The Genius of Disco Elysium's Portraits

[@JamrockHobo]

Tommy Le Homme's portrait and the origin of Kim's portrait didn't make it into the video, so I made an additional Short to discuss them! -> kzbin.infoBB7gSLytLU0

[@coolfish420]

I think the white circle can also be seen as Kim's hidden sympathies for the communards. White is associated with the communards in-game, and I think the disc hewing so close to Kim's mind isn't a coincidence given what we learn about his sympathies in game. The bomber jacket, Aces High/Low... there's something there under the Moralist shell.

[@webberdontstarve7017]

You mean on the boat at area 2?

[@alentjanestetico3014]

Thank the innocences that you didn't sleep on that detail, I was about to be quite saddened by the lack of mention.

[@kodachromeraccoon5448]

LETS GOOOOOOOO That’s what I think separates it from Dolores. I see people say it’s reminiscent of Harry deifying someone else but Dora is something in Harry’s mind, with a super colorful portrait that really contrasts with Kim’s I think. Kim is physically there with him. None of the skills say he has a halo, that’s the narration (which I suppose you could argue is still through Harry’s lens but I digress) I just think it’s really cool that you as the audience are shown such a detail from the beginning. I love this game a normal amount (speaking of portraits, I totally think inland empire is the hole in the universe and I have proof I swear)

[@moxiousch]

​@@kodachromeraccoon5448 Comments like this make me realize that I too love this game a completely normal amount. Please share proof!

[@areallybigdwarf4560]

Kim's portrait burned a shadow image on my monitor and even now, years after, i can still see the ghostly white circle that surrounds his head and just quite make out the frame of his glasses.

[@JamrockHobo]

he's telling you to get off the PC :)

[@comradeclown3403]

@@JamrockHobo”I know you’re gaming, detective, but we really need to get back to the case.”

[@omarfejzic2981]

That’s beautiful

[@EinFelsbrocken]

Legend has it only playing Pinball 3D for several hours consecutively will make him disappear again 😱

[@broblerone413]

@@comradeclown3403 lmao i read this in his voice, i can practically hear the quotes he would put around the word 'gaming'

[@yumabaeza8851]

I think I might be an idiot, I never realized Measurehead's Babe had Measurehead in the background

[@blehh_mae]

when i realized it i had that response when you like, find something thats not supposed to be there in a picture, like an empty room and then you see a scary face or something kinda funny i think

[@JamrockHobo]

if you look closely you see him in her name too

[@Safiyahalishah]

I never did either, my sister pointed it out in her own playthrough after I had finished mine and I was like what the fuck

[@broblerone413]

i only noticed it on my second playthrough. it kind of scared me lol

[@Gumper30]

God this game is so fucking good dude. Every time I come back to it, I always find more fantastic things to analyze

[@AcmeMonkeyCompany]

Haha that Kim portrait in the background on the news is like a pleasant jumpscare

[@rticante]

So a "surprise"?

[@JB-xl2jc]

​@@rticanteTequila surprise? Wait. Sunrise. Wait. Sunset. I... wait.... Mr Evrart is helping me find my gun.

[@PlanetaryPluto]

​@@JB-xl2jc more like helping you find your words.

[@tenyearsinthejoint1]

Kim is THE homie

[@Columbine621]

It's so funny lol. Just straight up Kim's portrait lol

[@TheKingProto]

One neat thing about Jean's portrait is that his face's details are also blurred slightly, which ties into Harry not recognizing him for 90% of the game.

[@theogy576]

I like the fact that Cuno and Half Light have the same pose. Likewise Titus and Authority. You can probably find more similarities.

[@Aeiouaaaaaaaaa]

Measurehead and authority as well

[@joaoassumpcao3347]

@@Aeiouaaaaaaaaa There was a post about that on tumblr I believe? A couple of years ago. Iirc it's Measurehead with Logic, Kim with Composure (his profile), Klaasje with Perception, Soona with Shivers, Evrart with Suggestion, and Dolores Dei with Empathy. One could also say Kim is Inland Empire because of the halo. And of course, Cuno with Half Light and Titus with Authority.. It's a pretty interesting thing to think about tbh

[@bigburd875]

Kim and composure, measurehead and logic (ironically)

[@tbotalpha8133]

@@bigburd875 You can be completely logical and still go astray, if your premises are unsound and you never stop to re-examine them.

[@harrisonfackrell]

Measurehead is completely logical. But, as the Logic skill description states, he is also "very proud and thus susceptible to intellectual flattery." His worldview is internally-consistent, but he can't see beyond it to realize that the premise on which he's operating is bullshit.

