Kethelavia: Promoting and branding an original cartoon using interactive website design

How to design and promote a cartoon brand are always interesting questions to contemporary cartoon industry. To the rising Chinese cartoon business, they need to find a suitable way for its continuous development. Through reviewing the evolution process of some classical cartoon brands in the world, the history and current status of Chinese cartoon industry, I have found that, cartoon making is no longer purely an art work, but rather a concept of brand design. Like fashion, cartoon brand design asks for a constant self-re-innovation to meet the change in culture and aesthetic standards. On the other hand, new technology innovations always influence the concept of cartoon and its artistic style. Application of novel techniques into cartoon making has already propelled the cartoon industry in fascinating speed. This thesis work will also review some best examples to illustrate such relationship between technology innovation and cartoon industry evolution. As the main body of this thesis work, I will present my original cartoon brand creation-the world of Kethelavia -to demonstrate my vision of cartoon brand making. Kethelavia has a plot and role design derived from a popular Chinese ideology. It incorporates western graphical design style and popular digital techniques in its artistic form. ActionScript3 is one way of the core techniques that is used to power the interactive interface between the designer and the customers. Kethelavia concept and its products will be promoted in the form of interactive webpage through Internet. Its potential customers are actively engaged to experience the world of Kethelavia in multiple ways online

IMPACT OF A VIRTUAL ZOO ON THE LEARNING AND EFFECTIVENESS MOTIVATION OF CHILDREN WITH READING DIFFICULTIES IN THE INITIAL PHASE OF LITERACY

In this paper, it was verified the effectiveness of a virtual zoo in the learning (reading) process of children in the initial phase of literacy. Pre- and post-test were applied using a synthetic didactic material, in which the linguistic capacity of letter recognition is considered. The pre-test was performed by 74 children between seven and nine years old, 37 girls and 37 boys. Twenty of these children, 12 girls and 8 boys, showed reading difficulties. These children performed the post-test after using the virtual zoo. They were separated into two groups, experimental (GE) and control (GC), with GE performing all phases of the virtual zoo (being, word recognition, syllables and letters of the alphabet), while CG used only the letter recognition. The number of attempts was recorded. The T-Student statistical test showed that the virtual zoo provided a significant improvement (bilateral p ≤0.05) in the post-test in relation to the pre-test. During the intervention with the virtual zoo, aspects of children’s motivation / playfulness and behavior were also evaluated. The results showed that the implemented characteristics acted significantly different in the motivation of girls and boys.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Generating 3D product design models in real-time using hand motion and gesture

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Three dimensional product design models are widely used in conceptual design and in the early stage of prototyping during the design processes. A product design specification often demands a substantial amount of 3D models to be constructed within a short period of time. Current methods begin with designers sketching product concepts in 2D using pencil and paper, which in turn are then translated into 3D models by a design individual with CAD expertise, using a 3D modelling software package such as Pro Engineer, Solid Works, Auto CAD etc. Several novel methods have been used to incorporate hand motion as a way of interacting with computers. There are three main types of technology available to capture motion data, capable of translating human motion into numeric data which can be read by a computer system. The first being, hand gesture glove-based systems such as “Cyberglove”, these systems are generally used to capture hand gesture and joint angle information. The second is full body motion capture systems, optical and non-optical-based, and finally vision based gesture recognition systems which capture full degree of - freedom (DOF) hand motion estimation. There has yet to be a method using any of the above mentioned input devices to rapidly produce 3D product design models in real time, using hand motion and gestures. In this research, a novel method is presented, using a motion capture system to capture hand gestures and motion in real time, to recreate 3D curves and surfaces, which can be translated into 3D product design models. The main aim of this research is to develop a hand motion and gesture-based rapid 3D product modelling method, allowing designers to interactively sketch out 3D concepts in real time using a virtual workspace. A database of a number of hand signs was built for both architectural hand signs (preliminary study) and Product Design hand signs. A marker set model with a total of eight markers (five on the left hand and three on right hand/marker pen) was designed and used in the capture of hand gestures with the use of an Optical Motion Capture System. A preliminary testing session was successfully completed to determine whether the Motion Capture system would be suitable for a real-time application, by effectively modelling a train station in an offline state using hand motion and gesture. An OpenGL software application was programmed using C++ and the Microsoft Foundation Classes which was used to communicate and pass information of captured motion from the EVaRT system to the user

THE REALISM OF ALGORITHMIC HUMAN FIGURES A Study of Selected Examples 1964 to 2001

