FAIGIN FACE BLOG : That Mysterious UNCANNY Valley
Gary Faigin
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Gary Faigin
Facial Expression Expert + Blogger, Artist, Author of "Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expressions"
#Modelers and #riggers who animate stylized faces play by an entirely different rule book than those who take on the challenge of creating #facial expressions for hyper-realistic CG human characters. In my December blog, I examine what triggers the #Uncanny Valley using the digitally-created Princess Leia from #Star Wars “Rogue One” as my model.
Facial Expression Expert + Blogger, Artist, Author of "Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expressions"
6 年We're going to be having a lot more opportunities to respond to CG doubles going forward, and I'll be critiquing some of them in this space.? So far the real heavy lifting is on the shoulders of the animator, as Mo-Cap alone isn't enough for the subtle stuff, especially regarding the eyes (see my interview on the making of Thanos). ?
3D Artist
6 年It is an interesting subject, indeed. In my opinion, CG doubles have become pretty close to the real thing by now. Skin textures and shaders are able to do impressive things when you are watching still images. In my opinion the animation is quite often the key why some moving images can fall into this so called uncanny valley. Even if you are blurring all the micro details out and add some digital noise, you are still able to notice that something is off. Smiling lips does not have to be animated from ear to ear an so on. Human face has really small and subtle motions that are barley visible, but you feel them instead. Good points, tho. Cheers.
Facial Expression Expert + Blogger, Artist, Author of "Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expressions"
6 年Robert - Thanks for your comment. And, I agree that Tarkin worked much better than Princess Leia in “Rogue One.” My observation is that Leia triggered the "Uncanny Valley" because: her skin texture lacked enough detail; her eyes were too motionless and unresponsive to her smile; and, her smile did not activate nearly enough of the face (i.e. the corners of the mouth, cheeks and lower lids) to convey the warmth that the scene required. With Tarkin, his skin texture was far more detailed and convincing and his eyes were more active in terms of movement and responsiveness. However, one scene in particular was not as well animated – his gaze was too fixed, his very mobile eyebrows were locked-in and there was a monotonous facial action accompanying his speaking. So, as I did with Leia, I photoshopped an “improved” angry version of Tarkin from that scene (see below). Thanos of "Avengers : Infinity War" is now the new gold standard for a successful realistic CG leading character. You can read my blog posting about the mechanics of his facial animation here: https://bit.ly/2QwLP81.
Great Post Gary Faigin! I have been interested in the 'uncanny valley' for more than a decade now. What are your thoughts on how they could have avoided it in this particular case(Rogue One), and why do you think Moff Tarkin has gotten a better reception than Princess Leia?
Facial Expression Expert + Blogger, Artist, Author of "Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expressions"
6 年Bobby - You may also find this older post of interest, "Faces in Places," about our innate reaction to seemingly-sentient faces on inanimate objects:?https://goo.gl/yZCwjb