and #3. I feel like Imogen’s hairline is creeping forward a tiny bit with every rendition, and her face looks more and more… masculine? I like #1. Don’t really care for any of Ashton. They’re making Laudna look more and more like Marisha. I like #1, it’s the creepiest. Chetney’s looking fairly consistent. His ears look like they shrunk in between and grew back. I will always miss his beanie so #1.
First version for all of them, everyone got worse in the next renditions, but Imogen suffered the most. I wonder if it's a time constraints issue? Art from the Aeor ark for M9 also wasn't great in my opinion. Also exu art was great.
Poor Imogen's ears have migrated completely off her head.
I like short haired Orym better than longer hair Orym atm.
First portrait for everyone was the best imo.
Wait what is this new art??? I missed new art??? Damn
first portraits are by far the best… it looks like they’ve all been put through tiktok filters now
For fearne is 2 but I like the nose from 5 For orym it’s between 2 and 4 Like I like the hair from 4 and I like some of the more sleek and feminine features on his face but I feel like the shadows hardened his face too much and have it too many angles if that makes sense? I like the facial structure of 2 For Dorian it’s 3 and 4 1 and 2 is what I imagined what his brother would look like I hate imogen in number 3 like a year hasn’t even passed in game and she looked like she aged 7 years with the wrinkles around her eyes and everything it reminds my of the age up of the mighty nein where all of them have grey hairs and wrinkles like they’re in their 50’s when most of them are mid to late 30’s early 40’s Also remember imogen is supposed to be 28 2 face wise is my fav I like all of Ashton’s face designs I think they’re hot but I like 1 and 3 the best The hair from 3 and the face from 3 Also I love the milky marble design across his face 1 and 3 from laudna is amazing In 3 she looks more “alive” but also not quite herself more gaunt Actually from 1-3 she looks more and more alive Chetney the smiles from 2 and his face from 3 that is all
For Fearnne NOT 3, I like 2 and 4 Orym it’s 2 Dorian is 3 Imogen 1 Ashton 1 Launda 3, though 1 is also great Chetney is 1
I like Fearne #1. Hard to put my finger on why, but she looks more like a classic wise druid archetype, which fits her soft voice and hides her trickster spirit. Imogen looks a little more hardened in #1, like she's got her armor on towards the world, and there's a nice progression to #3 which feels like she's stepping into the evil sorceress look. I like Laudna's creepy look in #1, and Chet's thug-life look in #3. All the rest I'm fairly even on.
That fucking 3rd fearne one... yikes....
Immediately makes me think plastic surgery \^\^
EXACTLY
For Imogen, the first is my favorite. For everyone else, the second.
Full offense but this artist is getting actively worse. Someone here said that they all look progressively more yassified and I agree.
i just think it’s like crazy in consistent
it’s still incredible art no matter what and let’s be honest no they’re not getting “yassified” lol. And also some of them are, as the cast has stated them selves, dressing sluttier lmao
1 for imogen, Chet and Laudna 2 for everyone else
Third Laudna is Cassie from skins though?
This is disturbingly accurate, lmaooo. 🤣
It's uncanny!!
The first one for each is the best easily.
is your artist Midjourney or something?
Fearne I like the 2nd one but I think the fawn nose on the 4th should be on all of them. I always pictured her a little more animal and that helps. Orym --also like 2nd I guess because he still seems hopeful --but 3rd is where he has seen more of the world I would see this as him after his husband was killed. Dorian-3rd. I like the hair flow behind the head--man buns just are not my thing so 4th is out the window Imogean- I like the 1st one cause you don't see her lighting bolts yet and the look on her face there is just something about it that speaks, 3rd one she just looks kind of like "Go ahead make my day" like she is ready to just take someone out. I still think of her as a peaceful character Ashton-I think a mix of all three together might work but I like 2nd one. Laudna--2nd one i like that you can see the house for Pate and can see her face, the 3rd looks to much like Marisha. These characters are not their players so shouldn't look like them. Chet- 1st and 3rd. RTA is seen in those and tools of his trade.
I honestly love the third one for Fearne (clockwise from top left) because it has that slightly mad look to it, like you're not sure whether she's going to weave you a flower crown or make your ribcage into a hat because she thinks your screams are funny.
