Art by
Haley Hylia

The Portraits Series

Video game and popular media characters reimagined in classical oil portraiture style.

My newest piece is Aerith Gainsborough and Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII Remake) from 2025 and the oldest is Princess Zelda (Legend of Zelda series) from 2016.

  • Aerith Gainsborough and Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII Remake) ~ 2025
  • Aloy (Horizon series) ~ 2023
  • Zack Fair (Final Fantasy VII Remake) ~ 2022
  • Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher) ~ 2022
  • Lady Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII Remake) ~ 2021
  • Queen Padme Amidala (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace) ~ 2021
  • Cloud Strife with Buster Sword (FInal Fantasy VII Remake) ~ 2020
  • Tifa Lockhart with tambourine (Final Fantasy VII Remake) ~ 2020
  • Triss Merigold (The Witcher) ~ 2020
  • Portrait of Aerith Gainsborough (Final Fantasy VII Remake)
  • Portrait of Yennefer of Vengerberg (The Witcher)
  • Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII Remake) ~ 2019
  • Rinoa Heartilly (Final Fantasy VIII) ~ 2019
  • Yuna (Final Fantasy X) ~ 2019
  • Princess Zelda (Legend of Zelda series) ~ 2016

…So how tf do you even make these?

I get asked about how my Portrait pieces are created a lot. They are a multi-step, almost mixed media process, but absolutely NOT AI generated.
Here is my basic process:

1
I start with a classical art piece

Every portrait begins with a pre-existing base painting (that I do not paint). 19th century oil paintings are most commonly used, but some are as old as 16th century. As they are so old, they are in the public domain and copyright free – hooray!

2
I bash together a basic mockup / blueprint

Using stock assets, my own photography, CGI renders, pieces of other paintings, and/or screenshots, I bash together a very dirty/ugly mockup of the new composition I’m wanting to create, kind of like a wireframe skeleton for sculpture.

3
Everything is painted in by hand – no AI.

Only when the mockup works as a new composition am I ready to go to the next step – painting! I use a Wacom pen table to paint over everything I need. This can take upwards of 60+ hours to complete, depending on complexity.

The final result is a fresh — and sometimes unrecognisable — take on an old painting as well as a classical interpretation of a modern character.

Have a look at these “before and afters” to see what I mean:

'Aerith, the Girl with Flowers' by Haley Hylia (2019) 'A Girl with Flowers by Jozsef Borsos' (1856)

Aerith Gainsborough (Final Fantasy VII Remake)

'Aerith, the Girl with Flowers' by Haley Hylia (2019) / 'A Girl with Flowers by Jozsef Borsos' (1856). Heavily revised in 2025 as I was unhappy with the original face shadowing. Slight increase in makeup. Flowers were also more defined.
'Two Midgardian Women' by Haley Hylia (2025) 'Two Venetian Women' by Eugen von Blaas (1898)

Aerith/Tifa (Final Fantasy VII Remake)

'Two Midgardian Women' by Haley Hylia (2025) / 'Two Venetian Women' by Eugen von Blaas (1898). Started in 2022, finished in 2025. My most ambitious piece. Hair/eyebrows done in 3 colours + flat base. Cardi B's breasts were used to model Tifa's.
'Aloy, the Saviour of Meridian' by Haley Hylia (2023) 'Judith' by August Riedel (1840)

Aloy (Horizon series)

'Aloy, the Saviour of Meridian' by Haley Hylia (2023) / 'Judith' by August Riedel (1840) [Painting flipped horizontally for comparison] Longest total paint time: 60+ hours, many spent on the spear alone.
'Conflit de Nuage, The Master of Nibelheim' by Haley Hylia (2019) 'Louis XV' by Maurice Quentin de La Tour (1748)

Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII Remake)

'Conflit de Nuage, The Master of Nibelheim' by Haley Hylia (2019) / 'Louis XV' by Maurice Quentin de La Tour (1748). My most popular piece. Painted in Adobe CS6 with a mouse, no drawing tablet.
'Sir Cloud Strife with Sword of Buster' by Haley Hylia (2020) 'William Cornwallis Harris' by Ramsay Richard Reinagle (1823)

Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII Remake)

'Sir Cloud Strife with Sword of Buster' by Haley Hylia (2020) / 'William Cornwallis Harris' by Ramsay Richard Reinagle (1823). Heavily repainted in 2025 after an accidental loss of the original layered PSD. My husband modeled the silk sash.
'Portrait of a Witcher' by Haley Hylia (2022) 'Portrait of a man' by Antonis Mor van Dashorst (1561)

Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher 3)

'Portrait of a Witcher' by Haley Hylia (2022) / 'Portrait of a man' by Antonis Mor van Dashorst (1561). Revised in 2025 with slight touch ups to face/hair/skin. More than 1000+ individual hairs painted in 3 colours for the beard.
'Lady Cloud Strife, Flower of the Honey Bee Inn' by Haley Hylia (2021) 'Amalia de Llano y Dotres, condesa de Vilches' by Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz (1853)

Lady Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII Remake)

'Lady Cloud Strife, Flower of the Honey Bee Inn' by Haley Hylia (2021) / 'Amalia de Llano y Dotres, condesa de Vilches' by Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz (1853). My magnum opus and the piece that gets the most laughs.
'La reina Padme Amidala de Naboo' by Haley Hylia (2021) 'Isabel of Spain' by Rodrigo del Villandrando (1620)

Queen Padme Amidala (Star Wars: Episode I)

'La reina Padme Amidala de Naboo' by Haley Hylia (2021) / 'Isabel of Spain' by Rodrigo del Villandrando (1620). Revised slightly in 2025. More than 12+ hours was needed to recolour the dress alone.
'Rinoa, the Lady of Galbadia' by Haley Hylia (2019) 'La Princesse de Brogli' by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1851-1853)

Rinoa Heartilly (Final Fantasy VIII)

'Rinoa, the Lady of Galbadia' by Haley Hylia (2019) / 'La Princesse de Brogli' by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1851-1853). Only hardcore FF8 fans notice the field of flowers from the opening/ending.

Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII Remake)

'Tifa au tambourin' by Haley Hylia (2020) / 'l'Odalisque au tambourin' by Léon-François Comerre (c. 1920) Retired from print in 2025. The most recent base painting and art deco in style.

Triss Merigold (The Witcher 3)

'Portrait of a Temerian noblewoman' by Haley Hylia (2020) / 'Portrait of a noblewoman' by Cesare Agostino Detti (late 19th century). Revised slightly in 2025. Outfit recolour was inspired by Triss' green DLC gown.
'Yennefer, the Lady of Vengerberg' by Haley Hylia (2019) 'Amalie von Schintling' by Joseph Karl Stieler (1831)

Yennefer of Vengerberg (The Witcher 3)

'Yennefer, the Lady of Vengerberg' by Haley Hylia (2019) / 'Amalie von Schintling' by Joseph Karl Stieler (1831). Outfit recolour + feather accessories inspired by Yennefer's DLC outfit.
'The Wedding of Yuna' by Haley Hylia (2019) 'Portrait of Queen Victoria on her Wedding Day' by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1840)

Yuna (Final Fantasy X)

'The Wedding of Yuna' by Haley Hylia (2019) / 'Portrait of Queen Victoria on her Wedding Day' by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1840). Possibly the most famous base portrait. I spent 10+ hours on the neck alone to remove the necklace and drop the collarbone.
'Portrait of Zack Fair with Buster Sword' by Haley Hylia (2022) 'Portrait of Prince Viktor Kochubey' by François Pascal Simon Gérard (1809)

Zack Fair (Final Fantasy VII Remake)

'Portrait of Zack Fair with Buster Sword' by Haley Hylia (2022) / 'Portrait of Prince Viktor Kochubey' by François Pascal Simon Gérard (1809) [Painting flipped horizontally for comparison] One of my personal favourites. Slightly revised in 2025 to soften hair and repaint irises.

Fun Fact #11

I paint at HUGE resolution

My digital canvas is set to A0 in size (841 x 1189mm or 33.1 x 46.8in) so I can paint details — like individual hairs and eyelashes — with ease.

Fun Fact #28

I restore vintage frames

I repair, restore, and/or repaint vintage or antique frames for large prints and sell them in person as truly special one of a kind collector’s pieces.

Fun Fact #65

There’s more in the bin

For every piece I’ve finished, there’s probably 5 in the trash! Not every piece works out, even after many hours spent trying to get it right. Oh well!

Where can I buy prints or merchandise of your work?

If you’re interested in buying a print or other merch — thank you!! I’m flattered you like the pieces enough to want to purchase something! Currently, there are two ways to buy pieces: in person at conventions in New Zealand or via my Etsy store.

I do not sell my pieces anywhere else, so if you see these images on another website, they have been stolen so please don’t buy from them. <3

If you’re in New Zealand and want to arrange an order, please get in touch through email!:
haleyhylia [@] gmail [dot] com

Buy direct from me and support an indie artist!: