Argonian: http://www.tesnexus.com/imageshare/images/...-1313172305.jpg

Bosmer: http://www.tesnexus.com/imageshare/images/...-1313174800.jpg

Dunmer: http://tesnexus.com/imageshare/images/2383757-1312992912.jpg

Khajiit (take two): http://www.tesnexus.com/imageshare/images/...-1313172607.jpg

Orsimer: http://www.tesnexus.com/imageshare/images/...-1313172495.jpg

(Not) Redguard: http://media.gamer.nl/screenshots/b4b2/b4b...acbb5ccdafb.jpg

Anyone else think that orc looks kinda like Frankenstein's monster?

However, let me say Bethesda did a superb job on the Argonians.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Aug 14 2011, 10:11 PM

The khajiit pic doesn't look as good as the last one did.
The Argonian looks cool though.
Bosmer looks a little funny with the huge sword lol.

Maybe that Bosmer's just holding a normal sized sword, huh? It just looks big on him.

The Argonian and Khajiit do look spectacular. The elves on the other hand are all butt-ugly. I suppose we have to take their word that the Redguard actually is one. She looks like she might just as well be an Imperial or a Breton (or a Nord, given how many dark-haired and dark-eyed Nords there are in Oblivion).

Argonian – Nice. Would still have rather seen them go less humanoid, but I really can’t complain about this at all. I think I will definitely have at least one Argoinian character in Skyrim.

Bosmer – Not sold on the Bosmer yet. They seem wholly unremarkable, and going for the facial tattoos seems too ‘Ashlander’ to me.

Dunmer – Now that’s what a Dark Elf should look like! I haven’t rolled with one since Morrowind. Looks like that’s about to change.

Khajiit – I’m with KC, the last one looked better. I do like that they aren’t prettifying the races (forgive me, mALX). Khajiit should have fur long enough to bristle.

Orsimer – My second biggest disappointment. Not only does the hair make him look like Frankenstein (thanks TK, now I can’t get the image out of my head), but his features have veered dangerously close to ‘human with a pug nose and dental issues.’ I guess the flip side is that you might actually be able to make an attractive female orc, but why would anyone want to do that?

Redguard – My biggest disappointment. That is NOT a Redguard! That is a tan Imperial! Hopefully the character creator will provide more diversity amongst the individual races because I flat out refuse to invest 100+ hours into a stringy-haired, olive-skinned Redguard!

Ditto!

With Destri on this. Albeit for the following:

The first Orsimer picture that Bethesda had available was exactly what I wanted the Orcs to be: Pariahs and 'Corrupted Folk,' complete with pointed, elven ears and faces with odd angles and large mandibles. The result was something that looked as if it was about to drop into the uncanny valley without getting there, a sufficiently lifelike and realizable facial structure without being too close to human. The new face is just too human.

That said, I will say that this picture looks like it was taken at a bad angle. Also, as Orsimer are technically Mer, or elves, I'd like to think that they are far less susceptible to wrinkles than your average Imperial, and their short life expectancy is merely an outgrowth of their violent tendencies and not due to significant reductions in long youth.

The Bosmer looks promising, and I don't mind the facial markings nearly as much. I hope that Naughty Hottie is correct in that the Wood Elf is just a small guy with an average sized sword. As for the face paint/tattoo: as far as I'm concerned, that's just forestry camouflage, and painting one's face and/or body should give bonuses to chameleon spells and sneak checks.

For the rest:

Argonian: just a little too human, but still a nice improvement over Oblivion. Still have a problem with the reptilian female possessing mammary glands, but I can get past that. Approved!

Dunmer: Now THAT is how you do an Ash-Born! Excited!

Khajiit: Liked the first one better. This is Tamriel, and more importantly, this is Skyrim. House cats need not apply. I'm interested, however, in seeing a female Kahjiit identified as such. I know the first one was clearly male, and this new one looks male as well. I would prefer if the natives of Elsewheyr did not have bilateral pectoral mammaries, but rather the abdominal ones seen in real-world cats.

Redguard: Nope! Not flying with me. Show me that picture without telling me the race, and I'd have sworn she was a Nibanean from Leyawiin, not a descendant of Yokuda. Darker skin had better be available, otherwise, some extensive modding will need to take place.

