Jessica's Portrait

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lesjones

About this image

I don't normally put up multiple sets, but I rather like the way this image turned out, so I thought I'd share it..(please double-click on the image to get the full size version).

As for Jessica herself, I started her story here in the Nexus a short while ago, but for various reasons I decided to abandon it, although I'm still doing her playthrough, and she's turned out to be a lot of fun!

19 comments

  1. BlackMaid
    BlackMaid
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    I think, you know,  that I am a fan of b/w pictures. I do them in game, but the way, you get it, is not important. What counts, is the result
    This picture is  absolutely outstanding with the perfect lighting to show  Jessica simply beautiful  as she is.
    1. lesjones
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      Thank you so much for your lovely comment, my dear! I remember your black and white images from your darker sets, they made your stories so much more intense!

      Many thanks again!
  2. Vermi77
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    Gorgeous portrait, Les. Love that half-face lighting
    1. lesjones
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      Many thanks, my old friend, it's really very much appreciated!
  3. ista3
    ista3
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    Excellent capture Les :))
    1. lesjones
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      Thank you very much, dear Izzy! :) :)
  4. chickmetalhead
    chickmetalhead
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    I am not sure I have ever done monochrome, and probably won't... I don't think I would have the patience. But this one is really nice, with her face half in shadow. It makes her seem a bit more mysterious. Which might be just fine with her, I am thinking!

    Is Nexus being extra weird today? Not sure why I missed this earlier, and then just now I hit Endorse, and nothing happened. So I hit it again, and it said Endorsed. I scrolled down to comment, then I scrolled back up to look at the image again, and it was NOT endorsed. I blame the Thalmor... but then... I usually do!
    1. lesjones
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      Hi Chick,
      Many thanks for your comment.

      Some monochrome images work very well, I think, but it's also quite an unforgiving style, but deep shadows always work well with it, and as you say, it seems to add mystery to the subject.

      As for needing patience...oh dear, confession time...I have an ancient copy of Paint Shop Pro 8, and to get a monochrome image quite quickly all you have to do is open a standard colour image in the program, click on the "Image" tab and then click on the  "Greyscale" button in the drop-down menu and there it is....instant "classic" black and white piccie, so this is really a cheat.

      As I'm sure you will be aware, the program does have tabs that allow manipulation of the image, such as sepia toning and different levels of colour as well as monochrome alteration, overlays, saturation, balance, etc, but this image of Jessica is, as I have said...a straight cheat.

      As for losing the endorsements, I've been aware of that for some time, it seems to happen if I endorse, then open a message box to put up a message, then if I change my mind and close the message box again, the endorsement seems to disappear and it can take two or three attempts to get the endorsement button to accept the click again.

      As you say, definitely the Thalmor at work!
    2. chickmetalhead
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      I will probably just stay with what I do, but you never know. As for making them, Gimp has similar features, but "Paint Shop Pro" ?? That really takes me back!

      Spoiler:  
      Show
      I used that long ago instead of photoshop because Adobe, while not as high on the "Thalmor" list as Google, I still don't trust - and certainly wouldn't give money too! It is possible I used PSP8 (or maybe PSP7??) for Oblivion, or maybe Morrowind, as I did do some retextures for both of those games... but I don't remember PSP being able to do DDS format, and I am not sure when DDS became the standard. Hold on a sec... ... well, that was an interesting journey down memory lane. Looks like both Morrowind and Oblivion used DDS textures, but my work in Morrowind was TGA type files. So either Morrowind would use TGA, or I may have had to convert them. So my guess is PSP for Morrowind work. For Oblivion, I do see both Gimp in my Oblivion tools folder, but also a DDS Converter utility, so who knows? But I assume that is when I started using Gimp.

      Sorry, I went off into ramble mode again... are you shocked by that?

      I used to assume that all monochrome images were modified, but in recent years I have seen images where they are partially monochrome, partially one color highlighted. I have never tried to mess around with ENB settings to try and do either monochrome or that mixed monochrome mode, to see if that is how it is done. Mainly because, as you may have noticed... I like more color in my Skyrim, and have taken a lot of time to add it in with tons of retextures!

      So while I do sometimes try new things and experiments, I tend to stay with what I know best. And while I enjoy seeing them, I will leave monochrome to the more artistic members of the community. Which, of course, is almost everybody! But that's okay, I will stick to my ability to bend this game to my will.

      Hope your weekend is going great. Gotta say it one more time... PSP made several things possible in the past for me, so thanks for the memories!
  5. DangerousChicken12
    DangerousChicken12
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    Great black and white shot, Old mate!
    1. lesjones
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      Many thanks, Mike old mate! Really appreciated!
  6. Astra2000
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    Very nice Les!!! 
    1. lesjones
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      Many thanks, Frank old mate, I'm glad you liked it
  7. PatrickTheDM
    PatrickTheDM
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    The shadows are really good and that sneak pose is a great one for screen shots.
    1. lesjones
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      Thanks very much, Patrick mate, and yes, that sneak pose always works well
  8. clauDA
    clauDA
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    A very nice portrait. Especially nice in black and white. I can see that you enjoy it. Great!
    Have a great weekend and enjoy the sun or the Irish rain.
    1. lesjones
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      Really appreciated, dear Claudia, thank you very much!

      One of the things about her that I'm really enjoying is that I assigned her the "femaleshrill" voice, which you would be forgiven for thinking it would grate on the nerves after a while, and to some degree it does, but every now and again she sounds very caring, too! It's an odd mix, but it seems to work.

      Thanks again and the same to you
  9. Blass1912
    Blass1912
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    I like it when the photo is taken in monochrome, which, by the way, is quite a difficult task...
    Mood and emotions need to be conveyed only in black and white :)
    Les, my friend, you have a great job!
    1. lesjones
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      You're absolutely right about the challenge of working in monochrome, Pavel mate, I will admit that I very rarely produce a monochrome image that I'm happy with, but I do like this one.

      Many, many thanks, my friend!