An interview with 3D modelling and scanning specialist, Lee Perry-Smith by Monique Todd

There is an acute sense that everything is blurring these days – lines and boundaries that were once distinct and recognisable seem to be dissolving in an equally exciting and slightly disturbing fashion. And whilst this is a conversation that has been tirelessly debated, the recent developments in avatars and virtual technology seem to be inching towards a truer [replication] of reality at an astonishing rate.

Lee Perry-Smith, a multi-award winning artist and self taught 3D modelling and scanning specialist, has recently re-launched Triplegangers – a 3D scanning and capture service that specialises in character modelling to help the creation of virtual avatars for film and computer games. Ultimately dealing with our perception of reality and experience through the intricate art of replication, the scans almost look so real that there “fakeness” comes into question. In fact, the word ‘replication’ becomes a term to rethink – if the detail and intricacies of the virtual body keep getting better – will they cease to be replications and become something else altogether?

Always working to extending his art to the fullest, Lee Perry-Smith is currently pushing virtual reality into an area few have gone before … the adult entertainment industry. Here, he reveals his thoughts on replicating the human form and why VR will do wonders to enhance and diversify sexual experiences.

Firstly, what is behind the name Triplegangers?

It means the 3rd, the 3rd dimension, our triple, our digital clone. As ‘Doppelganger’ means a paranormal double of a living person, I wanted something less sinister and more digital and ethereal as a name, something unique… which [these scans] are … they are clones of living tissue in digital form.

When did your fascination with the body and capturing/imaging the human form begin?

When I was very young, younger than most…odd in fact…at around age 5. It was as if I was predestined down this path, every choice I make in this field of research and creativity is intuitive from this strong desire.

How did that interest with the human form develop? Did your focus start to shift in response to your industry experience? Were there specific visuals that inspired you towards a specific direction?

…Yes, in that it became increasingly clear to me (back in 2003) that trying to recreate human realism in a digital form was an extremely complex problem to solve. At the time, there wasn’t much useful hardware available that could acquire it and it could take weeks to craft it by hand, sometimes months, and it can cost a lot of money. So, I built a system that could do it back in 2011. Traditional methods relied on the ability of the artist. Attempts to over come the Uncanny Valley (the feeling of revulsion that we feel when we see a replica that looks and moves almost, but not exactly, like natural human beings) has been the pursuit of many artists and visual effects companies, and they still struggle to this day. 3D scanning and viewing the acquired data in virtual reality helps to overcome the problem but it still falls short as there are many things needed to replicate humans convincingly. So artists, technicians and scientists are integral to solving this problem.

The main inspiration for me is realism. This is always the driving force. Pure art…in fact the technical intricacies used to solve these problems are in art forms in themselves.