Burrows Gets a Facelift (December 2, 2008)

Nice effort! But a few comments:

There is no vertical stretch, the reference has just the wrong aspect ratio, since 320x200 != 4:3. Scale the reference up and they will match quite nicely with the remake.

While I prefer the version that keeps a 1:1 pixel ratio, what is apparent when you force the aspect to 4:3 - stretching the original to match the 640x480 or 320x240 standards) is that the problems aren't really the height of the image.

The following samples alternate, with the first and third being the source image aspect with the second and fourth being stretched to how they would possibly look on an old 4:3 monitor... though I don't have an old PC handy to compare....

Mostly there's some slight width and pronouncement issues with the chin, minor shape issues with the eyes and the main thing I notice is the nostril/bridge/shape of the nose seems quite off.

Burrows.JPG

Burrows2.JPG

Burrows3.JPG

Burrows4.JPG
 
I knew the aspect ratio...Err...aspect would come up... ;)

Regardless of which is considered the "correct" aspect, I much prefer the 1st and 3rd images - That's what Burrows looked like when I played Privateer all those years ago and that's just how he looks right to me. :)
 
I daresay that if you really played Privateer "all those years ago", then you would have seen the 320x240 'stretched' version. ;)
 
I think the new look is great although do feel the colour is a little off but that's an iffy thing as shadows will affect it too, other than that can't say there is anything I see that I would change.

The only irk I have is his name wasn't Grayson Burrows but that's neither here nore there & since that's what everyone refers to him as now I suppose it might be his new name.
 
explicit touch-up

dear Gemini Gold team,

good job guys! glad that you've got so far with the project as to actually remake the character gfx. I don't know, maybe using 3D character models could be even wiser: 3D's easier to animate and fix, and if you're going to conquer greater resolutions in the future, it couldn't hurt to have painless scaling. but still, hooray. very good beginning!

anyway... since my main line of work is telling other artists how to draw (no really: lead artist/art director), I decided to try touching up this portrait to see which parts could be improved to make the guy look more like the original protagonist. needless to say, I pulled on some parts, added, subtracted... got carried away... finally ended up with essentially a brand new portrait... and this was supposed to be a rough reference draft :)



sorry about the quality: at first I wasn't concerned with making it crisp, so I used the "smear" instrument a lot; it's quick and handy, but tends to blur the source material. and I didn't do anything with the hair (just painted the basic shape): it would be rather hard to do with a mouse. but the hair definitely needs to be redone. the original style spoke volumes about the character, and the remake doesn't feel the same: looks too smooth.

oh, and of course I have this thing in a layered PSD file, superimposed over the original face. so if you see use for it, just whistle, and I'll send it to you.
 
Shere Khan's rough edit looks much better, and closer to the original. I totally agree about the hair needing to be redone as well.
 
just a better quality jpeg of the same image



meanwhile I heard an opinion that both John's version and my edit look much younger than the original Burrows. the original guy is dry and tired, his face muscles are loose, while in our remakes he's a much juicier young lad.

dunno if it's that severe... but still, a valid point.
 
I kind of think like your and John's eyes look a little older than the original. I don't think Burrows looks particularly old (save that for Arena's Burrows), he just looks like he's been through a lot in 30 years or so.
 
I agree with Chris. I still like the Original Burrows more and I really don't think he looks old.

The new pictures sure look good even if they don't show the original Burrows. Sure very interesting... perhaps you could add them ALL to the game so that the player could choose which type of Burrows he wants to play?
 
whoah, dangerous idea. giving the player redundant options to choose from... leads straight on to hell. besides, my sketch can't be used for anything other than giving some direction to the artist doing this. it's just that - a sketch.
and, yes, the original Burrows kicked ass. too bad pixel art doesn't upscale well...
 
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