This is the original photograph, from a Bridal website called Augusta Jones. It's been scaled down and cropped to fit the NWN dimensions, and she's been placed in the frame keeping her eye central and about 2/3 of the way up. The background's nice, but that'll be the first thing you lose, so backgrounds don't matter. The main problem with this image is it's a bit flat and one-coloured - an issue I'd have to work with later.

Tip #1 Choose an interesting face, someone unusual. It's tempting always to go for pretty girls (if you're a guy) but character clearly counts! I'd avoid well-known faces, too.

Quite a lot of work has taken it to this stage. I've changed the colour balance, tweaking up the red and blue, and smeared out the background. I've gone over every inch of the picture with smear brushes of different sizes and strengths, to give it a smooth, painted feel, and to adjust her features - a slight change of expression, deeper bags under her eyes, bolder eyelashes etc. With a warp brush (basically a sharper smear) I've changed the neckline of her dress, tweaked the corners of her mouth down, and of course pulled her ears out into elf-shape. In the middle of all this, I've applied a very slight sharpen and a very slight 'unsharp mask', which heightens the details in the pic. Oh, and I always like to add a little flair to her hair, curling it out with a strong, fine smear brush.

Tip #2 This is stage one. Don't leave a portrait at this stage! Part of the knack of any art is knowing when you're finished. My rule of thumb is when it stops looking like a photo and starts looking like a Bioware portrait, it's just about there :). Try bringing in a favourite NWN portrait to sit alongside it - do they 'go together'? After working on a pic for a while, you might want to just leave the room, have a cup of tea, and look at it again with fresh eyes.

By darkening the background and redoing the swirl effect, here I've given the image a little more depth. Her hair now blends into the back, giving her a 'windswept and heroic' look. Also really important here are the coloured spot lighting effects - they make her face rounder and make the background glow. I'm a fan of using contrasting greens on flesh tone, too, for the 'fantasy' feel. Her body has been given a little more depth and shape with a broad burn tool, which darkens the image, and I've also used a little burn and its opposite, dodge, to heighten the shadow and light on her face. I've softened out some of the sharpening from the last pic, using a gentle blur and a bit more smearing, and now this image is looking a lot less 'photographic' while still keeping a realistic feel. Oh, I've also used warp to give her meaner eyebrows and a jazzier forehead line.

Tip #3 Take your portrait 'away' from the original picture. Tweak everything. Be radical with the background and the colours. The opposite of the previous tip: bring in a copy of the original. If they look pretty similar, work your portrait more.

And here's the final image. I've deepened the reds to give it a more 'glowing and fiery feel', and added a little star-light effect in the background mist - you can only just see it, but just a little of this sort of effect can give a pic the finishing touch. I've tidied up her elf-ears a bit from the last image, but her face was basically complete then. The major change in this image is the detailing on her costume. I've changed the neckline again, which has given her a 'fuller' figure. The embroidered/silky effect on her dress is a cinch using a fine smear tool - it looks really detailed but is easy to do. (Can't overuse that one too much...:)) The trickiest bit was adding the lace-up front - but I think it's come out pretty well! Done with a simple fine burn tool for the holes, then the laces, working over each thread carefully - and checking back with the real-size shot to see that it looks okay. By the way, I do most of my work at 200% zoom, and 300% for the fine stuff like this. A little dodge around the holes makes them look 3D and part of the material, and some light burn for shadows, following the rolls of the cloth approximately, really give it a convincing look. I was surprised myself... :)

Tip #4 Accessories and clothing are really crucial. A valid criticism I've had is that the clothes are too modern - you need to include something that says 'this is a fantasy pic'. A tattoo, the shape of a cloak, removing modern-looking buttons or straps, or just choosing a pic with costume in mind - all these can help. These finishing touches are the tricky part, but they make all the difference.