Who has the "worst art"?

[Nowi's Husband]

Rebecca for me, I wince when I summon her it's so bad.  Her eyes are just disgusting.

[bottlegnomes]

5 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

He was already dashingly pretty with his sleazeball look. I don't see the need to make him look like an anime protagonist because he's supposed to look the part of handsome villain even if he isn't one.

They wanted him to appeal to as broad an audience as possible so people wouldn't bitch about the GHB unit getting the short end of the stick (whether that's true or not; it wouldn't be in that case IMO), so best way to do that is make him as inoffensively handsome as possible. I don't know how many people I've seen who never played PoR or RD say they actually prefer his Heroes art (it's a lot). Heck, they may have done the same thing from PoR to RD since he became more of a conventional good guy, though that might be due to the slight differences in overall style, and in Cipher to some extent. I disagree with the decision, but I do think it was an active decision. Whether that makes for good art gets us into what even is the measurement of quality in art which is another huge conversation entirely that I don't think anyone feels like having here and now.

Oh, yeah, on an unrelated note, if I were the art director of Heroes and someone brought me Hot Springs Camilla, I would've sent them back with a picture of Jessica Rabbit. If you're going to make absurdly proportioned characters, at least make the pieces seem to naturally connect to each other.

Edited February 11, 2019 by bottlegnomes

[Vince777]

Lloyd is probably the worst. I also cannot stand Ogma's art and think Florina and Selena didn't get the pretty stuff I was hoping they'd get.

Also Eliwood/Athena. Athena especially consider her official Shadow Dragon art is so gorgeous.

(I actually think the Rebecca art is very pretty)

[ShadowAlchemist]

Characters that don't look like themselves:

- Lloyd

- Lachesis

- Naesala's art isn't that bad, but it would be perfect if not for the nose job.

Worst anatomy:

- HS Camilla

- Gwendolyn

- Chrom has noodle limbs. That's not how you draw bishies. Also his whole face just looks weird.

Worst art style:

- Rebecca

- Merric. The coloring/shading makes the texture kind of plastic looking?

- Ogma. Those look more like a weird growth on his arms than muscles.

 

[DLNarshen]

Gwendolyn's art has always been off-putting to me.  It's one of those examples where there is such a disconnect between her original game appearance and her Heroes portrayal.  Looking at her official art and in-game mugshot, I'd be inclined to forgive someone if they initially thought the Heroes version was a separate character entirely.  The face and hair don't match very well, and what's wrong with her waist in the Heroes art?  You could almost wrap your fingers around it.  Besides that, I'm not a fan of some of the liberties that were taken.  The more pronounced chest, the exposed thighs, the heels...  It's likely I would have 5*'d her by now if not for the art.

Someone else brought up the nose thing, and I'd also like to draw attention to the noodle arms certain characters have.  It's easy to ignore in most art where they're concealed, but then stuff like hot springs Hinoka is released and I'm reminded of how unnatural it seems.  Hinoka is someone who has trained feverishly in the warrior arts for years, yet her body (especially her arms) looks as delicate and dainty as Sakura's.  Granted this is by no means an issue exclusive to Heroes or Fire Emblem, but you'd think in a series that has so many female warrior/soldier types that there would be more examples who diverge from the typical teenage anime girl build.  Here's hoping for Rinkah on the next Fates banner.    

[bottlegnomes]

4 hours ago, ShadowAlchemist said:

Merric. The coloring/shading makes the texture kind of plastic looking?

Huh, I actually like Merric's. To me how bold the colors are makes it feel reminiscent of mid 80s-early 90's animation that was more vibrant and less serious.

If I were to complain about someone looking plasticy, it'd hands down be Quan, which is super weird because Leif looks great and looking at the specifics of each's art, they're fairly similar.

Edited February 11, 2019 by bottlegnomes

[SSbardock84]

Even though he was my first 10+ I cringe every time I see the art for Eliwood.

[Xenovia]

IMO I think Lloyd's art is ok.  He looks thin and sickly.  That's what he's supposed to look like.  He's an assassin.

 

The only artwork that makes me mad is Ursula's.  She was a good villain in FE7, and her original artwork is good.  I was glad I could use her in this game until I saw her horrible artwork.

 

I maintain Cuboon has the most hq (high-quality) artwork.  He did a great job with Reinhardt, Olwen, Kagero, Tana, and Palla.  

[Lewyn]

Naesala's art is an interesting thing.  He has become this suave attractive guy who looks a bit younger.  His eyes seem trustworthy rather than sly and cunning due to not being really narrow, his nose is normal maybe even small as opposed to very long, his body type seems similar except he seems substantially taller and older in his Tellius art.  Now some of this stuff is unfortunate stereotypes.  Squinty eyes, big nose=evil.  When of course that isn't how it works in real life, but this is what we see in much of media.  Is Heroes trying to be progressive?  I don't think so, I believe since they think many might not have played the Tellius games they might be put off by Naesala's features.  No need to alter the other beasts, cause they were cool and attractive looking in their original art.  

 

[bottlegnomes]

36 minutes ago, Lewyn said:

No need to alter the other beasts, cause they were cool and attractive looking in their original art. 

It's not as extreme, but they most definitely played up Nailah's sex appeal. Though in their defense, they did it without compromising her overall aesthetic, i.e. that she could 100% kick all of our asses.

[thecrimsonflash]

17 hours ago, Lewyn said:

Naesala's art is an interesting thing.  He has become this suave attractive guy who looks a bit younger.  His eyes seem trustworthy rather than sly and cunning due to not being really narrow, his nose is normal maybe even small as opposed to very long, his body type seems similar except he seems substantially taller and older in his Tellius art.  Now some of this stuff is unfortunate stereotypes.  Squinty eyes, big nose=evil.  When of course that isn't how it works in real life, but this is what we see in much of media.  Is Heroes trying to be progressive?  I don't think so, I believe since they think many might not have played the Tellius games they might be put off by Naesala's features.  No need to alter the other beasts, cause they were cool and attractive looking in their original art.  

