From observing trends in art, social media, ranking systems, and pop culture, there appear to be two main types of “creepy smiles”: Type I, which I coined The Grinch Pinch and Type 2, which I coined The Muted Shark. Types I and II typically contain all or many of the following features:
We seem to subscribe to the popular oversimplification that machines are less biased than humans; however, if you are familiar with the ways in which machines are trained to read and focus on different aspects of data, you will know: It’s just not that simple.
Anatomical variation is a surprisingly ignored consideration for face tracking/facial mocap in tech and entertainment. Simplified anatomy diagrams are often accepted as universally applicable to all faces and few further questions are asked.
The reality is: FACIAL MUSCLES ARE HIGHLY VARIABLE.
Masterclass excerpt and links from recent webinar with CAVE Academy, via Visual Effects Society.
The frontalis (forehead muscle that elevates your eyebrows) does not always follow the imagery presented in anatomy diagrams.
Currently learning chimpanzee FACS, chimpanzee anatomy, and making custom chimpanzee landmark diagrams. (Chimpanzee landmarks determined by Animal FACS group. Original research work by Lisa A Parr, Bridget M Waller, and Jennifer Fugate. See: Emotional communication in primates: implications for neurobiology )
