Posing 3D Models from Drawing

Inferring the 3D pose of a character from a drawing is a complex and under-constrained problem. Solving it may help automate various parts of an animation production pipeline such as pre-visualisation. In this paper, a novel way of inferring the 3D pose from a monocular 2D sketch is proposed. The proposed method does not make any external assumptions about the model, allowing it to be used on different types of characters. The inference of the 3D pose is formulated as an optimisation problem and a parallel variation of the Particle Swarm Optimisation algorithm called PARAC-LOAPSO is utilised for searching the minimum. Testing in isolation as well as part of a larger scene, the presented method is evaluated by posing a lamp, a horse and a human character. The results show that this method is robust, highly scalable and is able to be extended to various types of models

Animators of Atlanta: Layering Authenticity in the Creative Industries

This dissertation explores post-authentic neoliberal animation production culture, tracing the ways authenticity is used as a resource to garner professional autonomy and security during precarious times. Animators engage in two modes of production, the first in creating animated content, and the other in constructing a professional identity. Analyzing animator discourse allows for a nuanced exploration of how these processes interact and congeal into common sense. The use of digital software impacts the animator’s capacity to legitimize themselves as creatives and experts, traditional tools become vital for signifying creative authenticity in a professional environment. The practice of decorating one’s desk functions as a tactic to layer creative authenticity, but the meaning of this ritual is changing now that studios shift to open spaces while many animators work from home. Layering authenticity on-screen often requires blending techniques from classical Hollywood cinema into animated performance, concomitant with a bid to legitimate the role of the authentic interlocutor for the character. Increasingly animators feel pressure to layer authenticity online, establishing an audience as a means to hedge against precarity. The recombined self must balance the many methods for layering creative and professional authenticity with the constraints and affordances of their tools, along with the demands of the studio, to yield cultural capital vital for an animator’s survival in an industry defined at once by its limitless expressive potential and economic uncertainty

BIM Principles to Practice: Using BIM to Create a New Model for Producing Animation

Computer animation projects, specifically feature film productions, require large teams of artists to manage and coordinate the use of enormous amounts of data containing both aesthetic and technical information within a specific time frame and while using finite resources. Mismanagement through information loss or inefficiency can result in both a compromised artistic vision and a financial loss. This thesis presents the conceptualization of a work management system based upon a successful system used in architecture and construction called Building Information Modeling, or BIM. BIM principles are adapted for use in animation production through the use of images as containers of information. The thesis does not include implementation of the management system described but does predict, based upon comparisons with architecture and construction, that a significant level of information carry-through can be achieved from concept art to final frames and we expect a positive gains in the efficient use of production resources. Adoption of this proposed project management structure could reduce production budgets, improve the communication flow between directors and artists, and develop an empirical based record for predicting the resource usage requirements for proposed projects in the future

Student marketability: enhancing software skills

The government of Malaysia emphasizes content creation for the purposes of nation growth to fill the existing infrastructure. A number of initiatives have been emphasized in latest Malaysian plans. At university levels, efforts were also put to equip students with interests and abilities in the areas of content creation. This paper describes about a training program, as part of student’s skill enhancement. The program which was more like a camp was fully conducted by a key player in animation industry. The paper starts with an introduction to the camp. The model of the camp is described, followed with the implementation of the camp. Two assessment methods of the camp are explained, followed with the camp outcome. It was found that the camp was successful in making trainees feel more interested and confident to be animators, and involved in animation productions

The Making of IT Teachers: Lessons Learned from Animation-enhanced Training

This paper discusses the roles of effective Information Technology (IT) teachers in today’s challenging educational environments. The discussion begins by discerning the teaching and learning philosophy that is relevant and crucial to establishing encouraging settings for learning. Moreover, important components of effective teaching are highlighted that help nurture IT teachers’ skills and proficiency. The making of effective IT teachers was addressed in a lab-based training involving 17 IT student teachers who used a host of technological tools, namely animation. Upon the completion of the training, these future IT teachers had gained the essential abilities in the specific IT domain that can improve their employability – both in private and civil sectors. This training had also honed their technical skills, making them more articulate in handling any jobs that they were assigned to do

Mobile App Development to Increase Student Engagement and Problem Solving Skills

This paper describes a project designed to promote problem solving and critical thinking skills in a general education, computing course at an open access institution. A visual programming tool, GameSalad, was used to enable students to create educational apps for mobile platforms. The students worked on a game development project for the entire semester, incorporating various skills learned throughout the semester. Pre and post quiz analysis showed a significant improvement in students’ ability to design comprehensive solutions to a given problem. Survey results also showed increased student engagement, high interest in computing and a “better” understanding of information technology

