People have a tendency to apply human characteristics to animals, i.e anthropomorphisation. With this in mind, along with the ever increasing number of CGI animals in animated media today, this paper examines whether or not perceived eeriness of a 3D cat model increases when there is a mismatch between realism/stylisation in the style of the model and the animation presented. The familiarity a person has towards something increases as that something becomes more human-like, but at a certain point, familiarity dips into what is known as the Uncanny Valley. In this study we research whether or not this phenomenon is exacerbated when a mismatch between a realistic model and stylised animation is applied, or vice versa, using both quantitative and qualitative data. Our results indicate that there is in fact an increase in uncanniness when a mismatch is present, especially on the realistic model, though future work is required tomake a definitive link. / <p>Det finns övrigt digitalt material (t.ex. film-, bild- eller ljudfiler) eller modeller/artefakter tillhörande examensarbetet som ska skickas till arkivet.</p>

This study investigates the relationship between the uncanny valley effect and perceived facial expressions in anthropomorphized virtual animals. This thesis builds upon previous research by the author in the hopes of addressing previously identified limitations and reinforcing the data of the earlier study. The aim is to examine whether the uncanny valley effect can be triggered by a mismatch between realistic and stylized facial animations applied to a realistic or stylized 3D animal, and if this effect varies depending on the expression portrayed. A research questionnaire was used to assess whether participants experience uncanniness when there is a discrepancy between the level of realism and stylization in the animation of virtual animals. The findings of the study indicated that the hypothesis is true even with the additional improvements and greater scrutiny concluding that the study will contribute to the understanding of the uncanny valley effect in relation to anthropomorphized virtual animals.