Taking reference screenshots in Guild Wars 2

April 4, 2023

Here’s a quick guide for taking reference screenshots of your character in Guild Wars 2.

First, please find an area with bright, neutral daylight. If you have access to the Mistlock Sanctuary, it’s a great place for reference screenshots! Otherwise, use Lion’s Arch or Divinity’s Reach.

For 3D work, I usually need at least these perspectives of the character without armor:

  • Straight front view
  • Straight side view
  • Straight top view (mostly for the horns)
  • Full-body view, halfway between front and side
  • Close-up of the head, halfway between front and side

For armor and equipment, please tell me the names of the items, and give me at least one screenshot that lets me see the dyes of the individual pieces.

A few more tips:

  • Zoom in as much as possible without cropping parts of the character.
  • Take the pictures against a simple, uncluttered background like the sky or a wall.
  • Try to take the back view screenshot so that the color of the hand paw pads is visible.

Please have a look at the pictures below for some examples of what to do (and not to do).

Good Examples

Full-body screenshot of a charr straight from the front
Front view

Full-body screenshot of a charr straight from the left
Side view

Full-body screenshot of a charr straight from the back
Back view, paw pads visible

Screenshot of a charr from the top
Top view, showing the length and curvature of the horns

Full-body screenshot of a charr with full outfit, halfway between front and side view
Full outfit, halfway between front and side view

Close-up screenshot of a charr, showing mostly the head
Close-up of the head

Bad Examples — don’t do this

Screenshot of a charr, but it’s zoomed out too far so that details are difficult to see
Zoomed out too far

Screenshot of a charr against a noisy background, it’s difficult to tell where the character ends and the background begins
Bad contrast, cluttered background