[@HealthyMaxwellRoth]

Having a portrait of Kim hanging on the wall as a Saint icon to protect the area is such a funny yet cool and kinda accurate thing to do

[@RobbieRothschild]

Harry shaved and not smiling is honestly kind of harrowing

[@JamrockHobo]

if i was a law a biding citizen of revachol and that harry would traffic-stop me, i would say my last prayers

[@dclqworm]

my one soft reset other than death was when I tried shaving the mustache. It was awful and I could not live with that face for the rest of the game

[@eclipserepeater2466]

He is a *professional*.

[@Nice_Tree]

​@@dclqworm I've shaved a mustache and removed the expression in both of my playthrough. It's painful, extremely painful, but I see it necessary. Both mustache and smile seem very fake to me. That's a mask, not a real joy. Sad shaved Harry is a real man and everything else is a destructive coping mechanism. He must see who he really is, and only then he can start healing. I hope he'll return both smile and mustache in the future, but with real joy this time

[@krunch3444]

@@Nice_Tree I don't see it that way. Even if it is fake I don't see it as destructive, but hopeful. Fake it til you make it type thing. It's how I live my life, as a willfully ignorant optimist. I feel like it increases my volition stat.

[@spencerfair7505]

5:35 The colors on Dolores Dei’s portrait- the purple, yellow, red, and blue- are all taken from the colors of Harry’s skills. It’s part of showing that she is just another weapon his mind is using against itself- having overwrote her, betrayed her, and become all the more powerful for it.

[@melonscumpthin8643]

purple is the least visible out of all of them, like my guy Volition is still hard at work

[@hsvfanjan17]

00:32 Sarah Zhang is the wife of Justin Keenan, one of Disco Elysium's writers. So that might be why there's his picture in their home :) iirc there was an interview here on KZbin where one of the interviewers told him there was Kim's portrait on TV and he answered that it's because that was his wife on TV

[@JamrockHobo]

I did not know that!

[@hsvfanjan17]

@@JamrockHobo hm, I keep posting the interview but my reply always gets deleted. Let's hope it stays like this: It's not on YT but on a GDC talk instead, at around the 57th minute. Search for it with the title GDC Podcast Live! Hosted by Gamasutra feat. Disco Elysium writer Justin Keenan

[@JamrockHobo]

@@hsvfanjan17 found it, thank you!!

[@catloaff]

WHAAAAAAAAAA

[@critiasdetested4749]

i did not know that either that's crazy! always thought she was just a scientist who happened to be really into disco elysium as well

[@chysandzain7303]

The fact that the art doesn't only act as set dressing for the game, but it is such an essential element of Disco Elysium really got me. I first discovered DE because of the ridiculously beautiful fan art I've seen of it, and after playing the game as an artist myself I understood why. It's really not a hyperbole when I say DE changed the way I make art and living life in general. It is screaming at you that art is what's moving the world forward despite everything.

[@JamrockHobo]

I didn't even get to the point that it inspired such an ridiculous amount of fanart. true!

[@broblerone413]

yes!! as an artist DE's been such a huge inspiration to me. I really love seeing impressionist-style paintings being applied to a medium like video games, since I used to be really into more 'traditional' art (i practically grew up on it, and impressionism is my favorite) before I switched to learning artstyles that would better suit the kinds of jobs I'd want and are in higher demand nowadays. It's really inspirational to see how those two worlds can be combined, and it's given me a new appreciation for both painting and video games. seeing some fanart for it was what got me to play it too lol

[@sonyblank1487]

Technically, according to the DE world, art and all thought is accelerating the pale. In our own world, yeah.

[@kman9884]

Wild, because I dropped it shortly after seeing it as a pretentious work, laden with the sensibilities of politico artists.

[@ShockedTaiLung]

I love how your own portrait can change throughout the game

[@ijustreview]

I like how every possible change just makes you look even more sad and pathetic

[@oscarlove4394]

i love how you describe the three portraits the intellectual harry is isolated from the world. He knows but does not _feel_ it. the sensitive harry is the opposite, he's extremely connected. he doesn't know much but he _feels_ a lot. physical is once again completely unique. He's neither isolated nor connect, but he _emenates_ into the world. He doesn't know but he makes himself known, he doesn't feel but he makes himself felt. You can even see this in the general gameplay, intellectual and sensitive harry interact with the world by observing and judging it, either the hard reality or the complex social world it contains, physical harry however progresses not by _observing_ but _interacting_ with the world.

