I know it's reductive to think of missed opportunities, but it would have been cool for some of the art in the game to depict the city of Kvatch, as we never get to see it before it's destruction
I wouldn’t call it reductive! It’s cool that Oblivion is already such a detailed game, they did an excellent job, but people that really love the game can also see these “missed opportunities” - truly a game that gives us a lot to think about all these years later. And I agree btw, it would have been cool to have some pre-oblivion kvatch art
As a Turkish; those wall rugs are so relatable! I remember my grandma's house having this beautiful wall rug, richly decorated with local wildlife motives with traditional anatolian ornaments, it's a shame my generation not being interested in this part of our culture though.
Even in places like Ireland you'll find them. My Nana has always had a Indian rug type thing over the banister from when her eldest son went backpacking across India & my other Granny has a few Persian style rugs that at some points are hung over the banister. I have no idea why the banister maybe because it makes it look less boring.
The true crime of Oblivion is how the paintings are nailed to the walls, keeping us from.. borrowing them. Indefinitely. I love these deepdives, they unlock so many memories in the best of ways. I remember being obsessed with the architecture in Anvil, dreaming that I could build it for myself one day.
It is nice to know that not all TES fans are little gremlins like me and my friends that all got sucked into oblivion around the same time back when we were like 8 or 9 lol
Yet again, another topic I don't think anyone has covered or given attention too, these details though overlooked would not go unnoticed if removed from the game is my feeling, bare walls and floors would definitely feel out if place given how comfy Oblivion is Great video, I hope to see a in depth look at the Architecture in Oblivion, how the cultures in Cyrodill reflect in their buildings, I feel like this is something Oblivion did so well. I will ask for this topic forever
Oblivion’s art has such a special place in my heart, this may be a goofy thing to say, but it inspired me to start getting into painting when I was younger 😅 it makes the world feel so cozy! Thanks for making videos over the things that are so overlooked, yet are the things that bring Tamriel to life 💙
16:25 I remember very clearly the first time I saw this art in Oblivion, it actually made me cry tears of joy. To so skillfully yet so simply depict an incredible tale of heroism, muddied by grey morality in service of ultimately achieving the right thing. With so few colours, the artist was truly skilled and a creative genius to create such a masterwork with the limited resources at hand.
I loooove these deep dives into these small details, they often have a story of their own to tell. Also your necklace is beautiful! You look like an Imperial Noble 🥺
10:56 Egyptian Hieroglyphics can actually be read both right to left and left to right. You know which way to read them by which direction the animals are pointing.
The quest to recover the stolen painting blew my mind as a kid, it was the first time I'd played a game that made you actually figure something out in a quest using clues in dialogue and the environment and didn't spell the solution out to you. It's not particularly hard to figure out but it was great to play investigator in a quest.
Your videos are fascinating in drawing my attention to parts of the world that I might not have paid as much attention to as I should. I would love to see you do a video on architecture in the Elder Scrolls games.
I really enjoyed the paintings of the way shrines hanging on the wall in different locations that are just in game screenshots with a filter over them. Really made the world feel lived in.
Thank you for such a fabulous and well made video! ☺️💖 I never gave it much thought til now but the art of cyrodiil really was one of the things i loved most about oblivion compared to Skyrim. As an artist myself i appreciate both games and their art style but oblivion's warm and cozy vibes will always be my fav! 😁
One of the mod player houses in Skyrim had paintings on the walls of familiar locations. I really liked that but it made me notice the lack of paintings everywhere else in Skyrim. It is a detail that adds realism and character.
