Building on the
original thread, started by
@Syntia13, this is intended to be a hub to share alternate, fan-made portraits for the enhanced editions of the series. In order to keep the thread running and make it a comprehensive source for portraits, please abide by the
site rules and a few guidelines:
Thread Rules
1: Respect artists' creations and their right to them. If portrait-makers ask that you not edit their work,
don't. If a mistake is made, simply edit your post to remove the image, apologize, forgive and forget.
2: Do not share images for which you have not received permission from the artists, when possible.* This is particularly true of art from DeviantArt, which hosts many artists who do not want their work shared elsewhere.
3: If you request that a portrait be made, recognize that the artists in this forum do this simply because they enjoy contributing to the community. Be patient, be respectful and say thank you.
4: Be supportive! Many of the artists here are just beginning to learn how to make portraits. Be positive and constructive in your comments, and avoid pointless negativity.
5: If you are making and posting portraits, state who you used as a model (if applicable), either here or on your website. Understand that this still does not make the likeness your property, and be prepared to remove the image if so requested by the copyright holder.
*Understandably, the source of some older portraits is unknown. If in doubt, go to Google Images and drag the portrait to the search bar. You may find the artist or source through that method. Again refer to Rule 1.
Guide to Using Custom Portraits
Portraits in the enhanced editions use three images in bitmap (.bmp) format, the largest of which is only shown during the epilogue in Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. The three sizes are 210x330, 169x266 (displayed in the character sheet) and 54x84 (displayed on the right UI bar).*
To use custom portraits for your PC:
1: Navigate to your Baldur's Gate directory in (My) Documents.
2: Drop the custom portraits into the Portraits folder.
3: In the game, select Custom when choosing a portrait and select the medium and small sizes. Alternately, if you have already begun your game, select Customize/Appearance from the character sheet.
To use custom portraits for NPCs:
1: Rename the portrait files to match the NPC whose portraits you want to replace. For example, Jaheira's portraits are named JaheiraL, JaheiraM and JaheiraS. There are some portraits in BG1 that do not conform to this, and those in BG2 have their own naming format. Consult
this site.
2: Place the portraits in your override folder, located in the directory where you installed the game.
*Note that after the latest patch, the games allow a single large portrait size to be automatically adjusted to the proper sizes. I currently do not recommend this, as it causes pixelation in the small 54x84 version.
Artist Links
If you like the portraits you see here or at any of the sites below, leave a comment here or on the artist's website. We love making portraits, and we love hearing how you connect to them through the game.@artastrophe:
http://artastrophe.deviantart.com/@Coutelier:
http://coutelier.deviantart.com/@Enkida:
http://enkida.deviantart.com/@Isandir:
http://isandir.com@jakaminski:
http://jakaminski.deviantart.com/gallery/@Nixxi:
http://nixxical.deviantart.com/@Peachplums:
http://peachplums.deviantart.com/@Syntia13:
http://syntia13.deviantart.com/Suggest others whose portrait sites you are familiar with!
