CE Portrait Insertion

[FaustWolf]

Just wanted you guys to see these in all their in-game glory. We must search the ends of the earth for Darkken. I gave some thought to inserting the Magus portrait from Prophet's Guile, but the style and color scheme definitely conflicts with Darkken's utterly awesome art.

The current portrait patch is attached. Should be safe to use on whatever the most recent Crimson Echoes version is, since none of the portrait or portrait palette data appear to have been shifted from the original CT in the version Jsondag provided on October 28, 2008.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Agent 12]

it really is wonderful work.  I'll start yelling Darkken outside my door...maybe he lives within a block of me.

--JP

[Chrono'99]

These portraits are pretty nice. Dunno if it was intentional, but the characters look slightly older than in CT (especially Marle). That fits the storyline very well.

[Chrono'99]

When the preview video will be released, should we maybe try to recruit a fan-artist to do all the character portraits? I really like the current ones for Crono, Lucca and Marle, but the four other, unmodified portraits clash with them. We could use the video to motivate someone who might be willing to do a complete set of portraits (or even Darkken himself).

[Agent 12]

I have to agree, I dont think it should delay the release or anything but it's definitely true that there's a huge difference in the portrait styles and quality.

--JP

[Chrono'99]

Alright, I found Darkken's profile on the FFOnline forums one week ago. I tried to register to send him a PM but the admins still haven't activated my account (they don't accept free addresses and maybe they don't know if the French ISP e-mail address I used is free or not). I sent Darkken a PM on the Compendium around the same time too but he hasn't replied, which is understandable considering he hasn't logged in for some time.

Should we try looking for another artist to either complete the remaining portraits or do a whole new set?

[Agent 12]

can you see his activity on FFOnline?  I can try to register there.  I can try getting an account there.  If we get a new artist I'd say remaining portrait's only it's like a crime to not use these.

--JP

[Vehek]

It looks like he hasn't posted there since 2006.

See if the information in his profile (homepage, IM addresses) is any help.
http://forums.ffonline.com/member.php?u=27
(Is this him? I'm not sure.)

[Chrono'99]

There's a link to a LiveJournal and he mentions Chrono Cross in it so I think there are good chances that it's him. I guess you can give it a try, jsondag. Good luck!

[Agent 12]

.......weird.......i tried to register and it said "the administrator has banned your email address".....

surely someone here has an account there?

--JP

[ZeaLitY]

I sent him a message on LJ.

[Chrono'99]

.......weird.......i tried to register and it said "the administrator has banned your email address".....

surely someone here has an account there?

--JP

They banned all free email addresses to prevent spam or something. So I registered with the address of my ISP but even then they never activated my account.

Well, thanks Z. Let's cross our fingers now...

[FaustWolf]

Should we start compiling a list of artists the CE team could approach if Darkken has truly vanished?

Alcyone might be able to, though I haven't a clue as to whether she's used to pixel portraiting. I put out a general call for CE portrait help in the CC:DBT portrait thread, so we can tell her interest based on whether she replies to that. On that note, has justin3009 done pixel portraits before?

AbyssWolf probably has the skills required if this is any indication.

People on the Final Fantasy Hacktics site are just gushing out portraits right and left, though those are all done in FFT's peculiar style.

Hopefully when the teaser site goes live the prospect of doing art for a project only a few months from release will encourage artists to do a few more portraits.

Just remembered that Satoh probably has the capability to do this as well. He's still active over at Qhimm, so I could contact him there if the CE team becomes serious about bringing new portrait artists in.

[Chrono'99]

These artists are all good choices. I don't know any pixel artist to put on the list... I really like Mintapple's art though. She has a particular style with colors and lines that would translate perfectly well in 48x48 portraits. She's a fan of the Chrono series also.

[FaustWolf]

You're right, Mintapple's art reduces surprisingly well!

However, that's not palette-reduced, so a drop in quality would occur from that example.

If the CE team is willing to consider taking non-pixel art and converting them into CT portraits, I'll throw tushantin into the mix. His art style is way different than Darkken's, but he's seriously improved as of late. These are some of the ones he's done for AE:HU.





Still, I just love Darkken's portraits to death. They have an incredible charm. I'd say it's best to leave things as-is if Darkken can't be found (unless of course someone can emulate Darrken's style). From the player's perspective, it's believable that the other characters wouldn't have changed as much in 5 years as Marle, Crono, and Lucca have.