[@connoremery9521]

One thing I've noticed that I don't see a lot of people talking about is how yes, all of the union men have the white and red portrait background, however, Evrart's portrait has the white and red flipped. I'm fairly certain this signifies him being on top of everyone else in the organisation, setting himself above and apart from the average member of the unwashed masses but still being a clearly marked and proud part of their organisation

[@JamrockHobo]

Yeah I too dont think that it symbolizes him going against the union members interest. It's just him being the boss

[@InternetHydra]

Well, to feed into the idea of his inverted colors represent that his role in the group is warped and wrong: everyone else believes and contributes to the cause but he uses and manipulates it, and them, for his own personal gain. It's a perversion of the cause. It's like that political statement of a national flag being flown upside down, declaring something is wrong with the nation. And spinning off of that, there's another character who parallels that upside down look. The Deserter. His colors are also upside down to represent his namesake, how he ditched his comrades when they needed him the most and hid away afterward instead of working to get it back going. Which ties into the big difference between the two: The lack of red. His color is dark, representing his cause being long lost and obliterated. He is worse then Evrart. It you reject the idea of the upside down representing corruption, then it's a signifier of him formerly being a Political Commissar, comparable to Evrart's role as the boss of the union.

[@aiaioioi]

i thought it's because he's only technically a part of the union. like, he's the ruler, but he doesn't actually care about the working class. upside-down, downside-up, would it really matter to him? (also because he's so fat that you wouldn't be able to actually see the red if it wasn't inverted but that's unrelated)

[@trianglemoebius]

​@@aiaioioi Evrart does care about the working class, his results speak for themselves: he (or more accurately, he and his brother) have kept organized crime out, built up the district - creating Union jobs in process - and provided order when the RCM refused to. He even kept that tourism company out, which would have ruined Martinaise by turning it into a tourist trap, even though letting them do so would also have enriched him. That's basically everything you can ask of someone in his position, and more. The problem, if you can call it that, is that he and his brother are convinced (perhaps correctly, but still) that they're the only ones fit to lead the union, and fall back on corrupt means to make sure that nobody else gets put in charge and potentially messes it all up. Evrart's interesting because on one hand he's a genuinely good Union leader who cares about the people, but on the other hand he's entirely consumed by a self-centred saviour complex.

[@Medivh9]

@@trianglemoebiusAnd the killing, also indirectly evicting everyone across the river.

[@latifoljic]

One portrait I really like is the one of the girl who works at the convenience store. She has these completely blurred out eyes that seem obscured by her hat. It reminds me of when I used to be a teenage store clerk. Much of the time my personality was completely surpressed by an impersonal professional mask. But behind the yellow blending you can see one eye, sharp and observant. Observing, judging, but not caring. Also the yellow from her hat that is obscuring her eyes is also forming what looks like a wisp of smoke coming from the top of her head. Maybe this yellow is like Roy's yellow, and she's high at work? It would certainly explain the covered eyes. I remember being stoned as a store clerk, I'd hide my eyes too out of fear that the redness would alert everyone that I was stoned lol. Maybe I'm projecting too much but that's what I think of it anyway. Great video btw Hobo

[@gavinjasper98]

The blue ‘smokey’ shapes kinda look like a jester’s hat to me!

[@trianglemoebius]

The 'smoke' above her head is a part of her hat. If you look at her character model, the Frittte hat she's wearing has a yellow visor (the part hiding her eyes) and then three blue 'spikes' kind of like a crown or jester's cap.

[@SquidGangRiseUp]

Measurehead's portrait might be my favorite because it's so abstract and uncanny, like you approach this wall of a man and instantly know at some level that he is NOT human. He is purely a threat, an obstacle. Don't expect to reason with him or extract useful information.

[@muslimpucci]

tfw you can reason with him and extract useful information

[@lisarox4221]

@@muslimpucci Useful information is a stretch but, he will indeed let you past if you give up on part of your humanity to try understanding the "logic" behind the measurements of heads.

[@aiaioioi]

it also looks like the sun is right behind him, you can see the edges of his silhouette but not the face, there's just a bunch of shadows he's literally obstructing the view of the sun

[@blinkyy1088]

@@muslimpucci Being forced to partially submit to his radical ideology is not reasoning with him. Measurehead loses nothing.

[@Medivh9]

@@blinkyy1088Yeah, all your skills pointing out the inconsistencies, the temporary research bonus being “-1drama: fooled by the absurdity”… he really is some kind of conspiracy theorist. (Well, many racists do delude themselves with those kind of theories)

[@eeyuup]

I love Egghead and Tiago the most. Egghead with his goofy expression, his nonsensical phrases, his boundless hope and genuine love for his crew are perfectly present in his portrait. Tiago the Crab Man looks mysterious, his body looks as if it has become one with the wooden beams of the church itself, which he very well may have with how weird the universe of Elysium truly is.

