I like hand-drawn portraits in games where there aren’t detailed character models, but in a game like BG3 I prefer to just see the “actual” in-game faces and apparel of the characters. That said, I’d like it if we could have different angles, distances and backgrounds, and possibly even expressions, for our character portraits like DA:O (though I seem to recall the facial expressions available for that ranged from neutral to terrifying rictus). Not a priority for me, though.
Handrawn (or custom made) portraits can be very effective especially for pre-made companions. In more recent cRPG, I do find it harder to reconsile differences between imported picture and in-game model.
I did think DA:O did a great job with custom portraits - I was less fond if inquisition, which just gave up on portrait for our inquisitor all together. With various expression and poses being developed for cutscenes, surely some kind of poprtrait generator could be developed for BG3.
