by Sofie Neudecker -

18. Series of Interviews 01

In my recent research, I conducted a series of interviews to delve into the intricacies of individual face perception and the unique emotions elicited by specific facial features. The primary objective was to identify commonalities across various interviews that could lead to broader, generalized statements about face perception. Concurrently, I aimed to highlight the deeply personal and subjective nature of how we perceive faces. This dual focus allowed for a comprehensive understanding of both the universal patterns and the individualized nuances in face perception.

General information about the first interviewee:

Age: 32 years
Gender: Male
Occupation: Freelance Copywriter

1.  Understanding Facial Emotion Recognition:

  • Can you describe what the term „Facial Emotion Recognition“ means to you?

The ability to discern a person’s emotional state based on facial expression. 

2.  Analyzing Facial Expressions:

  • What helps you analyze the facial expression of another person when you see them?

I would say mostly instinct — registering expressions on an unconscious level. Or consciously comparing and contrasting facial expressions with past experiences, for example associating frowning with someone being unhappy about something. 

  • Which specific features and aspects do you pay attention to in this scenario?

Probably mostly the eyes. 

3.  Proportion and Arrangement:

  • Are the proportions and arrangement of facial features important to you when perceiving a face? If so, how?

I’d like to say no but I think they probably are, though I’ve never given it any active thought so I can’t say for certain. Again I think it’s probably unconscious. 

4.  Influence on Emotions:

  • Can certain facial features and expressions influence the way you feel? How do they affect your emotions?

Definitely. I think the more pronounced expressions like smiling and frowning can definitely influence me — especially in terms of compassion and empathy. 

5.  Attractiveness of Faces:

  • What attributes make a face attractive to you? What role does symmetry play?

Authenticity for me is one of the most attractive features of a face, but I think this is more difficult to define in terms of specific expressions and attributes. When I can see that someone is genuine and authentic, and when this is expressed through their face, then I would consider that to be attractive. 

  • Is there a difference for you between the attractiveness of male and female faces?

I don’t think so. When I reflect on the kind of male faces I find attractive they mostly tend to be more feminine in terms of aesthetics. 

6.  Preferences for Makeup:

  • Do you prefer faces with a lot of makeup, very little makeup, or no makeup at all? What degree of makeup do you like the most and why?

No makeup at all. I prefer to see someone as they look naturally. 

7.  Facial Shapes in Everyday Objects:

  • Do you sometimes recognize facial shapes in everyday objects around you? If yes, can you provide a few examples?

Yes. Sometimes I see faces in letter boxes and houses — in the ways that windows and doors are arranged. 

  • Does this recognition affect the way you feel about those objects or the way you interact with them?

Definitely. As soon as I see a face in an object I start to project a personality onto it, and so I feel some sympathy and affection towards it.

8.  Controlling Facial Expressions:

  • Do you sometimes try to control your own facial expressions to hide your true feelings or to display emotions you aren’t actually feeling? If yes, why do you do it, and how do you manage it?

I think so, but it happens so spontaneously that I’m hardly aware that I’m doing it. Mostly I think it’s when I’m trying to hide my disappointment or surprise, but I don’t think I’m very successful most of the time — there’s that split-second moment before I take conscious control of my face, when the real emotion comes out, and at that point it’s already too late!

9.  Relevance to Art and Design:

  • How do you think understanding facial shapes and expressions can benefit artists and designers in their work?

Maybe it can help with infusing inanimate objects with a sense of life and personality. It might also help an artist inject subtle emotions and cues into their work that the audience might not consciously pick up on. A facial expression is an external manifestation of an internal process, maybe designers and artists can use this sort of understanding to externalise and humanise something that would otherwise remain hidden and lifeless.

  • Can you think of any examples where the perception of facial features has influenced a piece of art or a design project?

The first thing that comes to mind is Picasso, though I can’t say why. 

Information about the second interviewee:

General information about the second interviewee:

Age: 23 years
Gender: female
Occupation: designer 😉

1.  Understanding Facial Emotion Recognition:

  • Can you describe what the term „Facial Emotion Recognition“ means to you?
    • To me it describes the technology to recognise the emotions and feelings in a persons’ face.

