# Character Art House Style
## Core Style
Use a **cinematic Pathfinder-style fantasy portrait** for NPC art.
The art should feel like it belongs in a polished tabletop RPG campaign book: dramatic, readable, painterly, and character-forward.
## Default Image Shape
Use **vertical portrait art** for normal character notes.
Recommended ratio: **3:4 portrait**
Good sizes:
- `1024 x 1365`
- `1200 x 1600`
- `1536 x 2048`
Use landscape art only for major set pieces, gods, dragons, armies, cities, or scenes where the environment matters as much as the character.
## Visual Traits
Aim for:
- Painterly digital fantasy illustration
- Semi-realistic faces
- Strong, readable silhouettes
- Dramatic lighting
- Rich magical atmosphere
- Ornate but believable costume design
- Clear character archetype at a glance
- Campaign-book quality
Avoid:
- Photorealistic modern AI portraits
- Anime or cartoon styling
- Glossy 3D render looks
- Flat official-token style art on white backgrounds
- Generic fantasy people with no story or role
- Overly busy scenes where the character is hard to read
## Composition
Default framing should be **waist-up or three-quarter portrait**.
The face, posture, and costume should carry the image. Backgrounds should support the character without taking over.
Good backgrounds:
- A noble chamber for political NPCs
- A torchlit tavern or street for grounded NPCs
- Ruins, woods, or moonlit gardens for fey NPCs
- Storm clouds, stone halls, or giant-scale architecture for giant-related NPCs
- Infernal glow, brass, smoke, or chains for Avernus-linked NPCs
## Campaign Palette Notes
### Dragon Heist / Waterdeep
Gold, black, candlelight, rain-slick stone, noble interiors, taverns, alleys, masked intrigue.
### Storm King's Thunder
Cold blues, stormlight, furs, iron, stone halls, mountain scale, wind, rain, and giant-made architecture.
### Rage of Dragons
Hot reds, oranges, ember light, martial poses, dragon motifs, heroic danger, mythic intensity.
### War of the Fey
Moonlit greens, violet, silver, flowers, thorns, dreamlike ruins, enchanted forests, beauty with danger underneath.
### Descent into Avernus
Ash, brass, red underlight, chains, smoke, infernal symbols, hard shadows, corruption behind noble surfaces.
### Undead / Oblivion / Acererak
Bone, sickly green, violet, ritual smoke, black stone, cold magical light, ancient menace.
## Prompt Template
```text
Cinematic Pathfinder-style fantasy portrait of [Character Name], a [species/ancestry] [role/class/archetype].
Vertical 3:4 portrait, waist-up or three-quarter framing. Painterly digital tabletop RPG illustration, semi-realistic face, strong readable silhouette, ornate but believable costume design, dramatic lighting, rich magical atmosphere, campaign-book quality.
Appearance: [age, build, face, hair, clothing, weapons, symbols].
Personality: [one or two emotional notes].
Background: [short setting tied to campaign or faction].
Avoid photorealism, anime, cartoon style, glossy 3D render, white background, text, and watermark.
```
## Priority Rule
When updating art, prioritize:
1. Major recurring NPCs
2. Current placeholders
3. Art that clashes badly with the house style
4. Important villains, faction leaders, and allies
5. Minor one-scene NPCs