# Check out this freaky virtual head! (non-sexual, sorry) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 22, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487 "2007-08-22T13:16:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/1 "2007-08-22T13:16:56Z")
[http://www.motionportrait.com/e/about/TIminoriHair.swf](http://www.motionportrait.com/e/about/TIminoriHair.swf) ---
**Author:** ![Kricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f14d63/32.png) [@Kricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kricket)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/2 "2007-08-22T13:25:29Z")
Ack! That is just creepy. I’m not sure why it gives me the creeps. Maybe something with her eyes? ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/3 "2007-08-22T13:26:29Z")
Wow! That is, indeed, freaky. It’s hovering around the uncanny valley, but I think it’s actually starting to work it’s way up the other side. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/4 "2007-08-22T13:40:55Z")
She needs to get some sleep. Why are her eyes so bloodshot? ---
**Author:** ![Wonderwall6129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Wonderwall6129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonderwall6129)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/5 "2007-08-22T13:52:23Z")
^^Yeah, beowulff is right…what’s she been up to? ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/6 "2007-08-22T13:55:08Z")
She’s staring at my soul! ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/7 "2007-08-22T13:58:18Z")
[QUOTE=Kricket] Ack! That is just creepy. I’m not sure why it gives me the creeps. Maybe something with her eyes? [/QUOTE] It’s creepy because of the “uncanny valley” **CaerieD** mentioned: > **[Uncanny valley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_Valley)** > > The uncanny valley effect is a hypothesized psychological and aesthetic relation between an object's degree of resemblance to a human being and the emotional response to the object. The uncanny valley hypothesis predicts that an entity appearing almost human will elicit uncanny or eerie feelings in viewers. Examples of the phenomenon exist among robots, animatronics, and lifelike dolls as well as visuals produced by 3D computer animation and predominantly by artificial intelligence. The increas... I agree it’s on the far side of the valley, some tweaking might take her out of there. I did some searching on the company that made this yesterday, and IIRC they are actually claiming to make these from a single digital photo. If that’s true, it’s quite an accomplishment. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/8 "2007-08-22T14:18:57Z")
I can’t view it, or see it…I’ll try it at home. Any other links possible? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/9 "2007-08-22T14:19:15Z")
That’s amazing! But there’s no way they could have gotten it from _one_ photograph. Look at the neck. And it’s not particularly creepy at all. It is most certainly not as creepy as [these](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=430813). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/10 "2007-08-22T14:34:52Z")
can’t sleep - freaky virtual head will eat me. [QUOTE=Sunspace] That’s amazing! But there’s no way they could have gotten it from _one_ photograph. Look at the neck. [/QUOTE] I think it’s a mosaic of retouched photo textures over a 3D rendered mesh. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/11 "2007-08-22T14:38:16Z")
Right click and select ‘zoom in’. Her eyes are very bloodshot. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/12 "2007-08-22T14:53:23Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] That’s amazing! But there’s no way they could have gotten it from _one_ photograph. Look at the neck. [/QUOTE] Actually, looking at the neck, you can see where the illusion doesn’t quite work and how it _is_ just one photo. When you move your mouse upwards, she looks up and her chin rises, but you’re not seeing any new areas of neck below it - it just stretches what you already can see, as if she has a big wattle - which is obviously not the case. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/13 "2007-08-22T14:57:12Z")
Her eyes follow the mouse!!! Very freaky. (I assume everyone else figured this out, but it took me a while). ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/14 "2007-08-22T14:58:30Z")
And wouldn’t her hair move more if it were more than one photo? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/15 "2007-08-22T15:03:47Z")
So…this is a computer animation of an actual person, not an artist’s creation of a person from scratch, right? That’s probably why it’s just on the far side of the uncanny valley. Little things, like the teeny mole on her left collarbone, the imperfection on her chin and the skin creases in her neck, make it okay. Other little things, like her oddly “perfect” teeth, make it wrong. In general, it’s her mouth that’s wrong, IMHO. She manages to crawl out of the uncanny valley while looking around, but then she twitches her lips and smiles slightly, and the muscles and teeth are just not right. Guess that’s why photo-realistic animation still fails once they speak. Her lower eyelids don’t move up to meet her upper lids when she blinks, either. And her hair doesn’t move, it stretches. That’s just wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/16 "2007-08-22T15:11:39Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Actually, looking at the neck, you can see where the illusion doesn’t quite work and how it _is_ just one photo. When you move your mouse upwards, she looks up and her chin rises, but you’re not seeing any new areas of neck below it - it just stretches what you already can see, as if she has a big wattle - which is obviously not the case. [/QUOTE] Also, note that when she’s looking all the way to one side or another, one cannot see more of her hair (as you would if it were a “real” 3D model). It never shows more of her hair than it does when she’s looking straight-on. I hope there will be a web page to upload our own pics at some point. What a great effect from such little data. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/17 "2007-08-22T15:13:26Z")
Kinda cute, looks like she needs to get some sleep. Yeah, call me back when there’s a full-body version 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/18 "2007-08-22T15:22:44Z")
here’s a better implementation of some of the same concepts: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/nice6NYb_WA/hqdefault.jpg "3D morphable model face animation") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nice6NYb_WA) ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/19 "2007-08-22T16:07:36Z")
[hijack] What is that haircut called? I want that haircut! [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487/20 "2007-08-22T16:24:13Z")
[QUOTE=SnakesCatLady] [hijack] What is that haircut called? I want that haircut! [/hijack] [/QUOTE] I’d call it a long razor cut shag. Screen cap it, print it out and take it with you to the salon, and it won’t matter what you call it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-out-this-freaky-virtual-head-non-sexual-sorry/416487.md?page=2)