Modified Mediterranean GFX

[Velorian]

The Mods:
There are two versions, both can be used together, the first one alters the Mediterranean Pack, requires the DLC Pack and is compatible with any mod, though if the other mod alters the same GFX this mod needs to load last (or it will look wrong, no crashes and it's reversible). The second one alters the Vanilla Arabs and requires no DLC and should be compatible with any mod.

It only changes the GFX so you'll probably want to combine it with another portrait mod like CPR.

Modified Mediterranean GFX
Here is a finished version, there is still a slight bug with weird coloration occasionally on some males (same as in the Improved Mediterranean Mod).

Download: View attachment Modified Mediterranean GFX.zip
Installation/Compatibilities:
Should be compatible with anything as long as the Mediterranean Pack is installed, you can also copy the GFX folder into whichever mod you are using (like CPR/VIET) and then you can be sure it'll work.

Some screenshots (taken with CPR so some face/beard/clothes combinations won't appear if you only use this mod):
Male:

Female:

Modified Arab GFX
Also I've finished a version where the Arab GFX has been lightened. I just settled for a specific amount of change and applied it to all the files rather than customizing each so it was considerably quicker and easier than modifying the Mediterranean GFX, but I think it turned out alright.

Download: View attachment Modified_Arab_GFX.zip
Installation/Compatibilities:
Should be compatible with anything either plain vanilla or any other mod, you can also copy the GFX folder into whichever mod you are using (like CPR/VIET) and then you can be sure it'll work.

Male:

Female:

Comparison with Vanilla Arab GFX:

Spoiler

 

[cybrxkhan]

Aw yeah.

I'll repost what I posted on the CPR thread:

From left to right: first one looks a tad bit too sunburnt and/or reddish, but in my opinion is arguably the closest to the originals in terms of skin tone (i.e. more differentiated compared to Western portraits); the second is the palest-looking, which would work for those who really don't like the tan look, but the women look like they have a lot of make-up powder on them; the third is my favorite , but there's something a bit powdery about the look similarly to #2, though it isn't as much. My suggestion would be #3, but make it just slightly paler (so not too much towards #2, maybe not even halfway, but in that direction) and somehow reduce the powderyness somehow. I don't even know if powdery is the right term here - maybe the faces are a bit too smooth? I dunno.

Still all three look pretty good and I would take any of them as is. Hopefully some others can provide some input.


I bet you'll be doing PI a huge favor by convincing more people to buy/use the Med portraits after this. GeorgAfLuckba did pretty good, but I think you'll take it up another step.

 

[superskierpat]

Cyber Khan I agree that the last two look like they have too much makeup on, so basically, they represent a few women I know xD

 

[Federalist girl]

Your Arabs look great -- definitely like that they don't look reddish and sunburnt, which seemed too cartoonish.

The Med faces... #1 or #3 I think. #2 is way too pale.

 

[Viden]

Try1 is good for Aztec, Mayans and so on.

Try2 and try3 are far better for Mediterranean people. Try2 is the best for North Mediterranean (everything above Madrid and Rome and the whole continental Greece) while try3 can represent the influence of North African DNA in southern European Mediterranean (Southern Spain and Italy, Sicily, Crete and the other Greek isles, etc.).

PS: Oh, and most Arabs are paler.

 

[ndrgmm]

Try1 is good for Aztec, Mayans and so on.

Try2 and try3 are far better for Mediterranean people. Try2 is the best for North Mediterranean (everything above Madrid and Rome and the whole continental Greece) while try3 can represent the influence of North African DNA in southern European Mediterranean (Southern Spain and Italy, Sicily, Crete and the other Greek isles, etc.).

PS: Oh, and most Arabs are paler.

I think that sicilians are more similar to the 3 picture of try1 than other try3, because of nose and face. They have very strong features, not a soft face with small eyes.

 

[Viden]

I think that sicilians are more similar to the 3 picture of try1 than other try3, because of nose and face. They have very strong features, not a soft face with small eyes.

