Ugly.. Oh oh so ugly... Why Portraits and art so ugly!

Yeah, has CA talked much about his rationale for some of those changes? Because a couple of them seem like the worst kind of self-second-guessing.

 

I like the art, and I like the sprites personally.

It -is- different, but I like the difference.

BUt if you don't like them, there are quite a lot of mods changing them portraits.

 

I love the portraits except for the ones for Abigail and Haley. They're not bad, but I believe they could have been better. Some of them are spot on for their character and personality (Harvey, Sebastian, Penny, Leah, and a few others.)

 

Personally, I'm super fond of the original portraits, and I haven't found a mod that I'm 100% satisfied with that I would change to (although, there are a few Maru portraits/sprite changes I've been eyeing).

Not saying our mods/artists don't do amazing work, I just haven't found a portrait I prefer over the original ones.

 

*steps back in*
I personally liked the portraits, though there were a couple mod versions I just ended up liking more(my main problem is consistency. There are some portraits I like but I hate only switching one or two and so its like everyone but like 3 folks are one style but the others are so far removed that I just find it jarring) But I also can appreciate the work and style that went into the original ones and think they have their charm. And really, art is always going to be a subjective thing and just because something isn't 100% to my taste, it doesn't necessarily make them bad or ugly. Like I confess there are some mod portraits where I'm like "...no plz" but thats the fun thing about personal aesthetic!

Overall though, I get the feeling since the person made the post originally in the wrong board entirely (it looks like they posted in Starbound), I am not even sure if they knew about the mod sections. Heck, I'm not 100% sure if they know where their thread wandered off to. :I

 

I'm going to agree with you here. Portrait mods were some of the first mods to come out and there have been a plethora since, so why go through all the effort to type an inflammatory post when one can just wander over to the mod forum and dig through there?

Personally I've never been a huge fan of the anime style, I think they look too young or just too cartoony for me (though there are some amazing looking anime style mods available). I think CA's portrait art looks great, the only one I wasn't fond of was Sam and his Goku mullet.

 

Honestly? In my opinion, my biggest gripe with the original art (I do use the anime ones mind you)...is that their "blushing faces" aren't really noticeable. I do still use the original Haley (mainly cause it was updated in a patch and I haven't replaced it again yet, heh)...and I definitely noticed that when she blushes, you can BARELY notice it. It looks more like a shadow appears over her face. =\

Honestly? I actually prefer the "original concept art" for Penny over her most recent versions. Y'know, the whole upper body picture on her character page on the wiki. She's also the only one w/that sort of picture on the wiki at all, I think...so she's also the only one you really have ANY idea of what sort of actual body type she is. =x

I prefer anime style portraits...but einari's "western" style mod is pretty amazing for many of them (though some I'm kind of ehhh about).

Either way, there's plenty of portrait mods out there (most don't change their appearances enough to require new sprites)...so I don't get what the issue is, heh.

Or Vincent and his "Chris Farley from childhood" appearance?

Really, though...I agree, it seems to be one of those "doing it intentionally" threads, heh.

 

I don't like the original art either, but I don't think it is so bad that would keep me from playing the game. It's ok, not my style, but ok, and again, thats why portrait mods, so I can use toonyoza's mod to turn the wife into a waifu, oh yeah.

 

Yea this definitly feels like a troll post. Especially since OP hasn't replied or hopped back in here. Having your opinion is fine but as others have said, use a mod if you don't like the art...

 

I just wish the portraits were more.. i dunno, heart warming? But I dont feel bad for saying they are ugly cause its apart of criticism, any game dev should be prepared to receive it, even if its just my opinion I would be lieing if i said it was not a huge barrier for me to enjoy the game.

The mod art is fantastic.. however there is only one that completely changes every portrait in the game, and i dont want some looking good and the others looking kinda.. different?
And the one or two that are complete conversions do not capture the feeling i want.

 

If this was a troll post, it would be a really lame one, surely somebody looking to stir up shit can do better than saying they don't like the art.

There is like 1 mod that changes all the portraits and I really dont like that one.

 

Mods are beside the point. We're talking about the vanilla game.
I do not like the art style either, but I think that your post would have been more well received if it showed a bit more tact.
With that aside I think that the portrait art could stand to be improved. Saying that "well it's just not your style" doesn't cover it. As an artist myself I have exposed myself to a lot of artwork from artists of varying degrees of talent. These portraits don't rank very high as far as pixel art goes. That's just me being honest.
He is just one man and what he has done is very impressive as a whole. However looking at just the portraits I see room for improvement.

 

If I was to hazard a guess, It's not the part about not liking the art, it's the words used. Honestly it's the primary problem that I find a lot of critic-types have is they don't apply a professional filter to what they are saying so it ends up coming across as just trollish. I know some folks dislike the idea of sugar-coating their words, but in a text centric atmosphere it's almost necessary otherwise folks will misunderstand the context of what someone is trying to say.

Yes, it's perfectly fine to be not a fan of the art. But when one only has the text on the screen and no one knows a single thing about a person's writing demeanor, context is going to be up to the reader to gauge. And in that instance, someone going "I really want to play the game but I find the portraits to be a style that I just cannot enjoy so it is making it difficult to play because it keeps throwing me off." versus "The portraits are so FREAKING UGLY AND GROSS!" In a way, the same thing was being said, but in that weird context way the first one is more likely to be translated by readers as "I don't mesh with the art" and the other will likely get translated as "the art is universally awful and anyone who likes it has awful taste" which...if someone does like the original portraits will likely put them on defensive cause its like "but wait. -I- like the art, and I dont think my taste is awful. Therefore something must be wrong about the person who made the statement."