2.  Analyzing Facial Expressions:

  • What helps you analyze the facial expression of another person when you see them?
    • For me a big part are the eyes, the eyebrows and the way you move your mouth (or your lips and the little, hardly noticeable movements)
  • Which specific features and aspects do you pay attention to in this scenario?
    • It depends on the situation, when it comes to the overall wellbeing of the person, the eyes are the most important to me, however, when it’s about emotions about a certain topic, the eyebrows and the mouth area I think help me more to analyse the other person…

3.  Proportion and Arrangement:

  • Are the proportions and arrangement of facial features important to you when perceiving a face? If so, how?
    • The proportions and arrangement of facial features is not really important to me, because every person is different and so I get used to everyone’s face and adapt my perception to the individual faces. But in general people might make the same facial expressions and they mean different things to everyone.

4.  Influence on Emotions:

  • Can certain facial features and expressions influence the way you feel? How do they affect your emotions?
    • Yes! Absolutely! I think mostly when someone moves the eyebrows
      in a hardly noticeable way, in the way of saying „what?!“ It definitely can be intimidating or confusing, at the same time a different way
      of moving your eyebrows can make you feel understood and cared for.

5.  Attractiveness of Faces:

  • What attributes make a face attractive to you? What role does symmetry play?
    • I was struggeling with this question a lot – and I still don’t really know how I’m supposed to answer it… But generally speaking I think to me the individual parts of the face make a face attractive to me and that is mostly the eyes and the expression in them. Symmetry plays that big of a role, but when I’m thinking of „perfect“ attractiveness, I imagine a really symmetrical face with quite „perfect“ features.
  • Is there a difference for you between the attractiveness of male and female faces?
    • For me yes, as prejudices as this sounds, but an attractive male face is a bit edgier and a attractive female face has more round and gentle features.

6.  Preferences for Makeup:

  • Do you prefer faces with a lot of makeup, very little makeup, or no makeup at all? What degree of makeup do you like the most and why?
    • I think no makeup or the kind of no makeup-makeup is my favourite. It’s natural and I think it’s great when you can use makeup to enhance your features, not put them underneath a 3cm layer of makeup.

7.  Facial Shapes in Everyday Objects:

  • Do you sometimes recognize facial shapes in everyday objects around you? If yes, can you provide a few examples?
    • Yes – today I saw a potato that had a shape of a face. Or light switches – they always look at you.
  • Does this recognition affect the way you feel about those objects or the way you interact with them?
    • Well, somehow I always want to take a photo of them, as a collection of things I see faces in. And in some cases (like with a microwave that for me was a screaming face) I want to give those object names. 

8.  Controlling Facial Expressions:

  • Do you sometimes try to control your own facial expressions to hide your true feelings or to display emotions you aren’t actually feeling? If yes, why do you do it, and how do you manage it?
    • I try sometimes to hide my facial expressions, mostly when I think someone had a weird idea or when I don’t like the food so much, but I am really bad at it…😅

9.  Relevance to Art and Design:

  • How do you think understanding facial shapes and expressions can benefit artists and designers in their work?
    • I think it can teach you the rules, and the general kind of structure of eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth on the different facial shapes, and make you realise how different every face is and all the possibilities to mix and match – so to understand the „rules“ and be able to combine differntly and to think differently.
  • Can you think of any examples where the perception of facial features has influenced a piece of art or a design project?
    • Right now not really, but I’ll think about it more… 😉
by helene.goedl -

19 | Designing A Digital Fashion Garment – CLO3D Tutorials and Program Review

After completing the full introduction tutorial series on CLO3D’s official YouTube channel, I want to share my thoughts on the program and the series of tutorials before I talk about making my own garment in my final blogpost. 

Overall, my experience with learning the program through the tutorials is very positive. Not only is the tutorial series very comprehensive and easy to follow, they also provide free practice files and update the videos regularly to reflect updates in the program. The topics are well selected and well paced in the structure of the tutorial series and everything you might need to get started with the program is covered in the videos.
In the unlikely case that the tutorial series doesn’t cover a function you specifically need, CLO also frequently posts tutorials and videos on their channel covering specialty topics and new updates of the program. Additionally, there is a community forum on the CLO website where you can ask any questions that might come up as you use the program.

My final impression of the program so far is that it is an extremely well thought out tool for professional designers. CLO includes many thoughtful functions and modification options which show that it is a program catering to a demographic of professionals. It incorporates many industry standards, from international sizing options, diverse avatars to Pantone color selections.

I would recommend picking up this program to anyone who wants to add a tool to their repertoire of fashion design tools. As for people without a background in fashion design, I think the program is well enough explained to be picket up by novices, but they might struggle with some functions and applications. 

