Face It

A Visual Reference for Multi-ethnic Facial Modeling

Patricia Beckmann Wells

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781136146374
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Digital Media
• Index: Computer Science

Face It presents practical hands-on techniques, 3D modeling and sculpting tools with Maya and ZBrush production pipelines, uniquely focused on the facial modeling of 7 ethnicity models, featuring over 100 different models ranging in age from newborn to elderly characters. Face It is a resource for academic and professionals alike. Explore the modeling possibilities beyond the digital reference galleries online. No more having to adapt medical anatomy texts to your own models! Explore the finite details of facial anatomy with focus on skull development, muscle structure, ears, eyes, nose and mouth paired with side by side comparisons of reference photos, anatomical construction and chapter focused 3D tutorials.

1

CHAPTER 1

THE BASIC SKULL

We are all very much alike—but our faces portray unique difference, as demonstrated by these people who claim ancestry from around the world.

THE HUMAN FACE

All humans have a common ancestry. Our faces and bodies may portray unique differences, but we are all very much alike. a clear explanation of where we all come from is not yet agreed upon by human society—though social and behavioral anthropologists, religious institutions, science fiction writers, and cultural philosophers have all chimed in. We cannot say for certain how and where our minute differences in physical construct originated. We only know that people from different parts of the world show tendencies common to the founding families of their communities. To mix things all up, humans have wandered off to new lands to make families in faraway communities each and every generation since humans could travel.

The author’s perspective in this book is that the earth is one giant ball of meshed genes. In areas where lines of a family have existed for centuries, certain physical attributes may dominate a human settlement. these attributes are further enhanced by the diet of that region (for example, whether meat is a staple), how much sunlight is experienced in a common day, and what mutations survive in this environment. Forensic anthropology supplies us with rich information and empirical data on regional characteristics. these physical attributes are tools for character designers whose game, toy, and film products are now on the world stage. it is more important than ever for character designers to research the communities they wish to portray. Why? the people who live in those regions want to be respected through the accurate portrayal of their physical characteristics. people will bond with characters they identify with. the character designer is a critical link to creating international appeal.

In this text, we explore the unique features present in the human face, and provide comparison to skulls found near a model’s claim of ancestral lineage. We will present models from all over the world for you to analyze for regional traits as a stepping stone into creating your own research. the results of our photo shoot study are fascinating. We consider this book an important snap shot in time cataloging what a piece the human looks like today. In another generation, our genes will have pooled again—taking us another giant step further away from regional identification.

In some cases, we can readily identify someone’s ancestral lineage as having resided in regions around Asia, Africa, the Americas, or Europe, among others. in some cases, we cannot readily identify someone as having ancestors born in or near any region—as the model will show characteristics common to several regions. This is valuable to know too, as it makes us aware that we cannot stereotype a feature to a region. our study will also explore what makes the typical female face unique to the typical male face. structural differences between the two are sometimes very subtle, depending on the individual. We have provided the measurements of every face so that you can compare and contrast features on your favorite models.

The next generation born will make a huge change in our physical identity. transportation has become much cheaper and safer. We have models in this text claiming globally opposite genetic heritage—lineage from countries as far away from each other as ireland and Malaysia, or africa, the philippines, and the united states. We are no longer isolated communities of limited gene pools.

A family from China.

Mother and daughter.

It may appear unusual to you that we are organizing people by selfidentified region of ancestry instead of ethnicity. Race is a recent classification of people, and some consider it an unfair method. Human evolution, racial mapping, and ethnicity are hotly debated topics amongst anthropologists. The authors of this text are not anthropologists. We are artists in search of research material to provide a greater depth to our character designs. We are in search of identifiable physical characteristics typical in some ancestral lineages, whose understanding will allow us to create a believable diversity in 3D character modeling. Our goal is to gather visual information about the many diverse populations living on earth and use this information to discover the rich details that make us each unique race. We do not create this text to identify one ethnicity with tiny noses, thin lips, or bulbous ear lobes. Rather, we seek to celebrate the unique features that provide information about how our ancestors traveled, and how these travels influence character design.

Mother and daughter.

Humans do not have physical differences based on which side of a country’s border they are born on. The border was not always there. And, as in the case of Russia, borders can change in just one generation. So, we will avoid stating that a person looks a certain way because it is a common trait in a certain country. We will instead map our models to different regions in the world, and hope in time to grow a large database of such images that all artists can draw from. For the sake of our study, we will allow all of the models to self-identify their ancestral homes by the name of the country their parents came from. We were unable to cover every country in the world with our small sample, but we do have a disparate sample from around the globe. We hope this is enough to raise awareness of morphological variation in the human species.

Historically, the organization of regional ancestral lineage was based on a method of categorization initiated by Dr. W.W. Howells (1973, 1989, 1995) and his long-term study of craniometric variation in modern humans. He categorized ancestral lineage from six world regions: Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Australasia, Polynesia, the Americas, and the Far East.

Today, the United Nations has unofficially categorized member states into five geopolitical regional groups, and one non-UN member group. These groups are: the African group, the Asia-Pacific group, the Eastern European group, the Latin American and Caribbean group, the Western European and others group, and the non-UN state or territory. The groups span across continents, but Africa’s region stays cen...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Copyright
• Full Title
• Patricia Beckmann-Wells
• Scott Wells
• Dedication
• CONTENTS
• CHAPTER 1 THE BASIC SKULL
• CHAPTER 2 SKULLS
• CHAPTER 3 FEMALE FACES
• CHAPTER 4 MALE FACES
• CHAPTER 5 EXPRESSIONS
• INDEX
• CREDITS