Stink

Stinkmoji

An adorable face recognition experience to celebrate Internet pop culture.

Introducing Dustink, Khaleestink and Darkstink, three cute 3D companions who joined our Stink family with the creation of Stinkmoji.

Stinkmoji was an internal project we conceived, designed, and developed combining face recognition and 3D modeling to celebrate some of pop culture’s most iconic characters with a nod to Apple’s Animoji. We choose our characters based on the team’s favourite shows and films from the past year – it was not an easy task!

Available on mobile and desktop, the experience offers users the possibility to select and then play as one of the characters. Each part of the face (lips, eyelids, eyebrows, and cheeks) is tracked so the 3D characters perfectly mirror the user’s movements. This tracking is also used to unlock a hidden extra feature inside the experience, which is unveiled when users make a specific facial expression.

To animate the 3D models, we worked with blendshape-based facial rigging. The three characters use the same set of blendshapes, allowing us to quickly link character models to our facial tracker. Then, we built a workflow to reload shade and texture on a model without having to reload the page altogether, allowing us to quickly preview and iterate the design.

We also used matcap (Matiere Capture), a technology that allows us to bring lights and shades on each model without going through a complex lightning setup. This custom shader had a special option of switching between matcaps and creating different atmospheres, allowing the user to easily transition into each character’s “secret world”.

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  • Site of the Day
  • Google Mobile Excellence Award