Chez Shaffner

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Wasting Time Drawing Faces

This link was passed on to me the other day in an online writing workshop. Since then, I've wasted an inordinate quantum of time playing with it. So far I've probably spent half an hour trying to create an image of myself...to no avail.

Kind of freaky, but you can browse through the images other people have saved, such as the one above. Thousands of real faces are saved on their servers, along with assorted comments in myriad languages. Some are ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends. “The fat bastard down the street,” says one caption.

Other than novelty and wasting away the hours, what utility does a tool like this serve? Well, earlier today I was playing with it earlier to assemble rough outlines of what a few of my characters might look like… Not trying to render their complete likenesses, or anything, but studying the array of noses, chins, lips, and eyes. Kind of a cool exercise to come up with some prime descriptions.

Another interesting thing I noticed is how subtle changes in a single facial characteristic would completely alter the personality of a mug shot. From friendly to evil with a single mouse-click. Of course we all know how the supple human face can contort from one moment to the next. But have you ever imagined how truly different someone could look if he’d been born with a fuller lower lip? Or larger eyes? Test it out and see for yourself.

I apologize in advance for all the time you’ll lose on this gadget…