Collective Learning Beyond the Cluster

The co-location of industry in agglomerations of similar and related firms is one of the salient features of the contemporary global economy. Over the last thirty years, a large body of theory and case-literature has addressed this phenomenon and sought to understand the advantages that accrue when industries are spatially clustered. Contemporary scholars in this tradition have focused on the advantages of face-toface interaction and the access to spatially sticky information in the form of buzz available to cluster agents. They have further suggested that the development of local conventions and a local idiom facilitate knowledge circulation and collaboration within clusters while perhaps frustrating access to outsiders. The resultant learning views of agglomeration have become dominant within the field of economic geography. In the past decade, however, this dominant view has been challenged by a counterview challenging the idea that physical proximity is neither necessary nor sufficient for economic learning. First, it has been noted that much of the learning that occurs in clusters may actually be organized through various forms temporary proximity. Secondly, it has been argued that knowledge circulates not by virtue of spatial proximity, but through participation in knowledge communities that share a basic epistemological framework and common purpose. These communities may be spatially clustered or may be widely dispersed. The research presented in this dissertation aims to contribute to this debate on the relative importance of physical and relational proximity to processes of economic learning. It does so through a qualitative study of the European Animation Industry and its attempt to build supportive networks and institutions resembling those found in successful geographic clusters, but in the context of a spatially dispersed industry. It demonstrates how through the extensive use of temporary proximity in the form of conferences, market places, and workshops, European animation was able to create a dense social fabric supporting learning and collaboration among firms that were both geographically and culturally distant. The dissertation is developed in three distinct articles written for journal publication. These are followed by Appendix One discussing methodological issue related to the research, Appendix Two providing empirical introduction to European Animation, the object of the dissertation’s case study. They are followed by a brief conclusion discussing the dissertations findings

3D storyboarding for modern animation.

Animation is now a classic medium that has been practiced for over a century. While Disney arguably made it mainstream with some hand-drawn classics, today’s industry is focused on Three-Dimensional (3D) animation. In modern 3D animation productions, there have been significant leaps in terms of optimising, automating and removing manual tasks. This has allowed the artistic vision to be realised within time and budget and empowered artists to do things that in the past would be technically more difficult. However, most existing research is focused on specific tasks or processes rather than the pipeline itself. Moreover, it is mostly focused on elements of the animation production phase, such as modelling, animating and rendering. As a result, pre-production parts like storyboarding are still done in the traditional way, often drawn by hand. Because of this disparity between the old and the new, the transition from storyboarding to 3D is prone to errors. 3D storyboarding is an attempt to adapt the pre-production phase of modern animation productions. By allowing storyboard artists access to simple but scale-accurate 3D models early on, drawing times as well as transition times between pre-production and production can be reduced. However, 3D storyboarding comes with its own shortcomings. By analysing existing pipelines, points of potential improvement are identified. Motivating research from these points, alternative workflows, automated methods and novel ideas that can be combined to make 3D animation pipelines more efficient are presented. The research detailed in this thesis focuses on the area between pre-production and production. A pipeline is presented that consists of a portfolio of projects that aim to: • Generate place-holder character assets from a drawn character line-up • Create project files with scene and shot breakdowns using screenplays • Empower non-experts to pose 3D characters using Microsoft Kinect • Pose 3D assets automatically by using 2D drawings as input

Incitement’s project : Inpactor

89 Páginas.​​Around the world, a great number of people have ideas on how to help their own communities. However, in most cases, these ideas never get the chance to be put into practice and to produce any real changes. To address this issue Incitement, a company founded in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, created a web platform called Inpactor. The platform's goal is to level the playing ground for all stakeholders in the charitable industry and is designed make collaborations between the private sector, NGOs, and volunteers easier and to create a lasting social impact. This is a written report for a 2D animated explainer video with a motion graphics style created to detail Inpactor. The video’s objective is to launch the platform and engage its audience. This report will present the objectives and theoretical framework behind the project as well as the research of the general and introductory history of animation and its evolution to what is known as motion graphics today. In addition, this report covers the creation of the video and the different stages of preproduction

Direct Animation Interfaces : an Interaction Approach to Computer Animation

Creativity tools for digital media have been largely democratised, offering a range from beginner to expert tools. Yet computer animation, the art of instilling life into believable characters and fantastic worlds, is still a highly sophisticated process restricted to the spheres of expert users. This is largely due to the methods employed: in keyframe animation dynamics are indirectly specified over abstract descriptions, while performance animation suffers from inflexibility due to a high technological overhead. The reverse trend in human-computer interaction to make interfaces more direct, intuitive, and natural to use has so far hardly touched the animation world: decades of interaction research have scarcely been linked to research and development of animation techniques. The hypothesis of this work is that an interaction approach to computer animation can inform the design and development of novel animation techniques. Three goals are formulated to illustrate the validity of this thesis. Computer animation methods and interfaces must be embedded in an interaction context. The insights this brings for designing next generation animation tools must be examined and formalised. The practical consequences for the development of motion creation and editing tools must be demonstrated with prototypes that are more direct, efficient, easy-to-learn, and flexible to use. The foundation of the procedure is a conceptual framework in the form of a comprehensive discussion of the state of the art, a design space of interfaces for time-based visual media, and a taxonomy for mappings between user and medium space-time. Based on this, an interaction-centred analysis of computer animation culminates in the concept of direct animation interfaces and guidelines for their design. These guidelines are tested in two point designs for direct input devices. The design, implementation and test of a surface-based performance animation tool takes a system approach, addressing interaction design issues as well as challenges in extending current software architectures to support novel forms of animation control. The second, a performance timing technique, shows how concepts from video browsing can be applied to motion editing for more direct and efficient animation timing