In my next and final blogpost, I’m excited to report on the process of designing my first custom design piece in CLO3D. 

by helene.goedl -

18 | Designing A Digital Fashion Garment – Preset Fabrics, Materials, Presentation and Customization in CLO3D

I decided to skip some sections of the tutorial series in my blogposts as they are only relevant for internal processes in CLO and would not be relevant to discuss outside of the application context they are used in. Instead, I decided to move to the final part of the tutorial series and explain about fabrics, materials, presentation and customization options in CLO. 

CLO comes with a very extensive catalogue of preset fabrics you can use through your subscription. It also allows you to load fabrics purchased from online libraries. Further, you can customize the default or loaded fabrics in the fabric property editor. 

Using and applying the fabrics is very easy and intuitive. You simply have to select a fabric from the library and drag and drop it into the object browser, from where you can apply it to the entire garment or just individual parts of the garment. This can be done in multiple ways, all of which are very intuitive. 

Customization can be applied to default fabrics and offers the standard modification settings that are used in most 3D softwares in which you can model fabrics. The color editor, in which you can customise your fabrics exact color lets you choose either a self determined color value or it lets you pick from exact Pantone color catalogue. This can be useful for translating the garment from digital to analog as Pantone colours are frequently used as references in fabric production and dying processes. 

Apart from colours, CLO also allows you to import and apply your own pattern designs and customise various things about it like scale and position. There is also an option for applying graphics to garments, which comes with lots of customisable settings, from normal maps to roughness maps and other modification possibilities. Trims and hardware can also be selected from the CLO preset library or imported as OBJs if they were modelled in a different software.  

by helene.goedl -

17 | Designing A Digital Fashion Garment – Cloth Simulation in CLO3D

In the tutorial series of the CLO3D software on YouTube, there is a dedicated tutorial all about the basics of the cloth simulation function and the particle distance setting in CLO. Having used other 3D software before, I am familiar with the terminology of these settings, but until now, I have not yet fully understood how they work and what exactly they mean for cloth simulation. 

The CLO3D tutorial is limited to the basic simulation settings offered inside CLO and only briefly explained what particle distance does in the garment settings. But even this small explanation is already very helpful in understanding the purpose of the setting. 

One aspect of CLO that is interesting to mention in contrast to other 3D programs is that the standard mesh construction uses triangular shapes rather than square or rectangular mesh. This is because the triangular shapes are better suited to creating fabric that is meant to drape over the body. CLO offers the function of changing this setting but it is advised to keep it at the triangular setting for optimal performance. 

Another point that is addressed in the tutorial is the issue of collision. Since 3D objects are constructed of mesh, they can entangle and pass through each other, which is important to know when draping garments in CLO. 

Finally, CLO offers several simulation settings that each have their different pros and cons for different use cases. The settings can affect the accuracy of the garment draping as it is being simulated.  

by helene.goedl -

16 | Designing A Digital Fashion Garment – Critical Pattern Components and Modification Options

In the last blogpost, we learned how to develop patterns from scratch in CLO3D. In this post, we will explore some critical pattern components and the most common way of pattern modification – the dart. 

Previously, we established that there are two basic ways of developing a pattern for a garment in CLO, that is, working with geometric base shapes or using the free drawing polygon tool. As mentioned in the last post, it takes some experience to know what the base shape of a pattern piece should even look like, which is why I remarked that at this point of the learning process of CLO, we have arrived at the point where I would expect people without prior pattern drafting experience would start struggling. To demonstrate the challenges that might come up at this point, I will use the example of a seemingly simple garment to develop – a basic sleeveless top.

Even with an apparently simple base shape, there are critical pattern parts which require some knowledge of pattern drafting to get right. Notoriously, the armhole is one such critical point. The anatomy of the human body makes it difficult to navigate this area since there are a lot of curves and a lot of movement is expected, so patterns must accommodate for adequate mobility in this area of the garment.

In classic pattern drafting, there are usually mathematical formulas that tell you where to place lines and curves using the measurements of your model’s body. When drawing the shape of the pattern freehand with the polygon tool in CLO, you are bound to run into issues as the freehand drawing is simply not precise enough and will lead to messy armhole shapes if you don’t have a lot of experience and a good feeling for developing the shape in the 2D window.  

The most common way of modifying patterns to accommodate curves in the body is the so-called dart. A dart is a small added seam in the garment that takes in parts of the fabric and allows the garment to better fit the shape of the body. CLO also has a dart drawing feature, which is simple enough to use but will be another case of functions that might be too confusing for users without previous pattern drafting experience. 