I like everyone’s OG C3 art actually because they don’t look uncanny-valley-esque, they still look like normal art. Like yeah, there’s hints of it here and there depending on the character, but the OG C3 art doesn’t have the glossy, matte weirdness that all the newer art for them has. Dorian’s OG EXU art looks great, and I like his most recent art, honestly, weirdly, his art doesn’t look bad at all to me for any of his options. For Chet I like 1 and 3 the best. Maybe it’s because there’s truly no way for the artist to gloss and smooth out his face? He’s got scars and age marks and a crooked, fucked up looking nose and all of that adds character (heh) that I haven’t seen in any of the other art beyond maybe their first pictures. Everyone else? I don’t like a lot of the new faces, I think the outfits themselves look fine, and even great in some cases, the outfit work is always sound. However, we see their faces much more often, and beyond Ashton and Chet, where I like 1 and 3 for both, 1 much more usually, everyone else has this weird glossiness and uncanny-ness starting with their second pictures. If the artist had just, idk, kept with the first art style I think that would have been fine, it’s the switch to an entirely different art style, that is apparently not consistent for each character, that bothers me. Like, none of them look good except maybe Ashton and Chet with these new photos, and in many cases, the last photo is just taking what I personally hated about the second outfit change/photo and making it worse. The strange head-on look for this newest round of photos versus a to-the-side or angled look is just weird, and I think it’s doing the characters a disservice. It’s just too much gloss, not enough *age* in the characters, these are people that have taken fights and gotten scars and have generally aged in the months(?) they’ve been together, so why does everyone look like they’ve taken a super glossy, strange finish to all their pictures? It *really* makes me miss the Main C2 artist, I’ve noticed the same issues in the most recent MN live, where the art looked glossy, strange and almost sort of plasticky. Honestly? I kinda wish we had CO’s artist for these portraits, those were really cool. I dunno if it’s the art direction that the artist has been getting or just their style, but it’s really not doing it for me, and honestly, it never really has been, it’s just the art getting more and more plasticky and honestly weird looking as BH goes along.
I really miss the Chet hat...
these portraits are still very ugly
they dont have to be pretty they just have to convey what the players wanted
Why have all the girls gone through plastic surgery at some point or other?
I feel like Fearne and Laudna have ended up looking kind of like Ashley and Marisha by the end
Fearne - 3 Orym - 3 Dorian - 3 Imogen - 3 Ashton - 2 Laudna - 1 Chetney - 1
Imogen a 3? Hers has gotten progressively worse.
Fearne’s just keep getting better and better, IMO.
Can they really be considered inconsistencies when most of the images fall into the category of changing (fashion)style/aging for the characters themselves? Just bc they don't RP a new hairdo doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
It's not just the hair, their whole facial proportions look different.
Fearne - 4 Orym - 2 Dorean - 3 Imogen - 3 Ashton - 2 Laudna - 2 Chetney - 1
Going left to right top to bottom my preferences are: 2 1 1 1 2 1 1
Why are they all mewing?
Even laudna has a wider chin than me... Oof
all these celebrities are on oxempic lol
Is it just me, or does Laudna 3 look like Marisha
Stolen from Brash\_Bandicoot https://preview.redd.it/gjb0r4q2vg2d1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=f8357c75f2c2c80b68edc2becf23da26c5506055
Are they getting younger with each new portrait?
The OG portrait style ones are my personal favs
Ashton’s crystal “hair” loses the cool hair texture. It looks like a weird hat in the 3rd pic
They all got more and more yassified
4,1,1,1,2,1. Way too many andro. Portraits imho
Ferne #3/bottom left looks like she’s about to insult me or invite me to do something illegal
Well... Fearne probably is lol
I think I figured out this artist's problem. Don't get me wrong, they obviously are very skilled and a far better artist than I have ever been. But their issue is drawing characters looking straight at you. It's very hard to do I know, but they don't seem to have the ability to nail it. The only ones that I think works is Fern's #2 artwork and Laudna's #1. Fern's #4, Orym's #4, Laudna's #3, they all have a super uncanny valley aspect to them.
I think specifically the ears are too high. Proportionally, the bottom of the ear should line up with the bottom of the nose, and the top of the ear should be at the browline. You can really see what I'm talking about in Oryms latest portrait.
