Why did Bethesda make the elves so hideous? : V - Skyrim

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:46 pm

Well she is a descendant of Barenziah so...

gah spoilers

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:59 pm

Is it because their artists are terrible or they think elves should look like goblins?

No, perhaps it's because your opinions are apparently generic and close-minded.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:53 pm

http://i.imgur.com/fdNe1.jpg http://i.imgur.com/uzahH.jpg http://i.imgur.com/jYmOh.jpg.

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 1:18 am

Hmn...still waiting to see when people realise they've been trolled, then? =P

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 5:59 pm

My initial response was the same, having not played TES (before Skyrim) and only having the gorgeous Liv Tyler image of elves in my head I was thinking why are these elves so fugly ? Why do they look like 1950's aliens ?

I warmed to them though, left behind my expectations and do find them refreshingly unique. Playing as a Bosmer now and had fun shaping her face, she's kinda like a Latino/space alien look and I think it's pretty bad [censored].

I think Arcano makes for a great example of how the High Elf look embodies their snobby nature. Looking at those past images I'm real glad they don't look like that, definite improvement.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 5:34 pm

What? You realise the elves cant look the same in every fantasy world?
also i love how the characters look in skyrim :smile:

pretty much this, I like how the wood elves look no longer like hobbits

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 5:04 pm

they look realistic... or at least as realistic as things don't exist... it's like saying that unicorns don't look like white stalions with horns on their heads, they don't exist so you can't know.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:45 pm

Bud, Bethesda has greatly improved them... I guarantee that this is either your first TES game or your trolling hard for you to make such an asinine insult to this much needed overhaul.

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 4:09 am

They are not human after all...

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:41 pm

I find the elves in Skryim to be incredibly ugly. The Dunmer used to be my favorite race to play in ES, until I saw them in Skyrim. I cannot bring myself to play one now, since they look more like goblins than elves. They did not just get hit by an ugly stick, the whole darn ugly forest fell on them.

The secret to making an attractive face is keeping the features proportional. http://j-u-i-c-e.hubpages.com/hub/better-looking-characters. You can have a face that looks inhuman, but is still attractive, as long as you remember that. But the elves in Skyrim have their proportions thrown out the window. There is no balance between their features. Gigantic chins, neanderthal brow ridges, mushroom-shaped skulls, etc... Everything is over-exaggerated in the attempt to make them look alien. But the end result is that they are inhuman and ugly.

I pretty much agree with this. I don't think the new mer designs look alien. I think they look goofy and cartoonish. I play with a mod that significantly tones down the http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/29-1-1321039090.jpg, but there are still NPCs I come across that look unnatural. I find that to make a decent looking mer, I have to shorten and widen the chin a great deal. Like http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/9017/dunmerp.jpg.

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 4:20 am

They maybe overdid the brows a little bit, particularly with the Dunmer... but I don't think TES elves are supposed to be as flawlessly beautiful as elves in other fantasy works. Besides, Skyrim is a harsh region... so I guess Bethesda felt the elves should look a bit rougher and less fair than they would in somewhere like Cyrodiil.

Overall i'm fairly pleased with how they turned out. HUGE improvement over Oblivion.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 12:35 pm

Is it because their artists are terrible or they think elves should look like goblins?

The elves look amazing compared to the elves in Oblivion.

However, their HORRIBLE jawline destroys the whole design.

I trie to role a Dunmer, and just couldn't stand the terrible Count Orlak from Nosferatu jawline.

It makes no sense that they made it impossible for elves to have jaws.

They all look like E.T.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:00 pm

No one's telling me this elfs hideous. No siree.

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x48/human_male/CIMG1004.jpg

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:49 pm

NOW their height, ow ya! So tired that everyones the same size. Nords and high elves supposed to tower over bosmers especially. It shouldnt be a 1 inch difference between the nords and bosmers if its even that more like almost a foot. i should be looking down at them if playing a nord instead of not really being able to tell a difference between them and imperials.....

Go to 3rd person a High Elf DOES tower over a bosmer. Skyrim lacks varying camara heights for 1st person based on race.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:43 pm

http://i.imgur.com/OJjEG.jpg

Because that is the only modded elf race i use :hehe:

Well, i do have the Moonshadow elves too, but i just like the drow more

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:26 pm

TES elves are completely the opposite of generic/boring fantasy elves seen in other RPG's but if you really want to make them "beautiful" all you need is to play about with the character creation.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:37 pm

aren't LOTR elves just pointy eared humans?

Tolkien never mentioned anything about pointy ears.

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 1:57 am

"Is it because their artists are terrible"
Believe it or not, it is much harder to draw/sculpt an ugly character rather than a beautiful one. Or it's an issue of polygons/facial geometry (which is the most useless POS ever) in digital 3D, in which case that's really the fault of the software. Even then, it's still easier to make something pretty.

Personally, I think the elves look fine. But if you insist, it's an improvement over OB.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:03 pm

But if you want pretty elves, http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197988732882/screenshot/596970359686333978?tab=public :wink:

My eyes, they buuuuuuuuuuuuuuurn!!!!

But yes, would you prefer Oblivion elves?

I thought so.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 2:08 pm

I love them, much more iconic than Oblivion's "Normal face, pointy ears".

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:27 pm

"Is it because their artists are terrible"
Believe it or not, it is much harder to draw/sculpt an ugly character rather than a beautiful one. Or it's an issue of polygons/facial geometry (which is the most useless POS ever) in digital 3D, in which case that's really the fault of the software. Even then, it's still easier to make something pretty.

Personally, I think the elves look fine. But if you insist, it's an improvement over OB.

Well, not pretty necessarily, but doll-like and creepy for sure.

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 1:53 am

they are supposed to be inhuman looking i think, ya know alien...like different than the people in the game. Also they are a fairly unique look for elves, instead of being pretty pointy ears or giraffe necks

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 12:12 am

I dunno about mer looking ugly but, http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/596970529038376902/7E603FEB727DB26296A316397A34B67623D82973/, and without mods.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 11:11 pm

The irony is not lost on me that there is also a thread saying that they are done so well in this game.

I like how they did them. Most games have the stereotypical fantasy looking elves. Skyrim has far more grounded, realistic looking elves. If I were to imagine actually meeting one, I'd imagine that they would far more likely look like the ones in Skyrim than one of the games where they look so fluffy...

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:13 pm

Dude, you want to see some ugly *ss elves? Play DA2. The elves in that game are really odd looking. Some look like the giant blue smurfs from that space movie..can't remember the name..and some of them look like Noserferatu vampires. Really ugly elves. Skyrim elves don't really bother me...unless they're alive. I kid...i kid.