Overall, I would like to point out a significant leap forward Bethesda seems to have gotten: Defined jaw-lines and facial structures. Oblivion's NPC's seemed to be more 'Oval' than the expected average, and that was even worse with generic guards and random enemies. I don't know if it was a misguided attempt at increasing the overall 'beauty average' for the game, but we need less of it, and more 'distinctive factor.' Skyrim looks to be going that way, so I'm hopeful.

The faces are certainly a lot better than Oblivion overall. That said: the beast races and the Dunmer aren't bad, but I'm less impressed with the Orc and (especially) the Redguard. I'm with everyone else here in saying "that's a Redguard? Seriously?" If you'd asked me to guess, I'd have said an Imperial.

...I actually didn't check the race names before I clicked and for the last one went "oh, I guess she's an Imperial! Or maybe Breton? Let me check."

REDGUARD?!

WHAT THE-

I certainly hope that pic is not representative!

The others are much better - I do love the Argonian - and oh man I am *drooling* over the graphics. Now, if only I didn't have a laptop that overheats and crashes if I ask it to play somewhat complex flash games.

I quite like the new Bosmer, I personally feel it fits a bit more with the race. We've had a long time of them being small humans with high voices, when they should be ferocioius and half feral...Or thats how I feel.

The beast races are definately much, much better than Oblivion and Morrowind, though I agree the first Khajit looked better than this new one.

The Dunmer looks amazing, I was so sick of the purple dunmer from Oblivion, they finally look like they have ash for skin again.

As for the Redguard...I think theres a pretty strong consensus here.

Some new ones:

Bosmer take two

Dunmer take two

Redguard take two (outside the castle of Rohan Whiterun)

Bosmer is too masculine now, I think. Facial hair and six-pack abs don't suit them, I've always seen them as the males being somewhat androgynous.

Dunmer: yup, we can choose to have blind eyes now. Seeing these new Dunmer faces is really a very pleasant throwback to Morrowind, now they actually look like they grew up in the ashlands.

Redguard: For those of you who thought the previous photo did not look like one, and I agree, I actually think that's an Imperial.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Aug 14 2011, 09:53 PM

The Dunmer do look like throwbacks to Morrowind. Which is to say freakishly ugly. The Bosmer just looks like a Neanderthal. In fact all the elves in this game seem to look like monsters rather than people. I guess I am just an old fuddy-duddy, because I grew up on the idea of elves being graceful, almost ethereally attractive beings. Not cavemen. And who on Earth Nirn got the idea to put mohawks on elves? It is as bad an idea as the bride of frankenstien beehives that the elf women had back in Oblivion. I have to say the more I see of this game, the more my desire to avoid it like the plague increases.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Aug 14 2011, 10:03 PM

Not far from what I had hoped for in the Argonians. Figured they would still be a sight off from the Morrowind versions but damned if she does not look awesome. Having trouble loading the others, though that is probably because of this horrid computer.

Edit: Forgive me, in my haste to fix this vexing problem I neglected to thank you, Tomas. So I thank you for allowing myself and others the change to see forms of our favorite races from Skyrim.

Now that my problems have been delt with:
The Argonian looks wonderous. Much better than the Oblivion version. Definetly going to be one of my first choices.(Those, like others I'd still like to see them lean towards a less human form.)

It looks like some one decided to give the Bosmer a serious adjustment. Much more, how should I put it, feral. More like what I would expect from a race with cannabalistic culture!

The Dunmer look as though they have been given back some of their fire, as well as their ashen skin tone!

The Khajiit, both the original and new, remind me of the faces your Morrowind character could choose from. Looking forward to seeing their full customization myself.

Both the Redguard and the Imperial are a refreshing sight.

As for the Orsimer I detest the nose. The rest of his face is acceptable.

This post has been edited by Arcry: Aug 14 2011, 10:53 PM

I guess you don't like it when your men ooze testosterone out of every orifice and look like they've ODed on steroids a few dozen times, Rosa?