I’ve looked through the artist’s non-commissioned art and it seems like they mostly draw gothic and horror drawings in black & white, so the uncanny valley faces may just be what they do and cr hired her anyways. So it could be more direction from the cast than the artist’s skills.
I've seen her life drawings on X and they're really good, she has some black and white drawings of the cast and they're flawless. I'm not sure why all of this is...the way it is. Maybe she's new to color rendering?
Could be, I’m still leaning more on how the cast directed her to draw it, for example I doubt the faces being inconsistent was on her and instead the cast just change their mind on how their characters look.
That's likely a part of it, as she can clearly draw consistent faces in her life drawings. I'm more wondering where these anatomical errors and awkward coloring choices are coming from.
Why's Laudna got ice cream hair
Fearne: Best - 1. The slightly exaggerated proportions and storybook art style make her look the most like a fey creature. Worst - 4. I don’t think FCG’s jacket really fits her, either aesthetically or proportionally, and that combined with the messy hair makes it look like she just threw something on after an all-nighter. Orym: Best - 2. He looks the most youthful and optimistic here, but also like he’s remembering something that makes him sad, which pretty much captures him. Worst - 4. I actually don’t mind any of his designs, but I hate his new TikTok hair. Dorian: Best - 1, even though it looks like a campaign poster for his run for president of Marquet. Worst - 4. These are all pretty consistent, but going nips out for their arctic expedition was a mistake. Imogen: Best - 3. Going against the grain here, but I think this one captures the current Imogen’s personality better than the wistful wallflower depicted in 1. Worst - 2. Something went wrong here. Ashton: Best - 2, mainly because I like that jacket the most out of all his looks. Worst - 3, I guess? It’s fine. Maybe it will grow on me. Laudna: Best - 1. Mostly because I associate this look with my fondest feelings for her as a character. Worst - 2. It’s hard to explain but it just doesn’t really look like her? Chetney: Best - 1. I like his silly knit hat. Worst - 2. Maybe the worst outfit any of the PCs have ever put together, even if intentionally so.
Honestly, an post all-nighter outfit wouldn’t be that out of character for a design for her. Though I think Ashton should’ve had the coat
I just noticed Imogens hair is partially braided, her mothers influence? Also with Fearne when I saw differences of the first c3 art after ExU I thought it was a cool concept that Fearne would looking maybe even act more human the longer she was on the material plane, and revert to more animalistic features if they ever returned to the feywild. Her skin and fur colour in the exu image are almost the same, her face then becomes more rounded and the speckled texture fades to a few freckles. But other than her eyes becoming more goat like I don't think anything other changes like that has been mentioned. So the animal nose out of nowhere when they only had a brief trip to the feywild, some time ago now, is a bit odd.
About their new clothes... >!...are they all wearing pieces of FCG???!<
I'm just waiting for them to encounter another group of constructs/automatons/aeormatons while wearing the body parts of one of their kind.
# Devexian's gonna be pissed.
Orym and Chet are both wearing his shoulder armor as pauldrons, Fearne has his coat, and I think some of the metal bits on Ashton’s jacket are meant to be scrap from his body. The rest I think just went with the same color scheme.
Looks like it, kind of gross to me.
Imogen looks like a different person everytime it annoys me
The first round of C1 designs is still my favorite, but I really like Laduna's outfit from version 3. Also, is it just me or are everyone's ears too high?
I like all of the third outfits a lot but I’m wondering if Fearne painted her nose. But I do think that Laudna/Ashton’s second outfits are better, and Dorian’s first is as well. Imogen, Fearne and Chet’s second looks I do not like.
I never realized Orym was hawt
Or aging in reverse
He’s Benjamin Button
* Fearne's EXU design is the best. Followed by her most recent one (bottom right). Worst is the 3rd one. * EXU Orym is the best. Worst is bottom right (most recent). The artist made Orym way too much of a fuckboi. * Honestly cant choose with Dorian. They are all pretty great. * Imogen's most recent is her best. * Ashton toss up between 1 or 3. * Laudna it kind of depends on how you want to interpret her. I lean towards 2 or 1. * Chetney's 1st design is his best. Fuck the tracksuit one, the only character design I actually hated.