We are speaking of skin tones.

 

[Velorian]

I'd like to make at least two good shades of Mediterraneans so I think I'll aim for a pale one (preferably just a shade darker than vanilla western) and a more Levantine-like one. I know most Levantines are also quite pale, but they seem to tan better than those in the north at least. While not fully representative there is also a tendency for that famous "olive skin". Only there is also the possibility of using significantly lightened Vanilla Arab portraits. I might try both and see what looks best.

I think try2 is a bit too pale, when comparing you can see that it is actually slightly paler than vanilla western. I was trying to remove the reddish hue from try1 and get the whole thing paler, but it might have gone a tad bit too far.

For try3 I attempted to retain a bit of the olive shade from the skin.

Anyhow the further I warp the color from what it used to be the greater the chance it'll start to look a bit off, as my method is somewhat crude and affects shadows as well. That smudge on their cheeks and the fat ones' necks used to be shadows I think, luckily it looks like bad makeup which isn't all that unrealistic...

It's worsened as I'm editing directly on the stuff GeorgAfLuckba have made, he'd edited the Vanilla Western chins to have the same color as Mediterranean to make them fit in there, and it does look great. The problem is that they are saved in a slightly lower quality which has distorted the graphics ever so slightly, but when I then edit the colors once more it gets worse.

Maybe I'll try to match the feat he did later so the edit will be based on the originals, but not for the first version. Once I've found a decent color I'll apply it for the whole set so there'll be at least one finished version.

PS: Oh, and most Arabs are paler.

You mean the modified Arabs? I know, but I was aiming for getting the yellow/red sunburnt look out. I think it became a quite healthy-looking tan color. If it's too dark for the Levant, then perhaps to replace the Beduins?

 

[Viden]

I'd like to make at least two good shades of Mediterraneans so I think I'll aim for a pale one (preferably just a shade darker than vanilla western) and a more Levantine-like one. I know most Levantines are also quite pale, but they seem to tan better than those in the north at least. While not fully representative there is also a tendency for that famous "olive skin". Only there is also the possibility of using significantly lightened Vanilla Arab portraits. I might try both and see what looks best.

I think try2 is a bit too pale, when comparing you can see that it is actually slightly paler than vanilla western. I was trying to remove the reddish hue from try1 and get the whole thing paler, but it might have gone a tad bit too far.

For try3 I attempted to retain a bit of the olive shade from the skin.

Anyhow the further I warp the color from what it used to be the greater the chance it'll start to look a bit off, as my method is somewhat crude and affects shadows as well. That smudge on their cheeks and the fat ones' necks used to be shadows I think, luckily it looks like bad makeup which isn't all that unrealistic...

It's worsened as I'm editing directly on the stuff GeorgAfLuckba have made, he'd edited the Vanilla Western chins to have the same color as Mediterranean to make them fit in there, and it does look great. The problem is that they are saved in a slightly lower quality which has distorted the graphics ever so slightly, but when I then edit the colors once more it gets worse.

Maybe I'll try to match the feat he did later so the edit will be based on the originals, but not for the first version. Once I've found a decent color I'll apply it for the whole set so there'll be at least one finished version

Well, North Mediterraneans are just as white as any other European, which is logic because the genetic stock comes mostly from Celts, Romans and, specially in case o the nobility, of Franks and Goths (pale blonde blue-eyed noblemen/women were not an uncommon sight among Castillian and Portuguese nobility, whilst Aragonese and Catalan ones came directly from the Carolingian Empire).

You mean the modified Arabs? I know, but I was aiming for getting the yellow/red sunburnt look out. I think it became a quite healthy-looking tan color. If it's too dark for the Levant, then perhaps to replace the Beduins?

For bedouins is quite good. I met Levantines and Arabs (Syrians, Tunisians, etc.) that are pure white in skin tone, I noticed their procedence only due to their facial traits (hair, nose and so on).

