3D performance capture for facial animation

This work describes how a photogrammetry based 3D capture system can be used as an input device for animation. The 3D Dynamic Capture System is used to capture the motion of a human face, which is extracted from a sequence of 3D models captured at TV frame rate. Initially the positions of a set of landmarks on the face are extracted. These landmarks are then used to provide motion data in two different ways. First, a high level description of the movements is extracted, and these can be used as input to a procedural animation package (i.e. CreaToon). Second the landmarks can be used as registration points for a conformation process where the model to be animated is modified to match the captured model. This approach gives a new sequence of models, which have the structure of the drawn model but the movement of the captured sequence

Mimicing 3D Transformations of Emotional Stylised Animation with Minimal 2D Input

In this paper we introduce a novel approach to assist a graphical artist throughout the creation of traditional facial animation. We focus on eliminating the time-consuming process of drawing all the emotions of a character, which has to be seen from different viewpoints. Furthermore, we aim at preserving the animator's freedom of expressing the artistic style he is bearing in mind. To establish these goals, we introduce the concept of facial emotion channels, of which each represents a facial part expressing an emotion. Furthermore, we present a novel approach through which an emotionally meaningful 2D facial expression from one point of view can be created from a reference expression from another point of view. The provided solution is easy to use and empowers a much quicker cartoon production, without hampering the animation artists' creativity