Something bugged me all the time while watching the gameplay and the trailers for Witcher 3 which are available so far: Geralt's body proportions. They just didn't seem "right" to me. So I took the time and compared the body proportions of Geralt to the body proportions to Michelangelo's David which is known as one of the most accurate dipictions of the male human body and its proportions (apart from the too big head).
You can see in the pictures that I tried to choose both bodies in a similar pose with a kink at the waist to enable a valid comparison. Then I defined their usual body measurements (chest, waist, hip, waist-head, waist-knee). Let's have a look on the body ratios which are the significant numbers here in order to evaluate body proportions.
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Feel free to discuss.
You have got to be freaking kidding me!
1. First off, you have gone about deducing precise ratios via the most imprecise of ways, not even accounting for perspective. In that shot, Geralt is depicted slightly top down, whereas David is obviously seen from a bottom up point of view.
2. Secondly, regarding David, it's a commonly known fact that
The proportions of the David are atypical of Michelangelo's work; the figure has an unusually large head and hands (particularly apparent in the right hand). These enlargements may be due to the fact that the statue was originally intended to be placed on the cathedral roofline, where the important parts of the sculpture may have been accentuated in order to be visible from below
( source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Michelangelo) )
This of course has direct implications on his overall height, case in point, dimensions of his torso.
3. You also seem to be forgetting what Renaissance in general was aiming at artistically, namely the role of classical Greek ideals. Realism was not atop of their list of priorities.
4. If a serious discussion is to be had, I'd suggest two references which, among a myriad of other subjects, address the topic of human proportions, both reliable sources when compared to ratios deduced from shots:
Neufert Architects' Data
Metric Handbook.
5. In conclusion, it seems your methods were rather imprecise, your gauge quite poorly chosen. Now, about your take. In my opinion, Geralt looks spot on. He looks both harmonious and expressive. If you ask me, CDProjekt nailed it.
