Jim here. I was awestruck when I saw these images - completely done via computer software and very talented artists. Keep in mind these are STILL images - not a motion picture but it still shows the beginning of what is possible with modern CG technology.
Title: Song Hye Kyo Artist: Max Wahyudi Software: 3ds max, ZBrush
Title: Canny Artist: Lee Perry-Smith Software: Lightwave 3D, Photoshop, ZBrush
I am amazed at the human likeness! Definitely approaching or CROSSING the uncanny valley right now! We are witnessing history here guys. This is big stuff.
**Update Feb 2: You should know that Ain't It Cool News has verified this image as legit through their own sources.
I've decided to post the original photo (on left: probably a small camera photo) from my source so that anyone can play with it to see if they can improve the quality. I am also working to try and get a better resolution image - keep in mind that this source is also very smart - he is being very careful. Good thing he loves keeping audiences salivating!
Also - here is a spruced up image from Ludovic Celle in France (on right: yes - AVATAR is a worldwide phenomenon; believe me when I say I get just as much emails and interest from international readers than from North America) who has taken much of the pixelation out of it.
Send me your enhanced photo and if it is the best out there - I will post it.
Jim here. In keeping with MarketSaw's tradition of being the best site on earth for all things AVATAR - I was speaking to a very interesting contact within the AVATAR production and he has some confirmations for us about previous photos from the set. While this is someone who I have spoken with in the past, this is the first material from him. I DO TRUST him however - so enjoy. Hopefully Fox doesn't ask me to remove it!
More importantly, he provided what I think is the first authentic, FINAL rendition of what the Na'vi will look like - provided by this source who is definitely in a position to know.
Here is what he had to say about the Na'vi: ...their faces are very very reminiscent of Jen the Gefling in the Dark Crystal...(but with a hare lip). They are beautiful, not sexy, just graceful. The problems the boss is facing with the CG is getting the 'graceful' right. Oh, and the whole 'Uncanny Valley' thing.... the view back across it looks amazing from where I am standing.
So it sounds as though Cameron's somewhat recent distaste for what has been accomplished in AVATAR's photo realism is now tempered down to ensuring that his creatures are graceful - which is very important for the illusion of being real.This is good news to me! If the quality of the rendering is there and they are now focusing on movement - the movie is almost there!
Confirmation of previous AVATAR photos:"I can confirm that this photo does have multiple props from varying sets." He goes further to describe what the bed actually is: "On closer inspection it looks like it is from the Bio Lab, not overly sure of its purpose (...he did not work in this area). As will become apparent when you see the finished product, there are many many many different types of 'beds'. Birthing bed / hospital gurney / incinerator gurney / medivac chamber / sleep chamber / transport chamber..." He also says that "the gurney for space travel is normally upright, wall mounted, to save valuable ($1,000,000 per Kg) space on those long space voyages."
So I therefore believe that the chamber in the photo is for AVATAR connection between human and Na'vi. That's my final answer Regis.
He also absolutely confirms that the circular area behind Cameron in the official photo is the military COMMAND CENTER.
FURTHER, he confirms that this image of a military man holding an exotic AVATAR weapon is authentic. Not too surprising as Fox hasn't asked for it's removal. Seems if the photos are real, they let them stay up.
My source also sent along another image from a crew t-shirt - same logo as we have seen before, but this time in a different color.
He goes on to tell us why our enthusiam is well justified:"I have worked on many 'big' films, and normally working on a film ruins the 'magic.' You go and see the film and your inside knowledge affects the way you see the finished result "I remember that, a crane was holding that up with a forklift etc etc".....BUT...The finished shots I have seen gave me goose pimples. Seriously, just try to think how blown away you were by the first time you saw Star Wars, then multiply it by 50. Then double it. Only then will you be 1% closer to appreciating how good this is going to be."
More spoilers: The silhouette on the crew t-shirt, I can confirm is a 'Ray. (The air battle between the rays and Samsons will make quiver with excitement...think ewoks vs the empire, but done right.)
The last photo here I added more contrast and sharpened it up a bit to allow us to see some more detail. The original photo he sent me was very small.
So what do you think of what certainly seems to be a final version of what the Na'vi FEMALE looks like? :-) Are you STOKED?
Jim here. Thanks to Colin over at Get The Big Picture for giving me a heads up on these (I think he has a thing for tall women anyway). You can see the ultra high res shots on his site.
So Dreamworks Animation is getting more serious about showing off their MONSTERS VS. ALIENS handiwork - If you look at the high res shot of Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon) and The Missing Link (Will Arnett) you will see just how detailed their interpretation of human skin is - and I must say it is very detailed.
After watching the video on my post about photo realism, it is kinda different to see this level of detail in what is clearly a stylized attempt at representing the human body. It looks GOOD mind you, clearly they haven't crossed over into something weird or anything - to the contrary. But it does seem to be getting close to the maximum amount of realism within a stylized frame - if that makes any sense.
DWA has clearly spent a lot of time on this movie. It shows. Can't wait to see the final result!
Jim here. Many of you have read about the "Uncanny Valley" before on MarketSaw and some have asked for an explanation of what it means. I would type out a response to them and whip it off to them, but was never REALLY satisfied with what I had said, because I am a visual kind of guy.
James Cameron is attempting to cross this valley with AVATAR in 3D no less. It is a massive undertaking that is certainly having its trials and tribulations over at WETA. I have heard from a number of sources that all is not well with the effort and that Cameron has been, shall we say, "upset" with the results thus far.
That doesn't mean that WETA will not deliver, far from it. I think that they will and it certainly was in the best interest of the movie to delay it until December. But let me tell you that the effort has been monumental in trying to achieve photo-realism for AVATAR.
Personally I have had enough of the stylization attempts for human emotion (Wall-E is nice, but I want to forget that the human on the screen is well, not human at all). Yeah, stylization has it's place but I have seen enough of it as representing the best we can do. I want photo realism. The time has come and man, if Cameron, Weta and Image Metrics can deliver... You will demand it too. You are going to witness history with AVATAR in more ways than one.
A reader has sent me a video clip that does an OUTSTANDING job explaining just what the Uncanny Valley is and how it applies to movies and gaming. Take a look and understand just how hard it is to achieve photo realism:
Title: Song Hye Kyo
Title: Canny