Sounds like Tolkien-influenced elves to me. Perhaps the Altmer will stick to the notion of elves that suit you. I'm also sure that the above are all merely examples and with the differing body types you can roll something more within your tastes. To me the ash-born and a race who routinely give themselves over to the Wild Hunt would have some members that appear barbaric.

@TK - I like the second Bosmer more than the first (though I do agree with 'Rosa on the haircut). The Dunmer simply look bad-a$$, and the second (or first) Redguard is closer to what I'm looking for.

I'm thrilled with how unique the races look so far. The individual appearance of the character will vary obviously. I'm sure everyone will get a character they find aesthetically appealing (or not depending what you are going for).

I do prefer the look of the Tolkien elves, who are the classic concept of Ljósálfar or Light Elves from Scandinavian beliefs. But there is nothing stopping that kind of person from being a so-called barbarian (which is to say someone who does not dwell in a city, rather than someone who does not speak Greek). Galadriel lived in a tree after all. Being a barbarian IRL did not mean being knuckle-draggers addicted to steriods and having bad hair. The Celts were classic examples of barbarians, and had a knowledge of metallurgy that far surpassed that of the Romans, and produced artwork that was stunning in it complexity and beauty. Not to mention their laws were far more liberal and humanitarian than those of the Romans or Greeks. For example Celts did not throw unwanted babies on garbage heaps to die. Or abandon their old to whither away and die alone. And women were actually people in their society rather an objects. For my idea of what a wood elf ought to look like, try this guy for example, or this one..

To put it another way, I think elves out to be played by people like Johnny Depp or Leo Decaprio, not Arnold Schwarzenegger or Rolf Moeller. Like TK said, a 300lb gorilla is not my idea of an elf. On the other hand it is perfect for races that are supposed to be muscle-bound apes, like Orcs and Nords. If they said these Bosmer were Nords instead, I would say great.

These so-called Dunmer on the other hand, look like goblins. The last one looks like a goblin zombie. If I saw one IRL I would shoot it in the head, because it is obviously either undead or infected with the T-virus. Then I would get out of Raccoon City as fast as I could.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Aug 15 2011, 02:48 AM

Oh, I get it. You mean androgynous.

Thank you, TK!!

Argonian: Wow! Love her! Except for two things, unless we find out that Argonians nurse their hatchlings.

Bosmer One and Two: I like that they look capable of the Wild Hunt and the enemy-eating business. I imagine that the Cyrodiil Bosmer would be far more Imperial in their culture, and their overall bubbly mannerisms (which I love in Oblivion) might not suit the wood elves who choose to go to Skyrim. These two do look quite thick in the torso, I hope they’re on the hefty end of the range. Also I would like to see more difference between the Bosmer and Dunmer.

Dunmer One and Two: Yes and yes! I am the most encouraged by the way these guys look weathered. It makes me think it might be possible to make a decent face and then put some miles on it without having it look like it’s made of Play-Dough.

Khajiit: Wow, now I want one. If that guy asked for 100 gold, he might actually get it.

Orsimer: That looks like a guy I used to date! Except the Orsimer does have smaller arms. I like the first one.

Not the Redguard: Imperial, nice.

The Real Redguard: Yes. Love the scar.

I would like the Altmer to look as high elf as the Bosmer look wild. To me they are the Tolkien-style elves.

This post has been edited by Grits: Aug 15 2011, 03:38 AM

And I agree. I hate how thick-set the musculature on the Bosmer are now, and I'm still on the fence about beards.

Bosmer, in my eyes, should look like human versions of wolves; sleek, attentive, and utterly lethal. Swept-back forehead, long pointy ears, and small stature that is ideal for hiding away in the treetops with lithe, flat muscles that were built for endurance over brute strength; perfect for holding a bow draw. I'm just not getting that feral feeling with these ones. That last one looks like he's fresh out of the ring in WWE Smackdown.

I like the new look of the Dunmer, though. Remember, Rosa, they bear the Curse of Azura, it makes sense that they won't really be lookers.

Grits: believe it or not, Morrowind was actually the odd one out with female Argonians and their... special hardware.

Here's a pic of the female Argonians from Arena and Daggerfall. Notice anything about them?

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Aug 15 2011, 04:41 AM