I also don't like the way in which some of the older in-game characters are being redrawn, and nor do I like most of those which have been added since the game became primarily mobile-focused. If it helps, here's the Live game version of Tandriel I first saw during the Tutorial, in April 2018:
... to my eyes, this image (compared with the 'new' version) far more suggests a traditional [Tolkien-style] Elf Mage - who would, one assumes, probably be even
more wise, thoughtful, reserved, and possibly somewhat aloof than most Elves of any profession are usually considered to be.
The new-style version of Tandriel not only looks to me, unhappily, rather like a victim of cyanosis (that particular shade of purple-ish dark blue is very, very unhealthy-looking), but also far more like a Human woman than any kind of Elf - not only because her face is much fuller than that of a typically very slender Elf, but also because her [presumably pointed?] ears can't be seen well at all. Her hair is arranged in a modern 'layered' style, and her make-up is quite heavy, too - neither of which stylistic choices would normally be favoured by Elves.
In fact, the 'new' Tandriel doesn't look much like
any kind of Mage - her expression is openly cheerful, whereas neither Elves nor classic Mages are known for smiling in that kind of 'wholesome' manner, and I'd even go so far as to say that, to me, she looks not so much merely happy as frankly a bit silly - as if she'd be more likely to giggle or simper than to hand out serious advice or dispense any learned wisdom.
But at least we don't (yet?) have to put up with the full-on cartoon Elves which Inno posts on Facebook and Instagram - those really ARE scary, and I won't inflict screenshots on the Forum... although I will say that the FB one isn't even blue (she's standard Caucasian), and while the Instagram one [which I've seen] does have
faintly pale blue-ish skin, her vivid pink hair highlights, eyebrow piercing (no, really), and huge, anime-style eyes rather ruin that minor attempt at Elven[ar] authenticity! Oh, and she has a mobile device of some kind in her hand, too... of course.
All that said, though, and personal preferences aside : the style of the in-game characters matters far more in Elvenar than in most other games, because Elvenar sells itself primarily on its graphics, which appeal to a particular type of customer, too - in fact, what drew me to this game (rather than any of the many others available) was its particular and
traditional style of fantasy art, rather than the far more prevalent and more modern 'mobile' style of artwork, which is, to me, rather childish and over-simplified - and can also be found in just about every other casual game these days, including
both of Inno's own most recent and mobile-only offerings. Trying to force Elvenar, too, into that graphical style just doesn't work.
There are hardly any (mobile) games out there, let alone within the casual genre, which still use realistic artwork, whether fantasy-style or not, and such older-style graphics do attract a particular type of player. For that reason alone, I don't think that trying to 'update' Elvenar's in-game characters, whose existing images already fit so well into its overall graphical style, is a good idea - least of all in cases like this, where I very much doubt whether anyone was even complaining about the 'old' Tandriel, nor asking that she be replaced with an 'updated' version.
Not all change is for the better - and 'change for the sake of change' rarely turns out to be an improvement. Or :
if it's not broken, don't fix it!