The Uncanny Valley
The uncanny valley is the point between something being obviously not human, and it being human. This valley can cause viewers to become distraught as they try to wrap their heads around what they have seen. Animators for both movies and video games have been struggling with this for a while. One telltale sign to look for whether or not a character falls into this is to watch its movement. If the appearance of the character is meticulously accurate, but the movement is just subpar, it will fall into the uncanny valley. However, if the movement of the character is done incredibly well, but the appearance does not seem to fit the context of its environment, it will also fall into the uncanny valley.
One of the simplest and commonly used ways to avoid the uncanny valley is to use humanoid characters, but give them non-humanoid characteristics. Once the concept art has been completed, other teams can focus on near perfect animation, another integral step of avoiding the uncanny valley
Valve's latest release Artifact has two creatures that do not come close to the uncanny valley. Lux, the blue imp, is a character with human form (two arms and legs, a torso, and traditional head features), but with the addition of two horns and wings, as well as changing the head features a small amount. This would include the longer ears, the fangs, the pointy nose, the tail, and the shape of the face itself.
The animation of a character is also as critical as the image of the character. The animations need to show that the characters have emotion and are not simply robots (unless they are actually robots), the first gif shows this. The animation also needs to make sense in terms of physics. The second image shows Lux blocking a barrage of arrows, Lux's body moves with each arrow pierce on the shield. Physically, this makes sense as the arrows would each carry its own force and push whoever is blocking them back. The first two images are the animations of Lux when an event occurs, which is good; however, when there is not much going on and the players are thinking the imps still need to feel alive. The third image is an animation that occurs simply when the players are thinking about their next move, this helps stop the characters just sitting there doing nothing. All of these animations are extremely well done and help the character seem alive. Overall, I feel that Lux would land on the high right side of the movement graph as it's movement physically makes sense and most humans could do most of the movements Lux does, excluding the ones that require its non-human features. On the appearance graph, I feel Lux would fall middle-lower middle-right side of the graph as it has many human characteristics, but enough changes to keep Lux out of the uncanny valley.
Avoiding the Uncanny Valley: Pre-Existing Character
One of the simplest and commonly used ways to avoid the uncanny valley is to use humanoid characters, but give them non-humanoid characteristics. Once the concept art has been completed, other teams can focus on near perfect animation, another integral step of avoiding the uncanny valley
Valve's latest release Artifact has two creatures that do not come close to the uncanny valley. Lux, the blue imp, is a character with human form (two arms and legs, a torso, and traditional head features), but with the addition of two horns and wings, as well as changing the head features a small amount. This would include the longer ears, the fangs, the pointy nose, the tail, and the shape of the face itself.
The animation of a character is also as critical as the image of the character. The animations need to show that the characters have emotion and are not simply robots (unless they are actually robots), the first gif shows this. The animation also needs to make sense in terms of physics. The second image shows Lux blocking a barrage of arrows, Lux's body moves with each arrow pierce on the shield. Physically, this makes sense as the arrows would each carry its own force and push whoever is blocking them back. The first two images are the animations of Lux when an event occurs, which is good; however, when there is not much going on and the players are thinking the imps still need to feel alive. The third image is an animation that occurs simply when the players are thinking about their next move, this helps stop the characters just sitting there doing nothing. All of these animations are extremely well done and help the character seem alive. Overall, I feel that Lux would land on the high right side of the movement graph as it's movement physically makes sense and most humans could do most of the movements Lux does, excluding the ones that require its non-human features. On the appearance graph, I feel Lux would fall middle-lower middle-right side of the graph as it has many human characteristics, but enough changes to keep Lux out of the uncanny valley.
Avoiding the Uncanny Valley: Real Life Object
I found my object when I was getting lunch with some friends. One of them had this odd looking puff-ball attached to their key chain and I thought "What a great idea for a character!" This character completely throws the humanoid aspect out the window, which is completely fine, the less human it is, the less chance it has of passing into the uncanny valley. With this character, I would simply add two eyes to it and 4 legs. Now instead of this lifeless ball of fluff, you have this adorable semi-hamster creature that is as cuddly as it is floofy.
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