People have been trying to make the appearance of three-dimensional movement almost as far back as the first movie cameras. The very first efforts used stereoscopy (more pre-vious-ly), which wasn't functional for theater-settings. In 1915, the first public test of 3D film was deemed unsuccessful, as images presented with green/red lenses detracted from the plot, but that didn't stop people from trying to make 3D films. Polarized glasses are another inexpensive method of simulated 3D, while shutterglasses are a more costly method. Up to 1998 or so, there were approximately 187 3D movies made, not counting porn, cartoons and shorts (which bring the 1998 total to 263). 2009 is supposedly the year that 3D movies really take off, as it has been reported that 3D films are expected to gross over $1bn (£700m) at the box office next year, a five-fold increase on their $200m haul in 2008. There are some really big titles coming, including the "3D drug trip" that is Avatar, and all of the announced future Pixar releases will get the Digital Disney 3-D treatment. But 3D isn't limited to the big screen and big companies. The next format war could be over 3D TV. And now the independent production company MeniThings has released the feature-length movie, Battle for Terra. [via mefi projects, and a bit more on the movie after the jump] [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on May 8, 2009 - 56 comments

M. Night Shyamalan has decided to cast white actors in the main roles of the upcoming motion picture based on the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender. The problem: Avatar featured an Asian world with Asian characters, including Aang, the titular character, and his friends Sokka and Katara. [more inside]
posted by lunit on Dec 23, 2008 - 252 comments

Create 
your 
Avatar 
with
 Face
 Your 
Manga! Your
 identy[sic] 
on 
the 
web
posted by ColdChef on Aug 14, 2008 - 100 comments

With 'Lively' Google tries something more interactive in the 3d space after buying SketchUp in 2006. [more inside]
posted by acro on Jul 8, 2008 - 40 comments

Avatar Shakespeare Lady Macbeth Interpreted by Dame Microsoft Mary
posted by janetplanet on Jul 22, 2007 - 7 comments

Illlustration maker - design a cartoon image of yourself. Or someone else. Hours (or possibly minutes) of fun.
posted by Jimbob on Jun 10, 2004 - 44 comments

avatar creator [note: flash, alternate link]
posted by crunchland on Feb 29, 2004 - 23 comments

Mel Lyman 1938-1978. Mel Lyman was controversial. He was the brilliant folk musician who soothed the Dylan-ruffled crowd at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, the Fort Hill guru whose prose in the undergound newspaper Avatar shocked conservative Bostonians of the late 60s... Many years of collecting, and help from numerous people has resulted in the large collection of articles reproduced here. Some say Lyman was God... others that he was a devil... but most of these articles show him as a charismatic individual somewhere between those two extremes. An exhaustively authoritative page about a very interesting harmonica player who became God. And, man, does this bring back the 60s...(Details within)
posted by y2karl on Mar 24, 2002 - 21 comments

Well, if Dogz and Catz ain't good enough virtual pets for you, now you can get your very own Virtual Pamela Anderson (certain to be popular with 15-year-old boys everywhere) complete with patented "Silicone on Silicon" technology.
posted by Steven Den Beste on Jan 11, 2001 - 11 comments

Who knew the founder of Lycos had a personal website? It reminds me of the homepages of yesteryear. Among his activities, he helps turtles, likes to fly, and has another company that does bizarre avatar bots.
posted by mathowie on Apr 19, 2000 - 0 comments

Looks like Haptek is going to give Ananova a run for her money. Haptek is working on a virtual newscaster. The difference is Ananova get's built on the server and streamed like a tv show. Haptek renders the character on your machine. Which is better? We'll see.
posted by triptych on Mar 6, 2000 - 3 comments