Things I Want To Be

This took me a hot minute, but this is my first time posting.

reblog to give the person you reblogged it from a little heart lollipop

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So, I saw this image on Facebook, and it was supposedly showing what Queen Nefertiti would have looked like in real life:

Now, I thought this AI generated garbage was just truly terrible on a number of levels; first off, she looks wayyyyyy too modern - her makeup is very “Hollywood glamour”, she looks airbrushed and de-aged, and as far as I’m aware, Ancient Egyptians didn’t have mascara, glitter-based eyeshadows and lip gloss. Secondly, her features are exceptionally whitewashed in every sense - this is pretty standard for AI as racial bias is prevalent in feeding AI algorithms, but I genuinely thought a depiction of such a known individual would not exhibit such euro-centric features. Thirdly, the outfit was massively desaturated and didn’t take pigment loss into consideration, and while I *do* like the look of the neck attire, it's not at all accurate (plus, again, AI confusion on the detailing is evident).

So, this inspired me to alter the image on the left to be more accurate based off the sculpture’s features. I looked into Ancient Egyptian makeup and looked at references for kohl eyeliner and clay-based facial pigment (rouge was used on cheeks, charcoal-based powder/paste was used to darken and elongate eyebrows), and I looked at pre-existing images of Nefertiti, both her mummy and other reconstructions. While doing this, I found photos of a 3D scanned sculpture made by scientists at the University of Bristol and chose to collage the neck jewellery over the painting (and edited the lighting and shadows as best as I could).

Something I see a lot of in facial recreations of mummies is maintaining the elongated and skinny facial features as seen on preserved bodies - however, fat, muscle and cartilage shrink/disappear post mortem, regardless of preservation quality; Queen Nefertiti had art created of her in life, and these pieces are invaluable to developing an accurate portrayal of her, whether stylistic or realistic in nature.

And hey, while I don't think my adjustments are perfect (especially the neck area), I *do* believe it is a huge improvement to the original image I chose to work on top of.

I really liked working on this project for the last few days, and I think I may continue to work on it further to perfect it. But, until then, I hope you enjoy!

Remember, likes don't help artists but reblogs do!

rb to give your mutuals a silly little paper valentine card and a red heart shaped lollipop 💖

“i would die for you” ok cool but would you swim the paladin strait? without any floatation? just a glimpse of visual aid of me on the other shoreline?

the nerd i reblogged this from has a quality blog & i recommend you all follow them.

I keep getting Taimi ads about “hot gay guys in your area!” My brother in Christ, I am a lesbian. I am the wrong flavor of gay for these ads. And ironically enough I already met my girlfriend through your app

Thanks everyone for the Easter gifts (the same two pictures of Tyler Joseph in his tulip crop top)

nicotine addicted Jim Gordon, yes, but imagine him ripping a bright pink vape at a crime scene instead of cigarettes and blowing the most obnoxious, cotton candy-flavored cloud into the air while he’s working the case.

Batman: “What do we know about the victim?”

Jim Gordon, hitting his vape so hard everyone within ten feet feels their eyes water: “…cause of death was asphyxiation.”

Batman: “you don’t say.”