[@googoogajoog1334]

Tiago specifically looks to me like a marble statue, hidden up in the shadows of the attic.

[@Nice_Tree]

​@@googoogajoog1334 I think marble don't fit him. Wood is much better. He carved some sculptures of church wooden supports and we could say Tiago become one of this statues himself

[@aiaioioi]

HARDCORE!!!

[@hypocriticalrat3607]

About Jean portret. There are square halos in some regious depictions. Jean's halo became black, full with bad thoughts, it's is still a halo. While Jeand indeed more edgier, he still cares deeply about Harry. He was with Harry for a long time and it left a mark.

[@emjay9688]

Square halos were traditionally painted around the heads of still living persons, bishops or emperors and the like. Although I don't think that particular distinction was taken into account with Kim and Jacques (Kim doesn't seem to have been a ghost, after all!). Soft & protective vs angled and harsh seems to be the right take on those.

[@trianglemoebius]

@@emjay9688 Kim's not *literally* metaphysical, but in a way he serves as Harry's guardian angel, or perhaps even his conscience. Meanwhile Jean is very 'physical' - his support is all grounded in reality.

[@Adrian-mk9vr]

3:16 MEASUREHEAD JUMPSCARE (seriously, how did I never notice him in the background of his groupie's portrait...)

[@greenyxd7298]

Encyclopedia (Challenging: Success): Dolores Dei 5:18 . Her lungs are visible. Incredibly intimate. today not so much since the invention of the x-ray; During the Victorian times having a picture of your insides taken was exposing you in a way that was worse than being naked on a busy street. I think the writers where inspired by the novel "The Holy Mountain". Trapped in a clinic in the mountains for tuberculosis, a love interest gives the protagonist - despite its rational purpose - a picture of her lungs, revealing her flesh to a man who cannot treat her medically.

[@JamrockHobo]

It's one of my favourite novels and I never thought about that connection. That's great!

[@PaprikaParade1]

im sorry but i cannot find this novel thru google, it only shows From The Holy Mountain book about some christians or whatever, do u have a link or any tips how to find this novel?

[@greenyxd7298]

@@PaprikaParade1 you won't find it, because it's actually called "The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann

[@JamrockHobo]

I didn't even notice that they didn't use the right name haha. I have an old GDR version that says it's illegal to circulate it in western Germany. really cool

[@danielhollick1708]

Thank you for the jangling keys, milord

[@RedRattt]

Tiktok playing subway surfer to give more visual stimuli to occupy viewers: Dumb. Jamrock Hobo putting litterall jingling keys on screen: Based.

[@broblerone413]

fr it actually helped lmao. it made me feel like a toddler but at least i paid attention

[@exhaustedgoblin6352]

I would be offended if I hadn't just read the text about the 2024 brain and still looked off to the horizon, only to be pulled back by the keys

[@TheEzzran]

You know, ironically I had the exact opposite experience. I was listening to what he was saying but then there were words on the screen and I read them and then had to rewind the video to hear what he had been actually saying, because my brain handles text better than audio.

[@MrGemHunter]

9:30 Personally I think Physical Harry isn't emanating light, but breaking though it, smashing though the background like he smashes though the world

[@simondigruber2111]

When I first stumbled on random gameplay of Disco Elysium on youtube, I noticed Harry's portrait and felt like I instantly knew what he was about. And having experienced the game for myself now I was amazed how much of Harry's character the artist was able to convey in a single portrait.

[@nomukun1138]

"Thank You Kim for not calling my Harry a idiot + having a little dance with him Your a real one X"

[@RaphaelAmbrosiusCosteau51]

I love this video so much. As a legally blind person all of this stuff went completely over my head so basically thank you for letting me appreciate all the work they put in to these portraits:)

[@K_Obradinn]

it's just so shocking when I realized Kim and Jean's portrait is like the complete opposite. They are both Harry's partner but Jean is tired and sick of old Harry and Kim is patient and fine with the new Harry. Kim is most with warm color, orange and red jacket and a white circle behind his head, while Jean is wearing black suit with cold green shadow and a black square behind his head. Although they are the complete opposite, but they both truly cares about Harry, and they are both the partner that are too good for us😢. Damn Jean is like a dad that ruthlessly points out your problems, and Kim is like a mom that always takes your imperfection

[@Linkzcap]

8:13 his head is literally in the clouds, you can see an image of it nearly blended in with the blue and white background

[@adislavchev]

Alexander is a treasure that must be protected, creating such amazing visuals while barely having the tools to learn the art. Great video Hobo!

