Systemic Expertise: Instructing Non-Artists on Depicting Human Figures in 3-D

Systemic Expertise: Instructing Non-Artists on Depicting Human Figures in 3-D Nick V. Flor Virtual World Research Lab Anderson School of Management University of New Mexico nickflor@unm.edu like to develop applications that take advantage of these 3-D capabilities, but lack the skills in figure modeling. Certainly one could always hire an artist, but knowing how to model figures in 3-D and to model objects generally, allows one to more quickly explore the spaces of virtual world prototypes and possible 3-D representations. Artists can still be utilized later in the process to add finishing aesthetics. Abstract I use the theoretical framework of distributed cognition to develop a repeatable procedure that non-artists can follow to model 3-D human figures—manikins—on a computer, which are sufficient for prototyping. The approach was not to train artists to be expert human figure modelers, but rather to derive a distribution of abilities across person and computer such that the system of person-in-interaction-with-technology exhibited expertise. These abilities were discovered though an analysis of two equivalent functional systems: figure modeling on a computer and figure drawing on paper. I report a test of the procedure on a group of non-artists, which yielded a high success rate. This research contributes to our understanding of applying distributed cognition to the design of instructional procedures, and to our understanding of the sciences of the artificial. Keywords: distributed cognition; science of the artificial; 3- D human figure modeling; virtual worlds. Introduction Drawing the human figure on paper is a difficult task, as anyone who has picked up a pencil and tried to draw a figure can attest. Modeling the human figure on a computer is also a difficult task, since it either starts with a drawing of a human figure (Oliverio, 2007; Patnode, 2008; Russo, 2006), or it requires detailed knowledge of surface anatomy (de la Flor & Mongeon, 2010; Ratner, 2009; Spencer, 2010). Moreover, one must learn how to operate a complex 3-D software package. The general problem is that of representing an imagined human figure in some medium, which requires a complex skillset typically acquired through years of practice. For this reason when there is a task that requires either human or human-like figures, such as an animated movie or a video game, one hires artists who are experts in figure modeling. The specific research question explored in this paper is as follows: is it possible to design a replicable procedure that non-artists can learn in a short amount of time for modeling human figures on a computer? This research contributes to our understanding of distributed cognition (Hutchins, 1995), and the sciences of the artificial (Simon, 1996). The answer to this question has practical implications as well. We live in a highly networked, digital ecosystem where almost every mobile device, notebook, or desktop computer has a graphics processor capable of displaying 3-d models. There is significant opportunity for designing scientific and educational applications that make use of this capability such as virtual worlds (Bainbridge, 2007; see Figure 1). There are also many individuals that have business and information systems backgrounds that would Figure 1. Virtual UNM Campus Developed by the Author on a Mobile Device—Human Figure in the Center Hutchins (1995, p. 155), provided a guiding framework for answering this research question when he wrote: “…a good deal of the expertise in the system is in the artifacts, (both the external implements and the internal strategies)—not in the sense that the artifacts are themselves intelligent or external agents, or because the act of getting into coordination with the artifacts constitutes an expert performance by the person; rather, the system of person-in-interaction-with-technology exhibits expertise. These tools permit the people using them to do the tasks that need to be done while doing the kinds of things the people are good at: recognizing patterns; modeling simple dynamics of the world, and manipulating objects in the environment” (p. 155). In the context of this framework the research question becomes not can we make a non-artist into an expert figure modeler, but rather can we design a system of external implements and internal strategies, such that the system of person-in-interaction-with-technology exhibits expert figure modeling skills? The Processes of Human Figure Modeling and Human Figure Drawing The task of modeling a human figure on a computer consists of a person (the modeler) and the computer running the 3-D modeling software. The challenge is to discover a distribution of abilities across person and computer, which allow a non-artist to model a human figure in a short amount of time.