 

I found naesala to be attractive in his original art, in the delinquent or gangster(mafia style) sort of way, he isn't especially pretty or particularly rugged, but he just gives off that aura that he is dangerous or perhaps even untrustworthy and plenty are into that sort of thing, strange that they wouldn't use him to capture that audience.

[Lewyn]

18 hours ago, bottlegnomes said:

It's not as extreme, but they most definitely played up Nailah's sex appeal. Though in their defense, they did it without compromising her overall aesthetic, i.e. that she could 100% kick all of our asses.

She was definitely very sexy in her original art, but yeah they played it up more while staying true to her muscular BA concept.

1 hour ago, thecrimsonflash said:

I found naesala to be attractive in his original art, in the delinquent or gangster(mafia style) sort of way, he isn't especially pretty or particularly rugged, but he just gives off that aura that he is dangerous or perhaps even untrustworthy and plenty are into that sort of thing, strange that they wouldn't use him to capture that audience.

True I think having more characters that don't have traditional attractive features is good cause it increases diversity and different people find different things attractive.  I think they did a good job with Greil who keeps his prominent nose and worn but strong face.  

[Vince777]

20 hours ago, Xenovia said:

IMO I think Lloyd's art is ok.  He looks thin and sickly.  That's what he's supposed to look like.  He's an assassin.

So are Legion (and all the other Legion..), his father Brendan and his brother Linus.

All assassins and all big warrior types, two of them even being blood-related.

While Lloyd is smaller than the other Reeds, he certainly shouldn’t look thin and sickly. He doesn’t in his game art.

[thecrimsonflash]

3 hours ago, Lewyn said:

I think they did a good job with Greil who keeps his prominent nose and worn but strong face.  

I mean this as seriously as possible, greil is a dilf, he certainly is gaining in the years, but if you like older men greil fits the bill very well.

 

2 hours ago, Vince777 said:

So are Legion (and all the other Legion..), his father Brendan and his brother Linus.

All assassins and all big warrior types, two of them even being blood-related.

While Lloyd is smaller than the other Reeds, he certainly shouldn’t look thin and sickly. He doesn’t in his game art.

the unfortunate stereotype of the assassin is the chaotic neutral rogue who kills silently and in the dead of the night, but the black fang is clearly more of the contract killer variety, the idea is simple, you pay money, the man is dead, this is different from mercenaries who play a primarily military role to fortify armies and are in long term employment.

that last bit was for those who want to say that the black fang are mercenaries, they focus on individual strikes, not large scale targets.

[Silver-Haired Maiden]

This may be an unpopular opinion but I really don't like Nailah's art at all. Can't say exactly why, but it's something about the way her face is drawn, which is a shame since I love her original art so much.

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 hours ago, Silver-Haired Maiden said:

This may be an unpopular opinion but I really don't like Nailah's art at all. Can't say exactly why, but it's something about the way her face is drawn, which is a shame since I love her original art so much.

To be honest, I heard someone say the Silver Wolf had an ugly face, and I thought they meant Nailah, turns out they meant Lloyd. I can see the criticism you have. Perhaps a little too "deadly sexy", not quite as strong but possibly welcoming as her RD self?

 

Another art work critiquing- Navarre. Where is the edgelord? His face just looks wrong, too young, too old and wasted, too much anguish and weakness, and not enough cold killer strength. It's like you dropped TMS Navarre in a food processor and tossed a hunk of granite in the mix too for about ten minutes. For Yashiro, I'd consider using him, but presently Navarre is just a shadow of what I'd like.

[XRay]

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

too young, too old

That is interesting. I can see the young part, but how is he too old?

[Interdimensional Observer]

10 hours ago, XRay said:

I can see the young part, but how is he too old?

A special kind of old I'll call "I've been sapped of my vitality and skin color and my face is now a round pale mushy blob old and the rest of my body is becoming the same kind of flesh sack without any substance". No wrinkles, this is true, but when the underlying structure is degenerating, that doesn't really matter. Imagine Wrys in using Navarre's aesthetic, and that is what I mean. Or to use another example which you may be familiar with:

Just remove the helmet, and throw Navarre's hair on him. That is what I mean.

[Xenovia]

I can't handle looking at Spring Kagero's artwork for too long.  It's too erotic.

[XRay]

34 minutes ago, Xenovia said:

I can't handle looking at Spring Kagero's artwork for too long.  It's too erotic.

You should try going to the Catalog of Heroes and rapidly tap her sprite.

[Xenovia]

1 hour ago, XRay said:

You should try going to the Catalog of Heroes and rapidly tap her sprite.

I would love to rapidly tap Spring Kagero.  Thank you the the recommendation @XRay

[tapwater]

Agree with all of the above... but has anyone ever mentioned Laslow? Specifically his damaged art? How does he support himself on his feet?

[Ice Dragon]

37 minutes ago, leocanta said:

Agree with all of the above... but has anyone ever mentioned Laslow? Specifically his damaged art? How does he support himself on his feet?

I considered it when I listed my list of objectively wrong art, but I dismissed his legs because his pose is technically physically possible.

His left leg being off the screen makes it difficult to say for certain, but it's entirely plausible that his right foot is lined up with his left foot and center of gravity. You can make out that his knee is farther forward than his foot by the angle of the design on his shin armor.

The bend of the ankle can be explained by the fact that boots are more flexible than ankles are. His foot doesn't need to be flat on the ground for the boot to rest flat on the ground. In this pose, you'd be supporting your weight on the inner edge of your foot while the outer edge is off the ground.