Dart placement and shaping is another of those notoriously difficult things to learn in pattern drafting. The functions in CLO will certainly offer a lot of help to users experienced in pattern drafting, but might have their limits as well, since darts are sometimes a matter of shaping the mockup garment directly on the body. They not only depend on the individual body shape of the client for whom the garment is made but can also be influenced by the undergarments that are expected to be worn underneath the garment. To put it simply, dart placement and shaping is a whole science in itself and could fill many many blogposts on its own.   

by helene.goedl -

15 | Designing A Digital Fashion Garment – Pattern Drawing from Scratch 

After the last Blogpost, where we saw how already existing patterns are placed on the Avatar, this time, we will start drawing patterns from scratch in CLO3D.  

In CLO, if you want to draw a pattern from scratch, you have several drawing tools that are similar to the tools found in programs like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop or InDesign. The program offers the option of drawing predefined shapes like rectangles or ellipses, or you can draw free shapes. 

The rectangle tool is the most useful for pattern drafting, as most shapes in standard clothing patterns are developed from rectangular base shapes with curves added to accommodate the shapes of the body. But  the free drawing polygon tool is also useful because it with a little practice, you can directly develop the base shape of the pattern piece without making the detour of modifying a rectangle shape. The polygon tool also comes with the function of drawing bezier curves while left-clicking and dragging when drawing the shape. This is useful for users who have previous experience with digital drawing programs but might take some getting used to for users who are not familiar with this mode of drawing yet. 

As with all the program’s tools, CLO also offers a wide variety of functions for drawing specific measurements to fit a premeasured shape. In the previous blogpost about pattern development, I talked about how I believe the 2D + 3D layout of CLO would make it easier to understand patterns for users without previous knowledge of sewing and pattern drafting. In this case, I think it might be the opposite case. I believe users without prior pattern drafting knowledge will find the process of developing patterns from shapes or even drawing them free hand very daunting and confusing. Even though CLO has many useful features to make the process easy, I can see how these functions might overwhelm people who are new to the process of pattern drafting. 

In the next Blogpost, we will take a look at critical pattern components and pattern modification options.  

by bernadette.poessnicker -

02/10 Fazit und finales Video

Ich konnte aus dem Semesterprojekt einiges für mich mitnehmen und bin mit dem Ergebnis zufrieden.
Während dem Ausarbeiten der finalen Sequenz hatte ich das Gefühl, gute Fortschritte zu machen. Das Zeichnen ist mir immer leichter von der Hand gegangen und die Zeit, die ich pro Frame gebraucht habe, wurde immer weniger.

Finales Video

Da es schwierig geworden wäre, für die Frame by Frame Sequenz (die doch recht kurz ist) ein Sound Design zu gestalten, habe ich die Sequenz in After Effects noch etwas gestreckt, und mehrere Durchläufe der Animation aneinandergereiht. Dadurch wurde ich hinsichtlich der Sounds flexibler und konnte noch einen kleinen Abspann hinzufügen.

Export aus Procreate Dreams

Export aus After Effects mit Sound

Lernziele

Besser im Zeichnen werden

Auch wenn ich in diesem Semester noch mehr über Anatomie und wie man den menschlichen Körper bestmöglich zeigen kann, lernen hätte können, bin ich mit meinem zeichnerischen Fortschritt zufrieden. Vor allem die Übung und immer wieder zu Überarbeiten hat mir weitergeholfen und mir auch einen Weg gezeigt, wie ich bei zukünftigen Projekten schneller in die Umsetzungsphase kommen kann.

Neue Software kennenlernen

Wie ich schon in anderen Blogbeiträgen beschrieben habe, bin ich sehr zufrieden mit Procreate Dreams und kenne mittlerweile die wichtigsten Funktionen. Das wird mir bei zukünftigen Projekten zugute kommen.

Mich mit Frame by Frame Animation beschäftigen

Mir gefällt der Frame by Frame Stil nach wie vor und es hat mir große Freude bereitet, selbst ein kleines Projekt in dieser Technik umzusetzen. Bei zukünftigen Projekten kann ich auf dieses Wissen zurückgreifen und es möglicherweise auch auf unterschiedliche Weise einfließen lassen.

