Skyrim's depiction of elves are, with few exceptions ugly, Change my mind

[anjenthedog]

Elves have no substantive cultural history of having deformed, ugly heads. So why did Skyrim choose this route to depict the elven?

 

I mean I hate the Thalmor as much as any good Nord, but I honestly can't think of even one instance over the past 5 or 6 decades of my life where elves were characterized as gruesome, be it in myth, fiction, entertainment, or games (admittedly, I don't have a great deal of experience on that last one, never had time, and born far too late for it to have been something I grew from childhood doing), with the exception of this game, and the corrupted elves of LoTR, ie orcs.

 

And yes, I know this is pissing into the wind, but still... So what gives? Is there some lore of skyrim that made elves grotesque almost Nosferatu-style vampiric looking beings from the quasi-angelic beings of beauty that is more commonly associated with elves?? (vanilla, and even most replacers can't erase the stain, as much as they try)

 

PS> title's slightly misleading, I know. You won't change my mind. They're ugly as sin. :wink:

[Dashyburn]

Couldn't agree more, they are hideous, that damn chin!: A horse and a Bethesda high elf walk into a bar, the bartender looks at the elf and says "why the long face" :)

[LostForrest]

There are mods to make them pretty.

[7531Leonidas]

IMO, many of the mods to make elves 'pretty' simply change them into looking like fresh-faced 14-16 y.o. humans. I used to use Etherial Elven Overhaul in Oldrim, have not used it since, b/c it seems I have to jump through too many hoops to port it. If you have a line on an elf rework that does not make them look human, but incredibly elegant, please post the link(s) here.

[anjenthedog]

IMO, many of the mods to make elves 'pretty' simply change them into looking like fresh-faced 14-16 y.o. humans. I used to use Etherial Elven Overhaul in Oldrim, have not used it since, b/c it seems I have to jump through too many hoops to port it. If you have a line on an elf rework that does not make them look human, but incredibly elegant, please post the link(s) here.

Afaik there's a port. I have Ethereal Elven Overhaul and SSE patch, and a cutting room floor patch installed. (since jan 2021)

 

EEO is still available for download. The two patches were hidden by author, but maybe you can find them somewhere else.

 

In any case it really doesn't make things all that much better. Bethesda's head model for elves is just plain funked, right down at the foundation level. They look more like products of Sauron's initial breeding attempts while creating the Orcs than members of the Elven race. And by Orc, I don't mean fanged, green skinned humans either, I mean the real deal (which of course Beth decided to call "Falmer" in their finite wisdom :wink:

[LostForrest]

How about using tempered skins for males and unp female body renewal. That should fix something. To improve face further try using enhanced character edit and botox for females. For males use finefacetexures(Urshi). I think they look fine like that.

Edited November 27, 2022 by DarkBlade13

[anjenthedog]

I suppose but tbh, (and of course, imo... admittedly jaded) it's not just their physical looks. Imo Bethesda did a solid job of turning a noble race into the most evil and the most marginalized, and remade them physically into ghouls, all in one stroke.

o_O :D

 

(and ftr I'm not trying to be negative to you. I understand... it just annoys me that it's even an issue)

[kimota720]

To be honest it's not just the elves that look particularly ugly in vanilla Skyrim it's every npc in the game. I can guess that Bethesda wanted to create characters that have no access to the beauty products that we are all familiar with in our world but even characters like Elisif who is supposed to be a young woman aged 20 looks like someone in their 40s.

[7531Leonidas]

Remember, the beauty products in a world styled in Skyrim fashion might be bear or deer fat, ground rock/bug/plant parts, and stewed extracts of all of these... Exposure to harsh environmental conditions ages the human organism rapidly. (See Dust Bowl pictures, 19th century Old West pictures, etc.)

[Deleted168259723User]

Personally i like how Bethesda always depicted them uniquely and they are not like some Weeaboo Concept Art Elves.

The Medieval Fantasy Artstyle of The Elder Scrolls is well balanced and acceptable for a larger audience.

Its good they keep up with it and we can expect improved art on their Next Generation games as well.

Only other depiction of Elves i liked is LOTR and the Witcher Saga.