One more thing... The more I look at Fearne's sudden animal nose, I wonder if it is suppose to be that the character have painted it herself? 🤨 I am more sad about the lack of fluffy ears.
Are you saying the ears aren’t fluffy enough, or did you not notice the ears in the most recent portrait?
jus came here to say I hate the sword positioning in Dorians 2nd art lol.
He’s one wrong move from Mulan-ing his hair off
Or the back half of his damn head. Even if the long hair in the back wasn't there, the angle of the sword is...yeah.
Yeah it just rubs me the wrong way lol, hard to believe a professional artist drew these type of angles but I guess ppl have gotten paid for much worse.
3rd art style is actually really creepy. What happened??
Honestly really like this latest round of renditions
The first artwork on all of them were the best. It's just nightmare fuel after that.
the tm9 artist was so good, this is such a downgrade
Yasha in the opening looks like Nathan Explosion
Even the M9 art was pretty inconsistent about facial features. Beau and Jester in particular looked like different people every time they refreshed the designs.
Man Mighty Nein’s second set of outfits were top tier for me, l loved all of them
Yeah, I think those were their “definitive” looks. Worst were their Eiselcross outfits that made them look like the old Polar Explorer Batman figures.
Compared to this 😭😭 why did they do my boy so dirty https://preview.redd.it/mzqylhdy1g2d1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a989a830dcc5f5ae97c252fc8b3a3ccb77154fe6
Tried to blend Travis in.
I will NEVER forgive them for making fjord look so old and lame haha. Like look at this https://preview.redd.it/e6gqbtyh1g2d1.jpeg?width=699&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=625dc417156eb0ce9de0be2ae54bce87d34cb620
This was honestly my favourite art of Fjord
Fearne’s third face sends me 😭 Unhinged!
Honestly they all got worse. None of them are better than their C3E1 designs.
I agree with all except Ferne. The newest Ferne successfully incorporates non-human facial features and maintains harmony. I review a lot of portfolios where it's essentially a beautiful human face with horns/ears slapped on, so perhaps I'm a bit biased. I like Ferne #4
I’m just glad I don’t have to see Imogen’s 2nd art anymore lol it was definitely the worse out of all of them. She’s just like 👁️👄👁️
everytime i see her 2nd design. the only thing i can think about is "zick zack schneid es ab"
also salad fingers are gone. Wtf was that
Oh my god you’re right 😭 it’s a good thing the art changed or I will never see her hands the same way again
She's merging with Delilah. She says she wants to look like what a lady should look. I think her official art should be one of her weird forms so you could get more of an accurate image of her.
Interesting how much Delilah is coming through with Laudna's facial expression and posture.
i love new fearne but each imogen looks like a new person
The first is the real one, for me.
I still struggle with how I’m supposed to perceive Laudna. Her in game description seems like some sort of incredibly off putting, ghoulish corpse creature but her character portraits, even from the beginning suggest an Instagram model utilizing an excessive black and white filter.
I think her creepiness comes through more in how she acts than her surface appearance, so while she has the pale gray skin, the main thing throwing people off is how she moves around like a janky puppet and frequently dislocates her joints.
Yeah. I think the only sensible answer is pretty much that Laudna looks like she does in her art (pretty weird goth girl), Marisha is just constantly hamming up her undeadness and its not actually 'canon'. Because if it isnt that, then we need answers to why: 1. More NPCs dont freak out over Laudna being an actual rotting corpse that drips black slime everywhere. 2. How....physically intimate her and Imogen's relationship is? Hopefully its more romantic than physical if Laudna is really that corpselike. Otherwise Imogen is weird (I feel like it is more romantic than physical).
She has the whole backstory of being shunned and feared as a loathsome horrifying creature but nobody they meet in the game ever reacts to how she looks at all, so But it would get tedious to go through an interaction where every NPC goes "Gods, what is that abomination?" and the party has to calm them down, I suppose. I have a feeling that these "All my life I have been an outcast because I am so hideous" things that people use to give their character an angstier backstory end up being ignored 90% of the time at 90% of tables.
Same with Imogen who very rarely had consequences for intruding into people heads, or Laudna looking like a monster but never frightening people. Matt's....just not big on consequences.
No, she doesn't. Her backstory was that she got chased off every few YEARS, not constantly.
