Whilst running the Character Production for Games module on the BA (Hons) Computer Games Art degree at Teesside University between 2002-2015 I would get the students to build a 3D model self portrait based around a themed alter ego. As part of the initial design phase I would take mugshots of all the students on the module so that they had a base set of reference images as a starting point. For fun, once the mugshot sessions were complete I would create composite photographs from all the head shots to see what the ‘average’ games student likeness was for that year.
Below are the results. As can be expected, with a high enough number of mugshots, you are likely to get an average look which changes little each year. However it is interesting to note that we did have a mix of ethnic origins which was not the same each year. All the students were aged between 19-21 at the time the images were taken. When I have time it would be interesting to see how many images are needed to give the regular average we see displayed here. This is by no means a serious experiment and was purely for fun with the students. It is presented here as a conversational piece only.
This kind of photographic manipulation is termed composite portraiture and was made famous by Francis Galton (British, 1822-1911) particularly through his experiments with composite portraits of criminal types and his ideas regarding eugenics.
Other examples of composite portraiture can be found on this website – www.compositeportraits.com
![](https://pauldocherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/IMG_4381x.jpg)
![2002 Male Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University) 2002 Male Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)](https://pauldocherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2002-Male-Front.jpg)
![2002 Female Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University) 2002 Female Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)](https://pauldocherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2002-Female-Front.jpg)
2002 Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)
89 students (83 male, 6 female)
![2012 Male Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University) 2012 Male Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)](https://pauldocherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2012-Male-Front.jpg)
![2012 Female Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University) 2012 Female Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)](https://pauldocherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2012-Female-Front.jpg)
2012 Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)
73 students (59 male, 14 female)
![2013 Male Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University) 2013 Male Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)](https://pauldocherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2013-Male-Front.jpg)
![2013 Female Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University) 2013 Female Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)](https://pauldocherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2013-Female-Front.jpg)
2013 Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)
69 students (53 male, 16 female)
![2014 Male Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University) 2014 Male Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)](https://pauldocherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2014-Male-Front.jpg)
![2014 Female Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University) 2014 Female Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)](https://pauldocherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2014-Female-Front.jpg)
2014 Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)
71 students (58 male, 13 female)
![2015 Male Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University) 2015 Male Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)](https://pauldocherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2015-Male-Front.jpg)
![2015 Female Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University) 2015 Female Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)](https://pauldocherty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2015-Female-Front.jpg)
2015 Games Student Composite Photo (Teesside University)
93 students (80 male, 13 female)