I think the claim that the portraits are not someone's cup of tea is perfectly fine and valid, which is probably why there is such an active mod community going on. I mean heckles, I still make awkward bat-skreech noises everytime I do the intro and I see the scene of what looks like my grandfather laying on a very awkward table pretending to be a bed cause seriously that bed.

In the end, odds are the best thing to do is find a mod that you are liking and post your support to them to hopefully help encourage them to keep going and make a full set. Cause I know for some of the mod makers, they kind of need supportive words to survive since if they feel no one is even interested in their work they will likely fizzle out.

 

I personally like the art. But aren't you being a bit rough with your wording? It's not THAT bad..

 

You're basically saying, "The original art is ugly. Why isn't it better?" which is FAR from criticism. Yes, constructive criticism is a big part of becoming better in any skill or profession, but this is not it. This is you whining and degrading somebody's hard work simply because you're not fond of it. Real criticism involves the parts you actually like, the parts you don't like, and ways on how that person can improve. It's understandable that everyone has different preferences, but instead of finding a solution to cater to your preferences, you decide to make an over exaggerated forum on how the artwork is "oh so ugly," "gross," and not "heart warming." You call this a big problem, but several kind people have given you advice which you refuse to take. There's literally nothing else you can do but choose a portrait mod or wait until more are released, and if that's such a "huge barrier" than maybe this game isn't for you.

And also, your grammar, your immaturity, and the fact you can't even post in the correct forum doesn't exactly make you credible. If you really want to share criticism, I suggest starting with proper language rather than a rant fest of "Why Portraits and art so ugly!"

 

Well if you want to look into it more... At least far as I know how it works. You could just get the mods of the portraits you like and then just swap out the graphic files for those that you like better into a main one. First would be choosing a main one to swap out from. Far as I know the easiest part of modding is swapping the art out with another mod.

I have not tried, hence far as I know bit; however if modding is the way I think, it really should be that simple. Easy, no. But should not be all that difficult. This is just a suggestion for possibly using a mod and then modifying to your best interest. I kind of do the same if the modding part is just graphic assets that I want to change. Usually that part is not all that complicated unless it happens to be all graphics into a single sprite sheet like gnomoria, and prior versions of minecraft. Even then, at least in the case of minecraft I could just open up a graphic program and estimate where I need to replace which graphics with what.

This maybe going on assumption of how it works beyond the scripting side, but graphic assets tend to be the easiest to work with.

Unlike some I didn't take it as a troll post and knew what you meant by it. At least you didn't sound overly hostile like some posts I have ran across in the past on the starbound forums. And like you said you were just stating your opinion, which is fine; it is your perspective after all. Just next time pay attention to which discussion area you are posting in, so it would be a little less confusing; which was the reason for my initial post. Glad Jonesy fixed that, cause now you get at least in the correct understanding of what you are referring to. I pretty much figured out what you are talking about with the HM comparison.

So at least you like some of the sprite others have made, and that is good. Really now though if you want to pursue it further so you can enjoy; it is all up to you to what lengths you want to go in order to have fun with the lovely mechanics of the game.

EDIT: Oh and on a special note... It was on April's Fools Day that you posted on, so probably one of the reasons why some might of thought it be trolling. I personally took it as is regardless of the day it was when you initially posted.

 

I dunno, i was just venting, cause iv been wanting to play this game for a week or so but unable to work past the art, they dont make me feel good at all, they set up camp in the uncanny valley super hardcore, to the point of making me feel uneasy.

 

I completely understand where you are coming from as an artist. But I think that ConcernedApe did do pretty well considering he is not an artist. Could it be better? Yes. But he knows that and that's why it took him so long to finish the game. From where he started he has improved exponentially. I'm sure future games from him will show even more improvement in his style and skill.

You are completely entitled to your own opinion. If it makes you uncomfortable that's fine. But saying it's ugly is in no way shape or form constructive criticism. Criticism is useless, rude, and helps no one. Constructive criticism, on the other hand, can help people change and improve. You came onto the forums created specifically for this game to uselessly criticize it. You didn't even state what about it you don't like. I'm not sure what reaction you expected to get from people on here. We all clearly like the game and even if not everybody likes the art style we are at least mature enough to go look at the various options to change it instead of posting a vague, whining post about it. You say that you are venting but my question is why are you doing that here? I'm really not surprised people think you are trolling. If the mods out there aren't doing it for you, make some requests. If there are some you like but they haven't done a portrait for everybody follow that person to see when they make updates. If the game is really unplayable for you right now, then don't play it for a while. Come back in a few months and see if more mods have been updated. The game is still brand new and so it will take a while for more complete mods to come around.

 

When I first started playing the game, it took me a bit to get used to the style (mostly the animations), but overall I really enjoy it and I've liked it more as time carried on. Of course there are a few nitpicks here and there, but the portrait art is really unique and well-made, in my opinion. I totally agree with the person who said that the blushing is hardly noticeable, if anything I'd like that to be changed. Overall though, I think the quality is pretty great and it's extremely refreshing to get a style that isn't copy-paste anime faces. As an art student myself, I don't think I could make better pixel portraits, lmao.

 

I personally prefer some of the previous arts of people, especially Abgail. Then again she looks too much like a girl I had a crush on in highschool so that doesn't help probably come to think of it.