Sung examined 76 masks painted by artist Steve Lu in his 1968 book "Face Painting in Chinese Opera." Sung digitally scanned and resized the images for uniformity for her computer analysis.

On the screen, an animated Chinese opera mask decorated with red pom-poms and pearls moved side to side. Its mouth opened and shut. Spindly fingers danced next to it. But the animation was not just a ...

At first glance, the Chinese opera mask with red pom poms and pearls decorating an intricate crown looked just like an animation. But it was not just animation. It was a virtual mask, following ...