[@FalconCooper]

Great video ! The one who had the most impact on me was Ruud Hoenkloewen's. First of all, you are already surprised to see there is one more mercenary, but then you see his portrait which I feel like is one of the most unique. With only shades of white, black and grey, not only I think he is the only character who is not showing his face but he is also looking directly at you. You can't see what is behind that facemask. The shape of the mask creates a sort of mix bewteen a skull and a scarecrow. You immediately know this guy is a threat, someone you can't reason with and shit is really about to go down. I remember just staring at his picture when it came up, trying to understand what I saw.

[@JamrockHobo]

a really alien presence, absolutely

[@EDFHLFLFF]

I always thought he looked like that one mercenary from star wars the clone wars

[@artic2312]

The helmet really makes him seem like a grim reaper figure. Death personified.

[@blehh_mae]

i really like how it makes it Feel like youre looking up at him even though its more or less face-level, the lighting makes it seem like youre metaphorically below this foreboding threatening figure

[@broblerone413]

@@artic2312 that's exactly what i thought when i saw him for the first time! he looks like Death itself, and completely inhuman

[@RedHorseArcher]

00:31 I never thought about the fact that I should cover my workplace with Kim icons, but now I realize that I simply have no other choice.

[@catherinewoods6598]

One of my favourite details about the Union's portraits, was the fact that Evrart's background was the polar opposite to the Hardie Boy's, subconsiously telling the player, that even though they might be a part of the same organization, they use extremely different methods to get what they want (its also a reference to the fact that Titus control's the "militant" wing of the Union).

[@francesgardner7070]

egg head’s portrait always makes me think he’s an elf or something

[@laultimarebanada]

I'm making a dnd campaign with my bf. Me having played the game and him in still haven't finished. I want to make a portrait of my character in this style and though I'd say I know how to draw good enough, I've hardly took into account what I want to express with my art. This made me understand much more the true meaning of making that art, and honestly, it is cool looking. Thank you for the Disco Elysium content, this game is so rich on it's components, I'll be seeing the rest of your vids now.

[@ArkayeCh]

seeing the connection between how some of the portraits match the other characters. it's VERY likely you remember ghosts of interacting with them before your apocalyptic binge causing amnesia

[@blehh_mae]

honestly i never thought of the portraits as harrys perspective or symbolism of their personality, but now that ive heard it like that it makes complete sense i always sorta wondered why some portraits were so weird and convoluted or just hard to see what the character actually looks like

[@Wezla]

Great video, love this type of discussion! To add to the discussions on backgrounds: I never noticed Sileng's background being so much like Joyce's. It seems a little more 'corrupt' like a poor imitation of Joyce's. It's been a minute, but isn't Sileng that kind of hustle culture ultraliberal that's chasing a story he's been sold? Makes sense that he'd want to immitate Joyce.

[@JamrockHobo]

Do you have a favourite portrait, or a headcanon that goes with one?

[@udram47thelowercaseguy]

i like tiagos

[@Doctor_Straing_Strange]

I love Dolores Dei's portrait, and Tiago's portrait, Measurehead is also a classic

[@limcw6092]

Half light is my favourite, it looks exactly Just how I imagined it

[@dialectiks]

i love the fash harry aesthetics. he starts combing his hair there. i wish he could look like that without the fash lol

[@forestsavior]

I think it would be a tie between Kim and Egg Head. That pseudo-halo framing Kim's dead-serious face just utterly completes the character every time he speaks. It's straightforward, but extremely effective. He is instantly understood and instantly appealing. Egg Head's luminous glory mostly serves to underscore the absurd Scooter memes pouring out of his mouth, but it also underscores what a hopeful character he is. Even if he could stand to engage a few more brain cells when he's workshopping new shoutouts (please don't turn him into a fascist/Moralist), it's great to see how much he actually cares about his friends and his vision of anodic music as a tool to bring people together and heal his damaged world. He's like a poorly molded knock-off Donald Duck night-light in a dark, dingy room -- extremely absurd, but a reassuring presence nonetheless.

[@pendantblade6361]

The mercenary portrait is probably my favorite one in the game, the hairs on my skin stood up when I saw it and when I hear him speak.

[@nano9285]

Surprised that you didn't mention how the pose of several portraits are based on skills (or the other way around). Most noticeable with Measurehead/Authority and Cuno/Half Light

[@rockomundo]

As a self taught artist trying to get more into painting and sketchy digital art playing through this game and checking out all the artwork has been such an inspiration! And it's true, it may look sketchy and wonky, but it's really hard work to get right.

