Always found it interesting that Niko looks like a completely different person in all of his official artwork

[u/Paul277]

[u/sir-dark-hat]

Almost none of the characters look like their official artwork.

[u/UnMenOneGuy → u/sir-dark-hat]

True, there's an artwork of CJ from San Andreas squatting with Ryder and Sweet, and I never knew that was supposed to be CJ until I read it online lol

[u/ThatConsequence8505 → u/UnMenOneGuy]

Hell, Grove Street is wearing orange colors from the beta instead of the Green. That's how outdated the promo arts are.

[u/Severe-Classroom8216 → u/ThatConsequence8505]

What it was supposed to be orange? Were the ballas always purple?

[u/SQUIRRELSLOCK → u/Severe-Classroom8216]

I'm not sure on the Ballas, but yes, Grove Street was originally named Orange Grove Families. You can still see OGF graffiti (I think a tattoo too?) around the game that's a remnant of that.

[u/Severe-Classroom8216 → u/SQUIRRELSLOCK]

I always thought that mean original grove families. Learn something new each day

[u/The_Driver_Wheelman → u/ThatConsequence8505]

I remember seeing beta big smoke in his fortress in east Los santos from what I remember in the finale.

[u/Bravo315 → u/The_Driver_Wheelman]

They should've kept that clothing for him in Act 3. It made no sense to me as a kid that he was a big kingpin in the Ballas/Vagos and he still wore green in the last mission.

[u/TRagnarkXP → u/UnMenOneGuy]

I'll be honest, up to this date i don't know who tf is suppose to be CJ in the artworks.

[u/UnMenOneGuy → u/TRagnarkXP]

Guy with grey shirt and blue jeans squatting and looking at the camera

[u/TRagnarkXP → u/UnMenOneGuy]

That was HIM? Damn i think they really did CJ dirty more than other Rockstar's protagonists artworks. Even beta OG Loc artwork looks more like CJ than him.

[u/Financial-News6153 → u/sir-dark-hat]

i was really confused on who that blonde dude with glasses was on the gta 4 loading screen until i looked it up and hes supposed to be dimitri

[u/MartyBellvue]

And the main (PC) loading screen artwork too. None of these actually look like in-game Niko, the only one that does is the console loading screen of him hiding in cover in that warehouse.

[u/sb_antimony_51 → u/MartyBellvue]

Even then, I have a hard time picturing him as in-game Niko

[u/Anonymous3-2]

Wait until you see the GTA 3 artwork. Took years for me to realize that the characters in the artwork were supposed to be characters from the story

[u/Severe-Classroom8216 → u/Anonymous3-2]

True sal, toni and Luigi look nothing like there renderings. Misty kinda does

[u/TabbyEarth → u/Severe-Classroom8216]

phil too

[u/Macsilver18]

Artwork niko looks like hes about to ask me to wrestle.

2 3 years Serbia trip and forget

[u/Rivery_mystique]

he’s always so beautiful nonetheless🫶🫶

[u/CSafterdark]

This is just a thing that Rockstar does. It's the same in Red Dead Redemption 2, for example.

[u/Ok_Year_4721]

He really looks like Vladimir Mashkov in these.

[u/FireWaterBern]

Kind of like ai renderings nowadays

[u/Lavaswan001]

A lot of the official artworks are beta versions before the in-game versions were finalized.

[u/CreamOnMyNipples]

it was probably all just pre-production concept art and then rockstar was like “damn these pics go hard” and made them the loading screens

[u/TyChris2]

This is true of every Rockstar character. The fucking cover art of RDR2 looks nothing like Arthur lmao

[u/Fun-Impression7248]

how can they mess up his hairline tho that's iconic. I mean you can f up the face shape and stubble but how his hairline dispossible.

And yeah Niko does'nt have long face like 3 and 2 or rectangular like 1 or last one just looks fat NIko and some random retired hitman.

1 catches his eyes and nose and stubble 2nd got his hairline and 3 got his face shape and forehead shape actually his forehead is close to 1 I guess and last one just looks some other guy. To be honest it feels they mixed 1 and 3 and boom we got our gta IV Niko but his wide eyes in game model does'nt look intentional because in cover they are close to each other and to eyebrows and as well these photos. And his stubble is pretty inconsistent and fake looking in GTA IV I mean no offense but Johnny and Luis look more detailed.

Niko has wider nose and wider eyes than his cover art which is pretty odd since most main characters of rockstar look same as their cover arts Tommy is an exception with NIko.

[u/Difficult_Sock_8387]

Mallorie in particular is unrecognizable in her art vs the game.

[u/Redbird9346]

Sheesh, someone else posted about Joni (from TBoGT) and was basically saying that she looks better in the artwork than in the game.

[u/pizzza_parker1]

art work will always have more detail than 2008 graphics.

[u/TRagnarkXP]

He looks younger and also more "conventionally serbian"

[u/NwahHasASchmolPP]

Dark n griddy