Ich hoffe, es macht Spaß, das Video anzuschauen/anzuhören! 🙂

by bernadette.poessnicker -

02/09 Sound Design & Musik

Um die Stimmung des Videos zu schaffen/zu verstärken und die Optik der Animation zu unterstreichen, habe ich mich entschieden, ein eigenes Sound Design zu gestalten. „AMA“ von Julie Gautier, hat mich nicht nur visuell, sondern auch mit dem Pianostück, das unterlegt ist, inspiriert. Mein Sound Design soll eine entspannte und immersive Atmosphäre zu erzeugen und vor allem die Unterwasserwelt widerspiegeln. Hier möchte ich die Stilelemente, die ich gewählt habe, zeigen.

Stilelemente und Stimmung

Meeresrauschen & Wellen
Das Meeresrauschen ist ein zentrales Element des Sounds. Es vermittelt ein Gefühl von Ruhe und Weite. Als konstantes Hintergrundgeräusch erzeugt es eine beruhigende Atmosphäre, die die Zuschauer zusätzlich in die Szene eintauchen lässt.

Tropfen
Die Geräusche von Tropfen, die ins Wasser fallen, sind eine rhythmische Komponente. Diese habe ich mit den Synthesizern und Glockenklängen imitiert.

Ein- und Ausatmen
Das Einatmen zu Beginn und das Ausatmen zum Schluss bildet einen dramaturgischen Kreis und schafft Spannung. Gleichzeitig wird die Thematik Tauchen und Unterwasser aufgegriffen.

Piano
Ich verwende Pianoklänge als musikalisches Fundament. Die Melodien sind minimalistisch und klingen eher sanft.

Synthesizer-Elemente (Rauschen, leichtes Dröhnen …)
Die Synthesizer-Klänge fügen eine mystische Note hinzu. Damit kann ein Klangteppich erzeugt werden, der einen fließenden Übergang zwischen den verschiedenen Parts ermöglicht.

Verwendete Technik
Als Software zum Aufnehmen habe ich Reaper verwendet. Zur Klanggestaltung habe ich verschiedene Synthesizer (KORG) und einen Reverb verwendet.

Zwei Spuren mit Meeresrauschen und Tropfen beinhalten Sounds von Freesound.org – ebenso ist das Ein- und Ausatmen ein fertiger Sound, der hier Verwendung gefunden hat.

Workplace Reaper

Zusammenfassung:

Die Kombination aus den verschiedenen Elementen erzeugt eine beruhigende Klanglandschaft. Die akustischen Stilelemente unterstützen die Visuals und machen meiner Meinung nach einen großen Teil des Eindrucks aus.

Sounds & Musik des finalen Videos

by bernadette.poessnicker -

02/08 Finale Sequenz

Feedback zum ersten Test in Procreate Dreams

Die Konturen, die nicht in jedem Frame neu gezeichnet wurden, wirken statisch und stören den Fluss der Animation. -> Ich zeichne alle Konturen in jedem Frame neu.

Arbeitsschritte

1. Import des Referenzvideos

Das aufgezeichnete Referenzvideo habe ich als MP4 in den Canvas (12 fps) importiert. Die Transparenz auf etwa 20% geregelt.

2. Übertragen der Konturen

Nachdem ich das Video in höher aufgelöster Form organisiert hatte, war es um einiges einfacher, gewisse Details der Konturen in die Animation zu übertragen. Trotzdem habe ich mich aus Zeit- und Stilgründen dazu entschieden, Haare, Zehen und FInger zu stilisieren.

Konturen

3. Shading

Da ich die Thematik Wasser auch in der finalen Animation aufgreifen wollte, habe ich mich dazu entschieden, Outlines und Shading in unterschiedlichen Blautönen zu gestalten.
Entgegen meiner ersten Idee, die Flächen der Figur eindimensional zu gestalten, habe ich mich für ein verschwommenes Farbenspiel beim Shading entschieden, dass die Sonneneinstrahlung von der Wasseroberfläche andeuten soll. Trotzdem habe ich darauf geachtet, Dreidimensionalität in die Figur zu bringen. Zusätzlich habe ich Gaußsche Unschärfe, sowie eine leichte Körnung für das Shading verwendet.

Shading, Hintergrund und Ebenen in Procreate Dreams

4. Hintergrund / Vordergrund

Der HIntergrund soll ebenfalls die Wasserthematik aufgreifen und die Sonneneinstrahlung. Hier habe ich mit unterschiedlichen Pinseln in maximaler Größe versucht, interessante Texturen zu schaffen. Auch die Effekte aus Procreate Dreams waren hierbei sehr hilfreich. Um der Animation mehr Raum zu geben, habe ich den Hintergrund dupliziert und im Vordergrund mit unterschiedlicher Transparenz sowie unterschiedlichen Ebenenmodi belegt.