It's totally deserved that Neil Newbon gets praised for his perfomance as Astarion and for Stephen Rooney to be commended for how he wrote him. Amazing symbiosis between them for sure!
But we absolutely CANNOT forget about whoever designed him, because let's be honest... many people who get into Astarion get into him for his looks first. Then they later on find out about his backstory and watch some clips of him, and become hooked.
The artists and animators absolutely deserve all the love and praise as well.
Thank you to @del-hayelite for informing me that he was modelled by Stephanie!
I mean... look at him. He's probably one of the most attractive characters I have seen in YEARS
Yesterday, I got an ask from someone sad that AI is taking over fanfiction as well. And this video sheds some light as to why it's important to keep art being done and delivered by actual human beings.
The nuances and details just aren't able to be captured by AI. There's just no way. Whether it's voice acting, writing, painting... let humanity be seen in these art forms. AI can be so useful, but don't let it take over what little of us we can give to others.