smidgy: Face Transformer

April 11, 2007

Face Transformer

Natalie Portman photo by Andrew Eccles

Ok so most people when they hear about St Andrews in Scotland think about the revered temple of golf, but not everyone there is walking around with plaid pants and a bag full of clubs. The folks at the Perception Laboratory at the University of St Andrews have created quite a nifty little application called The Face Transformer. The concept is simple: upload a head shot, select the eyes and mouth in the image then choose from different types such as "Afro-Caribean" or "East-Asian". Although the end result certainly won't match a Photoshop master spending entire days retouching an image, it is for the most part surprisingly good, especially considering the fact it is fully automated.

I couldn't resist taking a celebrity photo and applying some transformations. Hopefully, Natalie Portman, her entourage or the original photographer may actually find this mildly entertaining and not come after smidgy like famished vultures swooping down on fresh kill. At least I didn't include the "Manga" or "Ape" transformations, that should count for something.