Gallery: Freaky 3-D Scanning Turns Human Skin Into Art
Photo: Barney Steel, FBFX, Analog0115023353216-ad422b0067-h
Don't be fooled—this isn't any old photograph.
Photo: Barney Steel, FBFX, Analog0214859792297-9769721680-h
It’s a hyper-real virtual 3-D scan of a human body, in this case, British actor Beryl Nesbitt.
Photo: Barney Steel, FBFX, Analog0314859923247-9b9b65b536-k
London-based creative studio Marshmallow Laser Feast used 94 high definition cameras to capture a likeness of Nesbitt's skin, for a music video.
Photo: Barney Steel, FBFX, Analog0414859792857-23a8df4445-o
More specifically, the image is a combination of photogrammetry—the science of taking 360-degree measurements from photos—and panoramic high dynamic range lighting, which is like photographs of light from all positions and in myriad settings.
Photo: Barney Steel, FBFX, Analog0514859681110-9fc5635020-h
Once that visual data is merged, the result is a ghostly, but accurate, likeness.
Photo: Barney Steel, FBFX, Analog0614859631809-1f4bfc42c3-h
At the moment, the Marshmallow Laser Feast team is treating the rendering like a sculpture.
Photo: Barney Steel, FBFX, Analog0714859754379-d54decbcfe-h
Eventually, with more time and money, it could be combined with performance capture, and be a very convincing character in virtual reality settings.
