Age of Decadence - Possible Portraits?

As we wait for the combat demo, Vince has posted some sample work from an artist who may provide NPC portraits for The Age of Decadence - keep your fingers crossed because the work is awesome.
More information.

Wow, that art work is awesome.

Agreed. That is some of the best I've seen in quite some time. I too hope they stick with this artist. Wow.

Excellent. I loved how Ultima 7 for instance had a portrait for every single NPC, and always regretted how this was dropped in later games. I simply feel more connected to the world and characters with portraits in games.

Nice but I don't see anything spectacular there. However the fifth portrait (scroll down) and the story around it kicks arse.

Best portraits I've seen in video game.

wow, those are pretty good

It's true, a picture paints a thousand words. To be artistically able to match a character's graphical form to a portrayed npc's role within a game's story make-up is an enviable ability, this guy knows his stuff.

Very impressive indeed … - The last example reminds me somehow of Monkey Island …

Really nice, I was sold on AoD along time ago though there's nothing wrong with icing on the cake. I see there are some concerns that they might clash with the art design of the game, but as these all have a similar/constant style they will be part of the art design.

That's a joke about 200 portraits right?

Originally Posted by woges
That's a joke about 200 portraits right?

Of course And I don't think it's possible - even for the best - to make 200 portraits in one or two days, is it?

Vince said:

We'd need at least 25, hopefully 35-40.

Well, U5 Lazarus has about 200 portraits. But it was a lot of work.

He later writes about 25 minimum, ideally around 40 (quoted from memory).

Yes, but portraits are the sort of thing you can add in at any point, even after the game is released if you're so inclined.

For the last 2 Age of Wonders games, fans even converted RPG portraits for the use within the game …

Very nice artwork. And good portraits do add a lot to a game. For some reason art seems to help me form connections: to the NPCs, the player character and the game itself; better than just words or plot.