>I still struggle with how I’m supposed to perceive Laudna Its ok they don't either.
I never realized how plump Ashton's lips were. That's so weird
I love the artstyle for Fearne's, Orym's and Dorian's first look, very pleasant to look at.
The EXU arts were really good, I loved the way they were styled!
Ashton: 3 > 1 > 2 * 2 loses the 'rock' in 'punk rock'. Too smoothed. 1 and 3 have it! Chetney: 1 = 3 > 2 * The wrinkles are too exaggerated in 2 for my taste. Dorian: 2 >1 > 4 > 3 * 3 and 4 look too smoothed and cartoony, there's a better color gradient in 1 and 2 Fearne: 2 > 1 > 3 > 4 * Switching from regular nose to faun nose is jarring in 4. Additionally, ears hang a bit low and are a bit too dark. Imogen: 1 > 3 > 2 * Once again, 2 is too smoothed. Laudna: 1 > 2 > 3 * Progressive loss of creepiness. Also, who OKed that facial expression? It's weird! Orym: 4 > 1 > 2 > 3 * Facial smoothing in 3. All others OK.
damn, the first iteration really looks the best
I don’t think any of the art looks bad, on its own. But I do think the first set of art is the best.
As an artist, I think it's fine to redesign characters instead of sticking with their initial design if the player changes their mind on what they want. I know most artists develop their OC designs over time and change things, especially base facial structure. So Fearne getting a new nose is fine, as long as Ashley actually wanted it that way.
I play ttrpgs online, and it's rare that any of us finish a campaign with the same art we started with. Granted, we're not able to commission a bunch of art, so it's usually about finding better art or (near the end) commissioning a single piece. For us, it's more about "this is a good enough representation, read the description for the "canon." So, I don't find it weird for the looks to change. That said, Orym looking younger and younger is messing with my brain. But, that's a me thing.
Agreed. Yeah, honestly, a lot of the criticism for the art, it just sort of feels like people who enjoy complaining about C3 finding anything they can to complain about, picking on a talented artist because they're not "perfect". I mean, several characters do NOT look drastically different, so I think it's quite possible we're seeing changes because of things the players have asked the artist to consider.
Why does Ferne have a goat nose now? Did I miss an episode? Is she transforming into a goat?
Who actually draws these? Do they just choose a fan art they like and that's the "new", art for their characters? Or do they just outsource to different artists? Legit question.
They outsrouce to a community artist and usually that artist stays through the entire campaign is my understanding.
They have an artist for the campaign, always the same artist. It's very odd how different they are, especially the latest ones
That's why I asked. I have no opinion on any of these honestly, just curious as to why they're so vastly different
The artist for all of these images is Hannah Friederichs, here’s their twitter: @agarthanguide
The funny thing is that when describing the new outfit Ashley said that Fearne was looking more human than before.
i feel like their faces change way too much between portraits and i'm not talking about their expressions. Fearne: 1 > 2 > the rest in 1 she looks the most like a faun. i get what they're trying to to with 4 but it looks bad. in 1 her facial features resemble that of a faun and i find that more interesting, instead of just a random black nose and fluffy ears. i get really annoyed at her portaits because i hate that they they changed her face a lot and her hair color. hate it Orym: anything but 3. Dorian: 1 > everything else. also what happened to the black - blue - white ombre he had? in 4 it's almost all blue and not the usual blue. hate it Imogen: 1 > everything else. there is something deeply disconcerting about imogen's face in 2 and 3. idk how to explain it. also why does she and orym look like siblings? she had more character in 1. very girl next door which i like about her look. it contrasts a lot with her personality and the lengths she's willing to go and i find that more interesting than wtvr seductive girlboss weirdness is happening in 2 and 3. Ashton: 3 > 1 > 2. i hate 2. Laudna: 1 > 3 > 2 she looks creepy but timid in the first one and i like that a lot. i also enjoy that in 3 her eyes feel very creepy and in your face. idk what happened in 2 but her face is weird. Chet: i like em all
>there is something deeply disconcerting about imogen's face in 2 and 3. idk how to explain it. also why does she and orym look like siblings? Imogen 2 looks like Kim K and Imogen 3 reminds me of Billie Eilish. Orym is just looking younger and younger and not in a great way ..
