Scott McCloud (smccloud) wrote,
Scott McCloud
smccloud
[Cross-posted with the new site blog until I have a proper rss feed bloggy thing]

Making Faces

The Grimace Project is a freakishly cool facial expression generator that came out a few weeks ago in which you can mix and match any two of the six "emotional primaries" that I charted in Chapter 2 of Making Comics.

512kb.net

The project comes out of the Vienna University of Technology under the guidance of Peter Purgathofer. The team kindly acknowledges me, but credit is equally due to my own inspirations for the charts, artist Gary Faigin and researcher Paul Eckman -- not to mention Mr. Darwin.

Facial expressions should be taught in every grade school. Just because kids can "write" and "read" them through instinct is no reason not to help them understand this powerful communicative tool we all carry around on the front of our heads. Widgets like the Grimace Project could be a great starting point.
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    What do you think about this? I think my suggestion came across as more radical than I'd intended, but it's resulting in an interesting discussion.

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  • 25 comments
joeyweiser

joeyweiser

February 25 2009, 23:36:08 UTC 12 years ago

Wow, this is really neat!
tgeller

tgeller

February 26 2009, 02:12:50 UTC 12 years ago

Awesome! I gave it some press.
smccloud

smccloud

February 26 2009, 04:30:12 UTC 12 years ago

Thanks!
abersager

abersager

12 years ago

  • New comment
ciaranbenson

ciaranbenson

February 26 2009, 04:23:23 UTC 12 years ago

BRILLIANT!

... And creepy ...

I think this is what they talk about when they say that robots have to be just like humans or not like humans at all, or the subtle differences in their facial clues will weird people out - some of the faces this thing can make are almost TOO good.
smccloud

smccloud

February 26 2009, 04:32:46 UTC 12 years ago

Ah, yes. The Uncanny Valley strikes again. ^^
tgeller

tgeller

12 years ago

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smccloud

smccloud

12 years ago

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tgeller

tgeller

12 years ago

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abersager

abersager

12 years ago

  • New comment
tgeller

tgeller

12 years ago

  • New comment
abersager

abersager

12 years ago

  • New comment
smccloud

smccloud

12 years ago

  • New comment
megacoleman

megacoleman

February 26 2009, 04:51:51 UTC 12 years ago

This is fantasic(ly creepy)!
holterya

holterya

February 26 2009, 05:25:06 UTC 12 years ago

Nice. Looks like a really useful tool.

I was thinking much the same thing - about teaching people how to read expressions - when watching Lie To Me the other day. But that sort of knowledge is both fascinating and practical, so I don't know if it would really be suited to a classroom environment. Figure out a way to make it boring, then they'll be all over it. :)

hey..

Anonymous

February 26 2009, 05:59:22 UTC 12 years ago

Hi scott, i've just found this site: http://nawlz.com/ I wonder if you have seen it, if you haven't, you should check it out. its one of the coolest web comics i've seen.
smccloud

Re: hey..

smccloud

February 26 2009, 06:07:00 UTC 12 years ago

Nawlz is way cool. I mention it here toward the bottom of the page, and I'm sure I'll link to it soon.

A lot's been happening recently, but I have to pace myself or I'll have a 6,000 word post right out of the gate. ;-)
conga_chili

conga_chili

February 26 2009, 06:45:13 UTC 12 years ago

Ha!!! How fun!!
nabbit

nabbit

February 26 2009, 13:50:57 UTC 12 years ago

What a brilliant resource, thanks!
mr_cow

mr_cow

February 26 2009, 14:08:05 UTC 12 years ago

wow- very cool!
ext_170581

fadr [myopenid.com]

February 26 2009, 15:30:58 UTC 12 years ago

Hey thanks for all the nice comments from me as well.
xiann

xiann

February 26 2009, 20:09:36 UTC 12 years ago

This is great. I twittered it earlier and a lot of my non-comicking friends loved it too! :D
notevenjonny

Asperger'sSyndrome

notevenjonny

February 28 2009, 18:21:16 UTC 12 years ago

I might mention here that children with Asperger's Syndrom can use this to study facial expressions.

I know of someone using it (Scott's book) in that way since they have difficulty deciphering expressions. Having shown this (Grimace Project version) to them I was told "that is the most useful thing I have seen in my whole life!! Epic!!"
ext_170581

Re: Asperger'sSyndrome

fadr [myopenid.com]

February 28 2009, 23:04:52 UTC 12 years ago

Wow that is so great! I always dreamed of someone making use of Grimace in such a beneficial way. I'd love to hear more about it.

Do you know this?

Anonymous

February 19 2011, 16:11:58 UTC 10 years ago

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  • (no subject)

    What do you think about this? I think my suggestion came across as more radical than I'd intended, but it's resulting in an interesting discussion.

  • Almost There...

    Okay, the new site's front page is almost done, comments enabled and everything. We just need to jump through a few hoops to get the permalinks and…

  • (no subject)

    [cross-posted with the new site still, but hope to have a proper blog live soon] Dylan Horrocks Awaits You The great Dylan Horrocks has…