While generally considered to be attractive, large pupils are known to substantially reduce visual quality 1 due to the induction of higher order aberrations.
Meanwhile, most characters have pupil sizes and palpebral fissure lengths, used here as a measure for eye size, that are 2–3 times larger than normal reference values and the pupil sizes of female characters tend to be twice that of male characters. Consequently, animated neck muscles ought to be stronger as well, especially since necks are often drawn thinner than reality as well.
Shifty eyes homer full#
It is more likely, however, that the eye holes in their masks are covered by a coloured, transparent material.Ī cursory analysis of 100 randomly selected animated characters ( 44 males, 56 females) of varying ethnic backgrounds ( 56 Caucasian, 38 non-Caucasian, 1 god, 2 humanoid aliens, and 3 androids data and calculations in Supplement), estimated using full frontal illustrations combined with body length estimates obtained from the Internet, showed that nearly every character has a head that is larger than expected based on normal proportions.
or stromal haze, resulting in blindness (not unexpected in a bat). When these holes are white, as seen in e.g., Batman, this may suggest conjunctivalization, sclerocornea. Finally, in masked characters the eyes are often shown as empty white, grey or black holes in the mask where the eyes would be ( Figure 1d). Alternatively, this could mean that the eye is based on a pinhole, as can be seen in sea creatures like a nautilus. In humans, this situation is only found in highly pathological eyes, such as when the cornea is severely conjunctivalised, after an osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis or type 2 Boston keratoprosthesis. The simplest eyes depict only the pupil (e.g., Tintin Figure 1c). Characters could also have very dark irises, micro-cornea, sub-total sclerocornea, wear white contact lenses or have received a corneal prosthesis in stories in which the central dot never changes size. Consequently, characters with this type of ocular anatomy are likely to have extremely light irises. Although these dots may depict the iris, they are often relatively small and may change size depending on emotional state, suggesting that the dot must be the pupil. Further abstraction is a white sclera with a small, central black dot, which is by far the most popular design (e.g., Garfield, The Simpsons, South Park, Doraemon. The design that is closest to actual human eyes, both physiologically and functionally, is the combination of a sclera, iris, and pupil ( Figure 1a) found in most Disney characters, modern computer-animation, and in many Japanese anime. In this work, we examine the ocular anatomy of well-known humanoid characters and assess the visual quality as well as potential disabilities that they experience, assuming that they are confined to the same restrictions as normal human physiology.Īnimated eyes come in a large anatomical variety that may be divided according to an increasing degree of abstraction. We, therefore, hypothesise that the visual function of the majority of cartoon characters is profoundly impaired. Eyes play a major role in these expressions, which consequently led artists to design their characters’ eyes as very large and distinctive, but often in ways that are not physiologically accurate and may come at the expense of visual function. This simplification, along with artistic design, necessitates an alternative visual language based on making exaggerated facial expressions to convey the same basic emotions that would have been easily portrayed by human actors. Characters like Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny became world-famous, and even the earliest cartoons in which they featured are still being watched today.Īesthetically, the facial features of animated characters tend to be simplified, given that artwork had to be hand-drawn until relatively recently. Animation can tell fantastical stories that do not depend on the physical abilities of human actors. Since, unlike traditional live-action cinema, it does not require a physical set or filming location artists are only limited by their own imagination and graphical talents.
Animated movies have captivated audiences around the world since their first appearance in the early 20 th Century.
0 kommentar(er)
