Motion portraits

Posted on September 19, 2007 by Melissa Worden

OK. I think this is both creepy and cool.

Motion portrait, a Japanese company, has come up with a way to transform a digital photograph of a face into a 3D animation that can blink and move its eyes, turn its gaze to follow the movement of the mouse cursor, express a range of emotions, sneeze and more — all in a matter of seconds.

This could be quite useful to the gaming industry and social networking sites. But can/will we use it in our industry? Probably not in its current version. It looks too animated.

But who knows what the future could bring. If we’re still trying to do talking-head video in 10 years, maybe this could be a way to cut down on expenses? (Now, now, I jest.)

Oh, and I can’t resist linking to an animated Shih Tzu (watch his head and eyes move with your cursor).

Here’s a sample of what it can do to a still photo: