Mahala's picture

[Opera]

There has been some discussion about which portrait of Mahala is better: the new (blond) one or the old (black hair) one?

The team can't seem to choose one so we decided to make a poll. The winner will be the main one, the loser might make it in as a module.

VOTE!

New: urlremoved/rife/wiki/index.php?title=File:Mahala_big.png

Old: http://fallfromheaven.wikia.com/wiki/File:Mahala.jpg

 

[Valkrionn]

I am of the opinion that the new one, imperfect though it may be, is better than the old.

 

[Alsark]

I like the new one, mostly just because I can't even tell that the old picture is of a female.

 

[Torugu]

I prefer the old one, it doesn't look like what I imagine Mahala looks like, but at least it looks human.

Then again, I'm inclined to believe that Obi-Wan Kenobi really would be the better choice. (I'm being serious here.)

 

[Valkrionn]

I like the new one, mostly just because I can't even tell that the old picture is of a female.

Same reason I prefer it.

I prefer the old one, it doesn't look like what I imagine Mahala looks like, but at least it looks human.

Why does the new one not look human, exactly?

 

[Opera]

One hasn't got to see clearly that she's a she. No need for as many curves!

 

[mo123567]

I am of the opinion that the new one, imperfect though it may be, is better than the old.

I like the new one, mostly just because I can't even tell that the old picture is of a female.

I agree. The 2nd is better but not great.

Perhaps a third all new picture is in order.

 

[Torugu]

Why does the new one not look human, exactly?

That ridiculous body armour of hers makes her look horribly disproportionate. I'm aware that they turn out to be (somewhat) correct if you take a closer look, but I don't want to have to do a picture analysis to tell my Doviello from my Mercurians.

 

[Valkrionn]

One hasn't got to see clearly that she's a she. No need for as many curves!

No, you don't need to clearly see it. But the new one is not blurry, not shadowy. It is female (I don't particularly give a damn if it's an attractive female or not, I just got tired of seeing Mahala referred to as a He), rather than unisex.

On the downside, it's perhaps TOO female, and the clothing isn't quite appropriate for the Taiga.

I agree. The 2nd is better but not great.

Perhaps a third all new picture is in order.

The issue is there is no real third picture. Try to find pictures of a warrior woman. They will all be in skimpy outfits.

 

[Valkrionn]

That ridiculous body armour of hers makes her look horribly disproportionate. I'm aware that they turn out to be (somewhat) correct if you take a closer look, but I don't want to have to do a picture analysis to tell my Doviello from my Mercurians.

The picture on the wiki is compressed a bit horrizontally compared to the ingame pedia. I also think you mean the shoulders are throwing off the rest? They're just fur. She's completely proportionate, looks human to me.

 

[arcticnightwolf]

what about that one blackimperator posted link to ... http://thefirstangel.deviantart.com...pular+in:digitalart/paintings+valkyrie&qo=132 ...?

 

[ExMachina]

I think I found a good one:

http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=cold warrior woman&order=9&offset=24#/d1uxit5

 

[Wauthan]

Glad that this came up because this have been bugging me. I always modded Mahalas portrait, as well as the others but I started with her, since that portrait is from the old CRPG Icewind Dale. When that game was launched there was a lot of fans who wanted larger images of the portraits for various reasons. The publisher relented and a lot of portraits, and other beautiful in-game art, were made available with the artists (Justin Sweet) notes.

The portrait used for Mahala was called "Barbarian Male 2". And in the higher resolution the figure looked even more masculine. Heck, I never thought that could be interpreted as a female at all until I came upon FFH. Justin Sweet tends to draw women in the usual scantily clad fantasy style.

In other notes the image of the Austrin leader Deirdra is actually of a young man. The artist, who's name eludes me at the moment, is famous for her portraits of androgynous males so I can see why that got confused.

 

[Valkrionn]

what about that one blackimperator posted link to ... http://thefirstangel.deviantart.com...pular+in:digitalart/paintings+valkyrie&qo=132 ...?

Of course. No sleeves, no shoulders, and barely covered legs are MUCH better than the fur-lined armor we have now.

I think I found a good one:

http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=cold warrior woman&order=9&offset=24#/d1uxit5

Same thing here. Pic may be good, but the armor is completely unrealistic.

 

[Valkrionn]

Glad that this came up because this have been bugging me. I always modded Mahalas portrait, as well as the others but I started with her, since that portrait is from the old CRPG Icewind Dale. When that game was launched there was a lot of fans who wanted larger images of the portraits for various reasons. The publisher relented and a lot of portraits, and other beautiful in-game art, were made available with the artists (Justin Sweet) notes.

The portrait used for Mahala was called "Barbarian Male 2". And in the higher resolution the figure looked even more masculine. Heck, I never thought that could be interpreted as a female at all until I came upon FFH. Justin Sweet tends to draw women in the usual scantily clad fantasy style.

In other notes the image of the Austrin leader Deirdra is actually of a young man. The artist, who's name eludes me at the moment, is famous for her portraits of androgynous males so I can see why that got confused.

....Well, I guess I was right about it being too masculine.

 

[sylvain5477]

I think I found a good one:

http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=cold warrior woman&order=9&offset=24#/d1uxit5

Like the graphics on this one better.

 

[Opera]

Glad that this came up because this have been bugging me. I always modded Mahalas portrait, as well as the others but I started with her, since that portrait is from the old CRPG Icewind Dale. When that game was launched there was a lot of fans who wanted larger images of the portraits for various reasons. The publisher relented and a lot of portraits, and other beautiful in-game art, were made available with the artists (Justin Sweet) notes.

The portrait used for Mahala was called "Barbarian Male 2". And in the higher resolution the figure looked even more masculine. Heck, I never thought that could be interpreted as a female at all until I came upon FFH. Justin Sweet tends to draw women in the usual scantily clad fantasy style.

In other notes the image of the Austrin leader Deirdra is actually of a young man. The artist, who's name eludes me at the moment, is famous for her portraits of androgynous males so I can see why that got confused.

You modded the portraits? Can't you share that with us?

 

[Valkrionn]

Like the graphics on this one better.

Doesn't matter; Can't be used. These people live in the tundra. You'd be dead inside of a few hours in that outfit.

 

[Wauthan]

I think I found a good one:

http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=cold warrior woman&order=9&offset=24#/d1uxit5

I actually tried that one out. Sadly, it doesn't look so good when reduced in size. The portrait really needs the figure to look directly at the viewer. And less background detail is probably a good idea (tends to blur together when the image is shrunk down).

Trouble is of course that no one really knows what Mahala looks like. More details would help a lot to narrow down the search. I sort of collect fantasy art since I often have use for portraits and such in my pbem games.

 

[Valkrionn]

So far, this is the best we've found. I still prefer the new pic (don't see Mahala with a mohawk...) but this one is otherwise far better.

http://chrislazzer.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d1ki2yx