Firstly, thanks for making such a detailed video on such an obscure but interesting topic. I don’t think I’ve ever seen people talk about this. Secondly, I just booted up Oblivion the other day and made a new character who is supposed to be a painter. The fact that this popped up in my recommended videos like a day later is kinda crazy 😂
The best stained class art in oblivion is found in the Priory of the Nine. Depicting the Divine Crusader dueling Umaril. I remember seeing a unique painting of a castle in Lord Rugdump's Manor. There are probably quite a few unique paintings like that but this one was weird because it looked like it wasn't taken from anything from the game. Check it out. Lastly, a fun fact. The painting in "A brush with death" is a screenshot from the game, obviously. But different from the other basic paintings this painting seems to have been created hastily by the developers as we can see the crosshair still in the painting. 12:53
im glad im not the only one noticing the beautiful paintings in game that just seem so natural and well made! love your vids and these deep doves on my one of my fav games :3
Hey I just wanted to say that I love these videos you're making about art, clothing and culture in video games. It's something I have been interested in since i was a girl and played wow on my brothers computer. I don't think i ever found a space online for it until now. :)
Oblivion memories are so special and precious. Castle Seaview, the Count of Kvatch mod, and countless other mods just made the game so fun. Great video!
Morrowind has a really cool painting mod that lets you paint what you can see in the game then lets you save them to a folder that can be used for walpapers
I'm really happy that you included the unique paintings. Paintings and tapestries really give such a cozy look to even the poorest homes and establishments in Cyrodiil, and I'm sorely missing them from Skyrim. I know there are at least some tapestries in Skyrim, but they're either city banners, or totally bland looking. Too bad you didn't mention the rugs meant to be on the floors, those have some nice variety too. I know you couldn't possibly mention every single art, even if I wish you would lol. For example Ciirta's paintings in the Shivering Isles, the bust of Llathasa, the big statues in different cities etc, there is so much more to talk about. Oh btw that Shivering Isles statue is called "tortured statue" and there is a looking down version of it too. I can't wait to see what you'll talk about in your next video.
I swear, your videos are some of the most interesting videos about TES games that I have ever watched. And it's so nice to see that even after all these years, people are making such good quality content about them!
this is such a cool video!!! I appreciate so much that you touched on each aspect of art around the world of oblivion ‘n gave them all the spotlights they deserve!! the paintings, textiles, statues, pottery and stained glass add so much to the game world and is something I truly miss in Skyrim as a visual artist myself!! 💞🎨
Great video! I was literally thinking about analyzing the artistic culture of Skyrim yesterday, and then your video pops up. Oblivion itself feels like a painting
The stained glass depicting the Divines really takes me back to my Episcopal upbringing. They're really cool, but they make me wonder if Cyrodilic children also get bored during mass.
There were probably plenty of kids who were bored in Temple worship and don’t care much about the Divines…and then Akatosh appears as a giant golden dragon and saves the world from a demon lord’s invasion lol. Fellow Episcopalian sends his greetings.
I do some simple modding for Skyrim, and when decorating houses I do wish Skyrim had more paintings like they did in Oblivion. But that might just be a cultural thing , perhaps Nords do not care for that type of art? They mostly usually decorate their houses with Wall baskets, those circular and octagonal decorations that sometimes have feathers hanging from them. Or they will hang rugs on their walls, probably as some sort of tapestry or for the reasons you covered in the video. Anyways, great video!
great topic! i spent so many hours just chilling in morrowind, the interiors are so lived-in and cozy thanks to candle lit ( or mushroom lit! ) tapestries, plants/trees and beautiful ceilings. even though the textures were super small and blurry, player's brain would fill in the details and make up stories. the oblivion paintings were mostly similar in-game screenshots to save on the tight texture budget with a cheap photoshop filter on top but it's such a great opportunity to make a whole story or a quest around it, limitations often make great art! offtopic i must mention the water shader in morrowind ( the vanilla one, not the remaster ), still my favorite water shader to stare at and wait for the rain
Oblivion is that one game that I would do anything to go back and experience for the first time again. In all my years of playing it, I never stopped to actually admire the art in it. Maybe this is my sign to go back and play it again.
What you said about Persian rugs is actually very interesting. Walked into a normal video about Oblivion's art, walked out with something about the world that I didn't know.
