I don't have the game yet, but I've read on a previous post that it's already possible to use custom character portraits:

Originally posted by ER Raven:

Yes, there is a wizard you can use to create the folder structure for you:

1. Click Mods in the Main Menu
2. Once there click Show Wizard
3. Add Checkmark in any combination of Portrait genders. ie. Male
4. Type a name for your mod. Ie. My Avatars
5. Generate Mod Template.
6. Explorer will open the base folder for you. Go to Artworks/ and paste your PNG files in the folders there. Ie. In Artworks/Male

* They should be 400x720 in dimensions.

7. Restart the game.

Optionally, once done, you can even upload your mod to the Steam workshop for others to enjoy:

1. Click Mods in the Main Menu.
2. Type your mod name in the Folder name field ie. My Avatars.
3. Click on the large checkmark.
4. Create Item.

And that's about it. ;)

Hope this helps.

Originally posted by Risewild:

Hope this helps.

Clearly there's been some confusion here. I have edited the original post to clarify.

I could not agree more with this. Horrible, horrible selection. 78 portraits for males and 120 for females and they all look so similar. There's only 3 black males, 1 without a beard who isn't also one of the 5 pale-skins, everyone has the exact same eyebrows and overall they're all just so similar, including the female portraits. I can only say that less is more. I feel these choices could have been reduced to 10 to 20 portraits without losing anything. And they all look so much like models it makes me kind of angry. I have never seen a worse selection of portraits in any RPG. I can only urge the designer to take a lot at his favorite RPGs using portraits and take notes on what the selections look like there.

I totally agree. The portraits absolutely suck. But when it comes to stock & ai "art", it's really a matter of what you can find that fits your needs and how fast.

You're mixing up what I want with what my zero budget actually allows. Or thinking that this game actually makes any profit and isn't just a passion project.

Unfortunately, in a large world like this, you need a lot of portraits to make it feel alive. If I had gone with only 10 or 20, then you'd be right to complain that every city has just two unique NPCs or that they all look exactly the same, instead of just somewhat similar. That every vendor looks the same, every bandit looks the same and so, on. Instead I made use of what I could. But, most importantly gave you out of the box full modding support so you can replace those scrappy portraits with whatever portraits makes the world feel alive to you.

That said, new portraits & event covers have been getting reworked for some time now and would actually be ready soon.

When you're dealing with stock or AI-generated art, as a dev, the bar is already low. It is a choice between bad and slightly better, not good. But rest assured, the new set will be a huge improvement.

And if you still don’t like them, well, you can always swap in your own, whether it’s for NPCs, the player, or companions. The game is fully moddable. And share them in the workshop for the rest of us to enjoy them too.

Originally posted by ER Raven:

And if you still don’t like them, well, you can always swap in your own, whether it’s for NPCs, the player, or companions. The game is fully moddable. And share them in the workshop for the rest of us to enjoy them too.

Thanks for addressing this. One question I have: What dimensions should our modded portraits be in?

The recommended size is 400x720, both for portraits and event covers. To replace them, you provide a .png file of the same name as the one you want to replace, and copy it into the designated folder.