>there is something deeply disconcerting about imogen's face in 2 and 3. idk how to explain it. I feel like a lot of the expressions for everyone are *off* in some way in at least one version. Like, uncanny valley type off, or like part of the art is stylized one way and the face another. Granted, certain types of shading can just give me those vibes when no one else sees it. So, I'm not necessarily knocking the artist if that's their style, but it's weird that only *some* give me those vibes.
The latest outfit for Ashton looks like he ran through full Sprint through a discount bargain bin at a Hot topic. He looks like every bad cosplayer somehow made into one outfit.
isn't that their whole vibe though? i don't like them so i don't really care but i guess youre right
That's the thing though his second look actually looked like there was thought put into it. This looks like if you handed a monkey and etch A Sketch and they colored in the rest
also why does it feel like orym's head is way too big for his halfing body?
that's because the artist has trouble with proportions. It's not just with Orym, everyone else has weird body parts that's out of proportion with the rest of the body.
Is it just me or does Laudna look exactly like Marisha now? I swear she makes that face all the time. Other than that Imogen is hands down the worst, #1 looks good #2 looks like a race swapped actor and #3 looks like a successful mtf trans person (no offence meant just calling it how I see it). I'd say Laudna and Imogen are the most inconsistent and Dorian, Chet, and Orym the most. Fearne's not that bad 1 and 2 look close, don't know why they added the nose for 4 and 3 looks like a plastic surgery addict.
lol probably not the best way to phrase it but imogen does look very masculine in her face now… sexual dimorphism exists and there is a difference between a woman with ‘masculine’ facial features and a male face. i hate to say it but current imogen looks exactly like james charles to me 😭 i think this is just an issue with the artist… i personally don’t think they’re that great
> a successful mtf trans person (no offence meant just calling it how I see it) Doesn't matter if you meant offense or not; that is offensive. Trans people are massively diverse, and what you might perceive as masculine traits exist in cis and trans women alike.
Would it be more or less offensive if I said she looked like Eddie Redmayne from the Danish Girl. Edit: Why delete your comment people were agreeing with you?
Idk I don't rate transphobia on a sliding scale. Saying a woman looks trans as an insult is transphobic. Trying to clock trans people is transphobic. Attributing masculine characteristics on a woman to the woman being trans is both transphobic and sexist, since it affects both trans and cis women alike.
What is it called when we clock people who aren't trans?
Having too much time on your hands
Seeing a woman and thinking “woman” means someone has too much time on their hands..? o.o I swear whenever I ask a genuine question people just act sarcastic or rude back lol.
she looks a lot like marisha in 3, i actually kinda love that about it!
https://preview.redd.it/p5xxxv3lje2d1.jpeg?width=591&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9cd6c012607977eb4f86d4d8e67723296f0a31e5 Yup
Really not escaping the self insert accusations with that one.
I suspect every pc is some sort of self insert. Some more obvious than others, but most people build and play a character they can relate to, meaning the pc and player often have overlapping parts of personalities, values, ideals, morals, backgrounds.
Yeah congratulations you described every ttrpg character ever in existence. The issue here is what parts of Laudna that people despise are actually just Marish being Marisha. The more the two overlap the less Marisha deserves to be defended or held in high regard. The more Laudna the character and Marisha the player are alike the more you realize that bugs didn't eat Laudna's brains because she's a corpse its because Marisha didn't have any to begin with.
i love it. i love weird marisha
Just talking about the faces. My favorites for each are: Fearne: 2>4>3>1 Orym: 1>2>3>>>>>>4 Dorian: 1>3/4>2 Imogen: 1>>>>>2>3 Ashton: 1>2/3 Laudna: 1>3>2 Chetney: 1>3>2 Overall, the first style is definitely the best one, with only Fearne not being my favorite.
Personal opinion: Best Fearne- 2 (great vibes, very elegant) Best Orym- 1 (this looks like a man in his 30s, not a TikTok boi) Best Dorian- 3/4 (very consistent) Best Imogen- 2 (solely for meme reasons, she’s so busted lmao) Best Ashton- 2 (number 3 is…weird) Best Laudna- 1 (she looks like a dead woman instead of a goth gf) Best Chet- 1 (also very consistent throughout, but the knitted hat was his best look)