[@derpherpblerp]

Kim is our babygirl saint

[@chronosoviy_tor4]

4:23 While the portraits of all the other union members have white and red in the background, in Evrart's portrait these colors are flipped, showing that his interests and position are actually the opposite of the interests of the union he exploits.

[@boserboser6870]

I will say theres an interpreation of everat. That he's pretending to be corrupt so captital thinks he's someone who can be controled. Nothing is more convenient to the corruption in moralintern than someone who can be bought. He does still disregard the lives of others however

[@varsoonhks3211]

After several playthroughs, I've concluded that Evrart does have Martinaise's best interests at heart. He just sees the only way to get there through his corrupt methods.

[@AlexSmagula]

i thought that it was flipped because you wouldn't be able to see the red so well if it wasn't

[@shraka]

Interesting that you think his interests are the opposite of the rest of the union, given the subjective nature of the game.

[@eclipserepeater2466]

Regardless of if that's true or not, it would certainly be Harry's first impression.

[@dclqworm]

Thanks to everyone who keeps the discussion of DE alive, it is profoundly important to me and so many !

[@googoogajoog1334]

One little detail about the union that I'm surprised you didn't mention is the fact that the red and white are inverted for Evrart. It's an interesting touch.

[@teddyjohnson7527]

This is a truly impressive video. It gave me a lot to consider not just about Disco Elysium but about art in a broader sense as well. You're an excellent writer.

[@yeshua7238]

In regard to the elctrochemistry portrait, it’s drawn with a battery that fills itself with skill points when you use drugs to raise it past the cap.

[@Ironwolf-pm7zs]

I remember looking at Gary's portrait as being a clean looking proud man and seeing his model as a ragged and balding guy made me laugh.

[@khornate01thedestroyerofis11]

Thank you for the key jingling, i needed it

[@2ndBowlOfWarp]

Спасибо тебе за твои мысли, дружище. Это очень хороший ролик, особенно когда осознаешь те вещи, который ты не заметил сам.. игры это и правда искусство

[@sputnik5676]

Thank you for making this video. Disco Elysium is a profound multimedia experience and specific discussion of its art direction is deeply needed

[@MrMcJazzhands]

The first time I watch this video, I cried a little bit. I don't even remember what set me off, just that it was somewhere in the last five minutes or so. Disco Elysium is a such a beautiful game in so many ways. The art style, the writing, the way people reveal a bit about themselves through their interactions with the game itself, it all just comes together to create this gorgeous mishmash that's kind of haunting.

[@rrrrrrrachel]

my favourite read on the portraits is that visual calculus is a result of the dry cerebral focus of encyclopedia, combined w conceputalisation's visual flair - and you can see it in the work, VC is a fusion of the other two

[@Pabloto-dq3sx]

Kim’s white circle for some reason gives me a sense of “peace of mind” or “serenity” a very clean circular area around his head that is surrounded by brown. As if to make a difference from what is going on inside of his head and the rest of the world. The whole color choice looks very uncomplicated when compared to the rest of the portraits.

[@bleachedink]

The booth at EGX, my partner wrote the first note and stuck it to the wall, which in turn prompted LOADS of people to stick up their own, it was such a cool thing to see it grow throughout the day!

[@localguru7190]

I watched this video after I had to deal with some really heavy shit and you've got the perfect voice for this. I feel a lot more relaxed now than I did before. Thanks for that.

[@JamrockHobo]

my voice is by far the element of the video that I'm the least confident about, so that is really nice to hear! :)

[@chrislink73]

This was an interesting and thoughtful commentary on the character portraits, which I hadn't spent enough time considering. Well done.

[@rinarina6247]

I live for when I discover a video essay of this quality in the wild from a channel I've never heard of before

[@karanbharat1951]

This makes me wanna go play and over-analyze every single character portrait as much as I can!!! man Disco Elysuim's art is just beautiful.

[@TheWaffleFactory]

Loved this! I remmeber having an ah HA moment when I noticed the half light trait looked just like the face Cuno was making and I started making all these comparisons to how harry sees them. I didnt even pick up on a lot of the backgrounds though. God this game always comes back at me with something i didnt notice.

[@eclipserepeater2466]

It's interesting to think that with this art style and making the portraits first, then letting that inform the characters, an art mistake or fluke can end up changing the entire reality of the game's story.

