The Kennewick Man: Morphological Facial Reconstruction

The project was mentored and completed by Graphic Monk Productions, a boutique multi-disciplinary production house and Virtual Production Dojo, a New Zealand’s first, industry-specific training academy for virtual production methodologies. 

The teams said that this study aimed to provide an in-depth look and the possibilities of using emerging technologies in archaeological anthropology and forensic facial and anatomical reconstruction. The Kennewick Man was chosen as the subject and has garnered significant attention from the Native American and scientific communities globally since its first discovery and unearthing in 1996, one of the oldest remains ever found in North America and most closely related to Native Americans. 

After studying the DNA analysis findings and the facial reconstructions of the skull using the American Method as well as the Russian Method of facial reconstruction for race identification and determination, using Character Creator 4 from Reallusion, the teams set out to recreate the morphological facial and full-body reconstruction of The Kennewick Man in collaboration with the studies and research being done at Virtual Production Dojo and Graphic Monk Productions, overseen by Brigita Biondic, Biologist (BSC).

The project looks at a systematic exploration of new and emerging technology and its uses within the field of archaeological and forensic anthropology. This technology offers an opportunity for the scientific community to work closely with artists to quickly iterate a realistic representation of the subject as a digital human and bring animation data to study the nuances of facial and body movements. Furthermore, the emerging technologies from Reallusion can be applied to law enforcement and forensic investigations as sometimes, quick responses and iterations prove necessary.  

You may find the full breakdown on the official website of the academy. Also, you may check out the new courses of Virtual Production Dojo: Reallusion Intensive Certificate - Character Creator & iClone and Certificate in Virtual Production Methodologies.