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Stylized Virtual Baby
Article from Computer Graphics World:
"There are times when our perception of reality becomes "more real" to us than reality itself.
'We found that a fetus at this gestation is very skinny and has translucent skin, so the veins are very prominent," says Rob van den Bragt, lead 3D artist. "We wanted a baby that was aesthetically appealing; one that was more of an idealized version. We tried to copy reality as much as we could, but we kept an eye on the artistic side as well.'
The lighting, like the baby model, also appears plausible, even though it, too, is not based on reality. Medical images of real fetuses are usually acquired with a fiber-optic camera and are front-lit, making the overall image shiny and flat—"not very appealing," van den Bragt points out. The Mill's baby, on the other hand, was back-lit in Maya and bathed in warm yellows, oranges, and reds to lend a film-like quality to the imagery. 'The shadows and lights contrast nicely for an artistic, rather than realistic look,' van den Bragt comments."