Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[lunartears]

And I just wanna make a comment about the "dead eyes" thing. I really think so much of the eyes looking lifeless and dead is due to the lack of definition of the pupil. It seems like the iris textures for certain color eyes are more darkened in the middle. And shadowing over the top of the actual eyeball further obscuring the definition. It gives the illusion that the pupils are more dilated than they are which as you know, can make someone look dazed, unfocused, intoxicated, etc. When I look at a lot of these characters that's what I'm seeing personally. I feel like it affects my character too.

I've felt the illusion of dilated eyes on other races, but on Female Au Ra they did dilate the pupil. I've also compared the eye textures.



The conscious decision to make Female Au Ra have larger pupils, when before they were small (which was a key component of their appearance and was represented in official illustrations) just makes absolutely no sense to me.
I don't know if this was maybe an attempt at cuteifying them, but it looks disturbing on my WoL.

Believe me, I've got feelings about the other races eye changes too (my alts are a Lalafell and Viera, both of which have lost their look to some extent because of the new eyes) but I can't stop fixating on what they did to Au Ra.

i honestly liked the borderline glowing iris when using brighter colour options, and the way theyve been toned down makes characters that used to have it feel almost lifeless.

Your entire post is similar to my own thoughts (especially the part about art/stylization over realism) but this part has been something I've been bothered by with the new eyes.
I haven't said much about it because it's really difficult to explain (and usually only prominent on Au Ra / Miqo'te), but I used to see this on my character in 6.5 and I really liked it. The new eyes "split" the colour in a way where it looks very saturated as opposed to a mix of different tones with the center having the glow.
I'm also unhappy with how eyes appear in the dark now but that's something I find impossible to describe without looking crazy. Sorry if I misunderstood your post at all.