[@EmmanuelArowoselu]

Damn! I have played through this game about 5 different times so I can experience every facet of the richness of its world but never once did I notice that even the character portraits had a great amount of thought put into them. Great Video

[@beleata74]

Huh I did not notice how the Kim and Jean portraits were contrasted and in a way opposites. Frankly prior to this video, I didn't really think all that much about the portraits. Kim's portrait in specific though I always associated with the lens of a camera ( even though it clearly isn't ), though the religious influence now seems quite obvious.

[@elizabethk007]

I love these types of videos, there is so much you can read from just the character portraits

[@bartolomeus441]

Beautiful essay, it made me appreciate Disco Elysium's artstyle even more

[@cosmicamente6165]

incredible video, loved it, thanks for the jingling keys.

[@Krranski]

This was spectacular. The art was what drew me deeper into the game (though I had heard it was an awesome game beforehand). The title screen alone gave me shivers. But the art helped me connect to the world and characters like no other game has.

[@whirlingincosmos]

Amazing video as always, I particularly enjoyed your discussion on Egghead's portrait, he became one of my favourite characters instantly on my first playthrough :D

[@blehh_mae]

2:09 also something i noticed while watching this, he looks messy and its hard to tell what he really looks like, which makes sense as harry probably doesnt remember him whatsoever, he knows he should know him (or, the player knows someone should be there) but he just doesnt know who he is (or the player cant easily see the face)

[@maeack4862]

Honestly, they're so well done for all the characters- it's amazing how much attention to detail each portion of this game was given!! Thank you for this!

[@fluffmamon]

Another detail I really love about Gary's portrait is that the background of his portrait depicts his cryptofascism. The white lines on the blue in front looks like it's trying to cover up the golden background behind it. The blue and white being Joyce's background which stands for Ultraliberalism and the golden background standing for Fascism as it's the same as Harry's when he becomes Icebreaker in the Fascist Vision Quest. Fascism trying to mask itself as Liberalism.

[@FlymanMS]

Thank you for this video and for reminding me of the love I have for this game and the feelings it made me feel.

[@C4xR34]

Absolutely fantastic video, thank you for making it. I'm a design student and although my knowledge isn't really the best, just by looking at the portraits I'm amazed at how much they can convey, directly or indirectly. Although even you have said you aren't knowledgeable with art, I think all the comments hit the nail on the head or at least quite close to it. Just one thing that I really love about them is how color and color theory is applied, one of the main examples being with the Physique Skills. The deep red colors along with the fleshy, sometimes "pained" expressions on them made it all look so good. I also didn't know about Alexander Rostov's influences and reasons for his art to be like that. Even he seems to consider it "flawed", or result from lack of actually being able to study it, and looking at it now with that knowledge it really becomes noticeable. Not to diminish his work though, it's impressive and quite vibrant. It's nice that an style that surged like that became so strikingly noticeable. It really elevated Disco Elysium. Again, great video and great interpretations of the portraits!

[@Cibershadow2]

I'd go so far as to say the way he views his art is largely how Disco Elysium itself wants to be viewed. Flawed and simplistic behind a veneer of fantastical, unique brilliance. A tilted house with the best decorations you've ever seen. Even the story of his art reflects the stories of the game's writers from what I've gathered, with that feeling of a real post apocalypse.

[@periforbylee]

Why is this game so endlessly adorable?

[@iamdaboss13]

What a wonderful video essay - thank you, I enjoyed very much!!

[@PhantasmASMR]

Ya know the thing about the jingling keys with the insightful dialogue really turns this videos itself into an art piece

[@JamrockHobo]

its called dialectics i think

[@Danny-ns8sl]

Wow, great commentary! Thanks, you've helped me appreciate Disco Elysium even more than I already have. Please make more of these :D

[@angrycat1232]

excellent analysis, thank you so much for uploading this

[@wrenbeck3370]

Something I've seen pointed out that isn't in this video and I can't seem to find any comments about is that some of the lorry-drivers' portraits (namely Racist Lorry Driver and Tommy Le Homme) resemble driving license photos.

[@the_shaq_attack]

This is a bit on the nose but I wonder if the black rectangle is also supposed to be symbolic of a "black box" y'know, a flight recorder. Jeans role in the story is to sort of be Harry's bridge back to who he was before the events of the game, or at least that's how I saw him by the time I finished the game; So I wouldn't be surprised if the black rectangle shape was chosen for this reason, after all it could've been a number of other extremely sharp shapes. It could just be me over analyzing, but it's certainly an interesting thought!

[@hypocriticalrat3607]

Also there are square halos in religion. And while Kim's halo is white, protective, Jean has black, negative halo, but nonetheless it's still halo. In the end Jean cares about Harry

[@likesoundtoheaven]

I never know what you shall post about next, but all does this game a great justice.

