Crossing “Uncanny Valley” from the Computer animated side is hard enough…

But I wonder if the air-brushing of our celebrities will fall into the valley, coming from the other direction?

I think it probably already has.

Becoming perfect is just a few mouse clicks away

There is a lot of hype around Platinum Games’ “Bayonetta.”  When I first saw her, I felt really creeped out.  It wasn’t until I saw this render that I realized what was wrong:

Something just seems out of place...

She’s about 10-heads tall.  Comic-book heroines tend to be about 8-heads tall.  Tall runway models are about 7-7 1/2 heads tall.  Her head is disproportionately small and the end result looks really creepy.

Usually when I draw, I tend to make the mistake of making the head disproportionately bigger.  But that is also because I think that the face and eyes are the most important features.  But in this case, there is no subtlety to what the designers wanted to emphasize – her intelligence!

Left: Original | Right: Fan-altered

“I remember when I first had that image sent to me. To be honest, I found it kind of sad. We’ve spent time in developing Faith. And the important thing for us was that she was human, that she was more real.

“We really wanted to get away from the typical portrayal of women in games, that they’re all just kind of tits and ass in a steel bikini. We wanted her to look athletic and fit and strong [enough] that she could do the things that she’s doing.

“We wanted her to be attractive, but we didn’t want her to be a supermodel. We wanted her to be approachable and far more real. It was just kind of depressing that someone thinks it would be better if Faith was a 12-year-old with a boob job. That was kind of what that image looked to me.”

From: http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/11/25/mirrors-edge-producer-depressed-by-sexy-fan-verision-of-faith/

Finally!  A developer that isn’t out to exploit their female game characters!