{"id":872,"date":"2026-07-02T09:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isjtar.org\/?p=872"},"modified":"2026-07-02T10:03:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T09:03:50","slug":"o2m-many-avatar-genesis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/2026\/07\/02\/o2m-many-avatar-genesis\/","title":{"rendered":"O2M Many Avatar Genesis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On my first day at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, I was struck by its history, the variety of approaches to fine art, and the institution\u2019s general historical patina. There were beautiful anatomical sketches on the walls, and they made me wonder how I might approach an anatomical study of an avatar in virtual space: a new kind of avatar, complex and endowed with distributed embodiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trusty Manu<\/a>, whom I designed long ago for Delirious Departures<\/em> and who went on to appear in its sequels, Anxious Arrivals<\/em> and Tremens<\/em>, was starting to feel a little stale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I have always felt that avatars conceived as skins – swapped as casually as phone or desktop backgrounds – are not enough to create a meaningful, embodied relationship with your virtual self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love \u00e9corch\u00e9 drawings, so I began with anatomical studies. I found an anatomical scan of a person (a woman, in this case) with separate models for the muscles and skeleton. It was neither rigged nor optimised, but it was precisely what I needed. Not a warrior, not a sexy princess (even if she is perhaps a little too conventionally attractive) but no ogre or fantasy creature either. Let\u2019s call her Anabelle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the models fit together, animating them synchronously gives me an actual layered avatar. But how do I expose those layers? I have some ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On my first day at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, I was struck by its history, the variety of approaches to fine art, and the institution\u2019s general historical patina. There were beautiful anatomical sketches on the walls, and they made me wonder how I might approach an anatomical study of an avatar in virtual space: a new kind of avatar, complex and endowed with distributed embodiment. Trusty Manu, whom I designed long ago for Delirious Departures and who went on to appear in its sequels, Anxious Arrivals and Tremens, was starting to feel a little stale. I have always felt that avatars conceived as skins – swapped as casually as phone or desktop backgrounds – are not enough to create a meaningful, embodied relationship with your virtual self. I love \u00e9corch\u00e9 drawings, so I began with anatomical studies. I found an anatomical scan of a person (a woman, in this case) with separate models for the muscles and skeleton. It was neither rigged nor optimised, but it was precisely what I needed. Not a warrior, not a sexy princess (even if she is perhaps a little too conventionally attractive) but no ogre or fantasy creature either. Let\u2019s call her Anabelle. Because the models fit together, animating them synchronously gives me an actual layered avatar. But how do I expose those layers? I have some ideas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":880,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-creative-process"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/isjtar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/anasidebyside.jpg?fit=1158%2C612","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paeaLp-e4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":867,"url":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/one-too-many\/","url_meta":{"origin":872,"position":0},"title":"One To(o) Many","date":"June 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"This project investigates how virtual and extended reality (XR) performances can challenge traditional ideas of identity and collaboration. Instead of one performer controlling one avatar, what if one performer controlled many avatars? What if multiple people - performers and even the audience - worked together to control a single virtual\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Research and Development"","img":{"alt_text":"Illustration of One To(o) Many Research","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/isjtar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/onetoomany_cropped.jpg?fit=1000%2C563&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":533,"url":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/2022\/01\/17\/manu-avatar\/","url_meta":{"origin":872,"position":1},"title":"Manu Avatar","date":"January 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"For the PRESENT Horizon project we needed a humanoid 3D model at CREW. I tend to avoid realistic characters as uncanny valley, an unease towards things that look human, is not something we enjoy at CREW. 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The EU-funded PRESENT project will develop a virtual digital companion, which will not only sound human but also look natural, demonstrate emotional sensitivity, and establish meaningful dialogue.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Research and Development"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/isjtar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/delirious-departures-2021.png?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":776,"url":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/2023\/02\/14\/max-r\/","url_meta":{"origin":872,"position":3},"title":"Max-R","date":"February 14, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"MAX-R is a 30-month IA that will define, develop and demonstrate a complete pipeline of tools for making, processing and delivering maximum-quality XR content in real time. The pipeline will be based on open APIs, open file and data transfer formats to encourage development and support the integration of new\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Research and Development"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/isjtar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/4_mix-highresscreenshot00006.png?fit=1200%2C1052&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":654,"url":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/2025\/01\/27\/source-of-entropy\/","url_meta":{"origin":872,"position":4},"title":"Source of Entropy","date":"January 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Digital worlds are devoid of entropy. They get loaded, something happens and they shut down. In a way, this is a lifecycle, but there is no ageing, no transformation, no decay.What if we sample a square at a random location and use its transient state, the dust it collects, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Creative Process"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/isjtar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/source-of-entropy.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":789,"url":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/2023\/04\/14\/soulhacker\/","url_meta":{"origin":872,"position":5},"title":"Soulhacker","date":"April 14, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Which role can art and VR play in the treatment of psychiatric patients? This is the premise of the Soulhacker research project. The artists of CREW, in collaboration with teachers and students of RITCS, will develop virtual environments in which neurologists and psychologists (represented by Brai3n, Dr. Georges Otte, Dr.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Research and Development"","img":{"alt_text":"soulhacker dark","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/isjtar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/4-2500x.png?fit=681%2C385&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":902,"href":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872\/revisions\/902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/isjtar.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}