Great video! Art is a big part of my life, and as playing Oblivion for the very 1st time this year, I really enjoyed seeing all the art and supplies around 🙂 A Brush With Death was a lot of fun!🖌🎨
There are none! They’re not really into all that over there, instead you’ll see more weapons/shields mounted on the walls, maybe mounted heads of some deers etc. , but no paintings !
is there a lore reason for this? Are paintings banned as part of the white-gold concordat? Were they since banned like levitation spells? Is it just a Skyrim thing, and it gets confiscated when you cross the border?@@Angelikatosh
@@TrevortheBatmanthe Nords are more into practicality and natural decor, so baskets and weapons on the walls. It’s a bit bleak, but it does fit the general vibe of an outdoorsy people that focus on living and surviving in a hard land.
A brush with death? Nostalgia (for simpler times) Turpentine doing bonus damage to painted trolls was a neat lil detail. Painted troll fat will always stay in the inventory as collector's item.
I never really thought about it before this video but I think one of the things which makes oblivion feel so comfy compared to morrowind and skyrim is actually the art. It’s a small thing but people having paintings and just nice decorative items really makes the world feel more alive to me and also more inviting. Skyrim feels cold and harsh, morrowind feels gritty and grim, but oblivion feels warm and inviting.
I love how if you side with Chanel in Canvas the Castle, she paints you a portrait that you can actually carry around with you and put in your home if you want
The Shivering Isles night sky is a work of art, tbh. I was totally mad for space stuff back when the expansion released so I was pretty captivated by the nebulas and galaxies :D
Very cool! I’m always fascinated by artwork in video games, because I think about how someone had to actually make it (one way or another). It’s very interesting!
I'm a huge lore nerd, but I tend to focus almost exclusively on the dank cosmic stuff. It's really nice to see the lore being approached from such a completely different angle.
Good video. I really loved the stained glass in the chapels and shrines in Oblivion. They are very well done and seem appropriate for high medieval religious church art.
I love the decorations, art, and furniture in Cyrodiil. There's a lot of emphasis on painting since you find paint brushes all around, multiple painters, paintings in people's homes and of course, the quest where you go inside the painting. I was kind of disappointed Skyrim lacked paintings and a variety of nice furniture, but they were intentionally going for a more bleak vibe to be fair. Oblivion really perfected that medieval renaissance vibe while still being super interesting and weird. I'm so glad you included Modryn Oreyn's masterpiece at 16:25 btw. Definitely the best painting in the game.
On a different note, both the sky boxes & the vegetation on the Shivering Isles is drop dead gorgeous. Fingers crossed that the more idiosyncratic art dieection of Shivering Isles & Morrowind become s reference point for a more distinct identity in TES IV. Wishing you all the good luck in the world for a fast recovery, cheers!
This is a fantastic video! I love digging into the 'archaeology' of places in Elder Scrolls games and deducting meaning from the environments. I'd love to see a similar video for Morrowind.
I feel like not enough is made out of stained glass in game, no one seems to talk about it, my in my mind, it is stunning. Stained glass in medieval times is one of the wonders of the world to me 😍
10:53 Actually, the hieroglyphs are most often written right-to-left but they did often write in either direction; and which way the characters with faces like animals and humans were facing indicated the reading direction. They are always facing towards the start of the line, so the sample you show is supposed to be read left-to-right while _if_ the shapes on the tapestry were supposed to be that character; the tapestry is read right-to-left.
I don’t really know if it counts as a tapestry, or maybe even art?? But I LOVE the white lace wall hangings in castle Anvil. They’re so beautiful and give very soft romantic vibes, which is very fitting considering the end of the thieves guild quest!!❤️
I cant wait until you stream Oblivion, ive been wanting to get into morowind myself and learning the magical exploits in the same way ive become so powerful in Oblivion, the effects on weapons and armor working in conjunction with created spells make the game so fun with what can be achieved