[@knightshade2654]

4:23 I also noticed that Evart's background has the red and white flipped compared to everyone else. Fascinating.

[@PSPDDH]

I always wondered the philosophy behind the portraits and holy shit, thank you for this

[@bartekcalinski1221]

I'm pretty sure Evrart's portait has the background flipped because it's NOT ACTUALLY EVRART, BUT HIS TWIN BROTHER EDGAR, AS SEEN BY HIS LAZY EYE, POINTED OUT BY JOYCE

[@Cookedmaruchan]

This might be one of the best videos of all time, god damn

[@gimpscam9976]

With the third Harry portrait it looks like he’s crashing through glass or something. Kinda touched in video but I think it goes with the point of interacting with the world through body.

[@astorbarnes9690]

What a wonderful analisis, makes me think in the characters in a total new manner, congrats!

[@Despacitoian]

Sii-eng’s background just being a shitty MS Paint recreation of Joyce’s boat will never not be hilarious

[@Ask4This]

The meaning and accidents part is very well done.

[@JamrockHobo]

Thank you!

[@broblerone413]

When I first played Disco Elysium, I just knew I'd be spending a ton of time analysing the art from the moment I saw the first three build type paintings. The shape and color language in the portraits is so incredibly fun and interesting, I found myself looking forward to meeting new characters just to be able to find out what their portraits looked like. Egghead's gotta be one of my favorites, particularly the updated version of his portrait. The way he radiates glowing energy towards the ceiling just looks really cool. It makes you want to join in on his party lol I see a lot of people analysing the game's writing, but after reading the art book I found myself wanting more analyses of the art itself. I already had my own ideas on the portraits, but I had a hard time putting a lot of those ideas into words. Besides, I love to get different perspectives on these things. Awesome video, it was cool to be able to hear someone else's ideas on the subject! Some of the things you mentioned I hadn't even thought about before (like the connection between Joyce's and Siileng's portrait backgrounds).

[@Torgan454]

i fucking love the random-ass intro

[@mossy3565]

Aww, all that and didn't even show my favourite pic, Klaasje It's the eyes that got me, I remember having the compromised conversation with Volition, believing she couldn't be trusted, then just spending a lot of time looking at her face. She didn't look malignant or evil, she looked bored, the kind of boredom that comes from repeating a bad mistake over and over. Realized she didn't even realize she was manipulating me, and had a brief bit of clarity there Obviously the game revolves around her, which explains why the portrait is so strong, but I have to say... She looks exactly like what the character she is should look like. Everyone does.

[@hellodelightfulrando]

Really enjoyed this vid. I love Disco Elysium’s art. Being an artist myself, it gives me even more appreciation for the symbolism and technique that went into making everything but especially the portraits. They are an insight not just to the personality of the characters themselves but to Harry’s interpretation of who they are based on the vibe he’s getting and there’s something unique about that, especially in the current gaming climate when the priority of art in games it to make realistically beautiful and flashy art to impress the masses, DE is beautiful because it grungy, abstract and expressive. Not saying one is better than the other, obviously I have my personal preferences and I wish more gaming companies went the DE route than the typical AAA route

[@ian-online]

unorthodox approaches to video games/shows make me SO HAPPY!!! like how Riot made Arcane work from the video game into the Netflix show

[@Alastor5678]

I love the video the script, the performances, the editing, very good. I just finished the first round and I already want to replay it. Will you make a video about skill portraits? I would really like to see your interpretation and I haven't seen a single video about it.

[@JamrockHobo]

I didn't plan one yet!

[@theminesweeperguy5617]

INSTANT LIKE ! Clear and concise analysis,i can't praise this enough !

[@BlinchixOfRivia]

Ruud's portrait is my favourite. Distorted, cold colors (and there's only 2 of them, showing a lack of emotions. He's one of the few characters you cant see the face of, but not in a Coalition warship way. You can see him, but you cant see who he really is. An alien, hiding behind a buglike carapace

[@brooke89776]

Wonderful video as always. Seeing a new video from you is such a treat.

[@DrunkenCoward1]

A few months ago I did some portraits for Touhou characters heavily inspired (well, let's be honest, ripped off) by Disco Elysium. I can't draw, so I used 3d models for it instead, then added filters to it to make it look like they could fit in a game. I've made 4 portraits so far and I should make more, but... much like Jean Viqumare, I am clinically depressed and doing things is shit.

[@kaygirl10101]

I appreciated the keys. Things were getting a little complex there.