As The Headless Horseman Said To His Associate…

March 14, 2023

Animals Are a Lot of Fun to Paint

In the few months I’ve been teaching myself to paint, I’ve painted a lot of animals. I’ve painted birds, fish, mammals, insects, reptiles, & amphibians. I’ve painted so many foxes I could mix those colors in my sleep. I’ve drawn so many anthropomorphized rabbits I’ve lost count.

Usagi Yojimbo drinking tea This is my second Pixel Art Miyamoto Usagi, but the total number? No idea.

I love depicting animals running, jumping, or just hanging out drinking tea. I could draw that all day! Sometimes I do! But I’ve been working specifically on people for the last month, and I have to say that-

Humans Are My Least Favorite Animal

Humans have no glorious plumage, no shiny scales, no fantastically patterned fur. I’ve been having fun with minimalist crowd shots & fanciful caricatures, but the moment I try to focus on accurate individual portraits I’m bored. Of course, that’s not the only reason I dislike depicting humans.

Crowd Shot Ask yourself: Which of these figures look “right” to you, & which look wrong? Why?

Imagine Mental Imagery

Part of the reason I don’t like painting people is that we as humans generally have a solid idea of what a person should look like. If I asked you to draw a human being right now you probably could sit down & draw something recognizably human without much thought. If I asked you to draw a Malayan tapir right now, could you do the same? Most people are more familiar with a wide variety of people than a wide variety of tapir. That specific familiarity leads to some wild perception issues ew as people are still struggling to understand.

Uncanny Title for Uncanny Valley

When a human likeness is obviously fake, such as a cartoon, our brains generally accept it. When a likeness approaches what people look like in reality but only, say, 80%, our brains reject it utterly. We are left with an uncomfortable feeling of something “wrong”. When this happens, it is an example of the Uncanny Valley phenomenon. Remember the computer generated Carrie Fisher in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story? That wasn’t even a fully CG character- Leia Organa’s face was digitally imposed on an actress wearing her costume from Episode IV – A New Hope. Her brief CG scene did not fill people with hope. All these years later people barely mention Peter Cushing’s CG revival in that same film, but everyone remembers Leia’s empty-eyed & almost predatory smile.

That’s Just, Like, Your Opinion, Man

Scientists don’t know why we have these reactions, or why some people are more sensitive to the Uncanny Valley than others. People who have trouble with eye contact, like me, are often more sensitive, whereas people with face blindness are understandably less likely to be affected. It is not always so straightforward, which is why scientists are working to isolate the parts of the brain responsible so that they can study it from a new angle.

A Problem for Future Us?

The Uncanny Valley is more than just an issue for movies & entertainment. We live in an increasingly technological world, with multiple corporations trying to build robots that can care for our elderly, police our neighborhoods, or train our medical & emergency staff. Leave aside how well these robots may operate for a moment & think of how people may react to them. Imagine you are in a stressful situation & a robot offers assistance. Right now your choices for that robot’s “face” are an oddly shiny & strangely hungry looking Carrie Fisher, or a simple smiley face icon on an otherwise blank screen. I would prefer a smiley face, what about you?

I did it! I managed to write an entire blog entry with Save Ferris’ cover of Come on Eileen caught in my head! Now it’s caught in yours! You’re Welcome! See you on Tuesday!

Karin Wanderer Learns