 

[cybrxkhan]

For the Med portraits, Velorian, I think having two skin tones - one for the (North) Italians and Christian Iberians that is paler (closer to #2), and one for the rest (closer to #3, perhaps) would work, and would satisfy most people who really don't like the tanned look of the Med portraits and still keeps the variety going.

 

[Alerias]

I really like #2. Mediteraneans are WAY too dark in the current official Medpack; they should be subtly more toned but certainly not look like North Africans. Especially considering we're talking about portraits of nobility, not portraits of field laborers.

 

[cybrxkhan]

I really like #2. Mediteraneans are WAY too dark in the current official Medpack; they should be subtly more toned but certainly not look like North Africans. Especially considering we're talking about portraits of nobility, not portraits of field laborers.

The funny thing is to my knowledge quite a lot of North Africans would also be kind of pale too, if you take a look at the pic of the Berbers here for instance. Actually a lot of the peoples using the Muslim portrait graphics (like the Persians, Turks, and even the Arabs) are way too swarthy and look like stereotypical Indians. I mean, I've had Persian friends who were pale as a Nordic blonde, if not paler (and none of the Persians I've met are as dark as vanilla portrays them); many Turkish people I've met I thought were European when I first met them; and I've known many Arabian folks who are indistinguishable from Europeans. I really don't nkow why in the media these people always tend to look darker, when in real life all the ones I've met are kind of paler. I think the problem with the Mediterranean portraits is not so much that they are too dark (which could work for some Mediterranean cultures such as the Egyptians), but that it's a catch-all situation similar to the Muslim portraits where it's being used for a whole variety of peoples.

Actually and there is also the issue that the game engine can't handle random mix and matching of graphical culture types. If I could have, sya, 50% western European and 50% Med portraits for the Italian culture group, for instance (or 70% and 30% or whatever), I think that would probably satisfy everyone and make things more varied, but the game engine can't do that right now unfortunately.

 

[ndrgmm]

The funny thing is to my knowledge quite a lot of North Africans would also be kind of pale too[...]

Actually and there is also the issue that the game engine can't handle random mix and matching of graphical culture types. If I could have, sya, 50% western European and 50% Med portraits for the Italian culture group, for instance (or 70% and 30% or whatever), I think that would probably satisfy everyone and make things more varied, but the game engine can't do that right now unfortunately.

That's right, the mediterranean etnies are mixed since roman age.
We can only find typical and common features; for italians, i think it could be fine a not-so-much darker skin colour than german and (northern) frankish.
The random mixes will be in-game because of marriage.

 

[Velorian]

western, for comparison

try2:

try3:

try5 (equal mix of try 2 and 3)

try6 (kept the color balance from try2 then decreased overall lightness from 1.05 to 0.97)

Edit: try7 (tried to lower red by 10%)

They are starting to look kinda similar, I'm thinking perhaps the 6th one might be best. I don't think they can be argued as not pale enough when you factor in the vanilla westerns. I don't think I can get it much better than one of these at first, I might try editing the original chins to get the shadows looking better though. I'm guessing this would be for Spaniards/Italians/Greeks. Perhaps the 3rd one for Levantines as is? I like that they still have a hint of color.

Assuming you guys think the 5th or 6th are sufficiently pale, should I try to reduce the red slightly or does it look good as is?

 

[Federalist girl]

5 and 6 look fine as they are, I think.

 

[Galaahd]

5 and 6 look fine as they are, I think.

+1

It looks like a good compromise.

 

[cybrxkhan]

Try 7 is starting to look funny (a bit grey in some spots); 5 or 6 would work, but personally I prefer 5 as it's still a tad bit darker (or reddish, perhaps) which I think helps make them stand out compared to the Western portraits.

 

[Viden]

Try6 looks the better. But despite the skin improvement, they are still quite ugly.

 

[Galaahd]

Is it just me or all the women look identical?

 

[Velorian]

Is it just me or all the women look identical?

Not quite, but pretty similar.

I'll try applying the colors from the 6th to the other age classes, I think the shadows look least bad with that one.