It is more than forty years since the first wireframe images of the Boeing Man revealed a stylized hu-man pilot in a simulated pilot's cabin. Since then, it has almost become standard to include scenes in Hollywood movies which incorporate virtual human actors. A trait particularly recognizable in the games industry world-wide is the eagerness to render athletic muscular young men, and young women with hour-glass body-shapes, to traverse dangerous cyberworlds as invincible heroic figures. Tremendous efforts in algorithmic modeling, animation and rendering are spent to produce a realistic and believable appearance of these algorithmic humans. This thesis develops two main strands of research by the interpreting a selection of examples. Firstly, in the computer graphics context, over the forty years, it documents the development of the creation of the naturalistic appearance of images (usually called photorealism ). In particular, it de-scribes and reviews the impact of key algorithms in the course of the journey of the algorithmic human figures towards realism . Secondly, taking a historical perspective, this work provides an analysis of computer graphics in relation to the concept of realism. A comparison of realistic images of human figures throughout history with their algorithmically-generated counterparts allows us to see that computer graphics has both learned from previous and contemporary art movements such as photorealism but also taken out-of-context elements, symbols and properties from these art movements with a questionable naivety. Therefore, this work also offers a critique of the justification of the use of their typical conceptualization in computer graphics. Although the astounding technical achievements in the field of algorithmically-generated human figures are paralleled by an equally astounding disregard for the history of visual culture, from the beginning 1964 till the breakthrough 2001, in the period of the digital information processing machine, a new approach has emerged to meet the apparently incessant desire of humans to create artificial counterparts of themselves. Conversely, the theories of traditional realism have to be extended to include new problems that those active algorithmic human figures present

Bubble boy

Love is always unpredictable, especially for those who don\u27t believe this. The story happens in an anti-physics universe, everyone lives in a separate planet. A lonely boy tried different ways to get a girl\u27s attention. He truly believed the girl would notice him. Bubble Boy is a three-minute thesis animation. It is a 3D animation that was mostly produced in MAYA 2012. This paper delineates the whole process of making this animation, from the early stage till the final. It describes my innovations, obstacles, effort, sadness and happiness in this entire production

Analysis of Visualisation and Interaction Tools Authors

This document provides an in-depth analysis of visualization and interaction tools employed in the context of Virtual Museum. This analysis is required to identify and design the tools and the different components that will be part of the Common Implementation Framework (CIF). The CIF will be the base of the web-based services and tools to support the development of Virtual Museums with particular attention to online Virtual Museum.The main goal is to provide to the stakeholders and developers an useful platform to support and help them in the development of their projects, despite the nature of the project itself. The design of the Common Implementation Framework (CIF) is based on an analysis of the typical workflow ofthe V-MUST partners and their perceived limitations of current technologies. This document is based also on the results of the V-MUST technical questionnaire (presented in the Deliverable 4.1). Based on these two source of information, we have selected some important tools (mainly visualization tools) and services and we elaborate some first guidelines and ideas for the design and development of the CIF, that shall provide a technological foundation for the V-MUST Platform, together with the V-MUST repository/repositories and the additional services defined in the WP4. Two state of the art reports, one about user interface design and another one about visualization technologies have been also provided in this document

The Animator: The 26th Society for Animation Studies Annual Conference Toronto June 16 to 19, 2014

The 2014 Society for Animation Studies conference hosted by Sheridan College was from June 16 - 19, 2014. As Animation Studies continues to develop as a discipline, the dialogue that has opened up between more traditional academic research into the field and what we might call ‘industry-facing’ or applied research has become more important. The critical study of animation from within higher education institutions like Sheridan represents one of the many areas in which the industry can grow. Every SAS conference has its own distinct tone and flavour because we are truly international in our membership and we devolve conference organization annually to the host institution. This means that this year’s conference is strongly allied to Sheridan’s industry focus – not least with Corus warmly welcoming conference goers to their HQ for parts of the conference. SAS provides such a welcoming environment for new members, and a terrific forum to discuss animation from a multitude of perspectives. It is within this fertile and nurturing atmosphere that we decided to focus our conference on the animation artist. As a tribute to all artists whose efforts fuel our work, and in the spirit of the centenary of celebrated National Film Board of Canada animator, Norman McLaren, the 2014 SAS Conference is named “The Animator”. Keynote speakers included Scott Dyer, Executive Vice President, Strategic Planning and Chief Technology Officer, Corus Entertainment Charile Bonifacio, Animator, Arc Productions Ltd, Canada Professor Paul Wells, Director of the Animation Academy Loughborough University, UK Michael Fukushima, Executive Producer of NFB’s English Animation Studio National Film Board of Canada Panel Discussions McLaren Legacy Panel: The Centenary Year - Nichola Dobson, Terence Dobson, Kaj Pindal Stop Motion, From Local Community Members - Chris Walsh, Bret Long, Nora Keely, Mark Mayerson Conference Twitter account: @AnimatorSAS2014https://source.sheridancollege.ca/conferences_anim/1000/thumbnail.jp

‘IMPLICIT CREATION’ – NON-PROGRAMMER CONCEPTUAL MODELS FOR AUTHORING IN INTERACTIVE DIGITAL STORYTELLING

Interactive Digital Storytelling (IDS) constitutes a research field that emerged from several areas of art, creation and computer science. It inquires technologies and possible artefacts that allow ‘highly-interactive’ experiences of digital worlds with compelling stories. However, the situation for story creators approaching ‘highly-interactive’ storytelling is complex. There is a gap between the available technology, which requires programming and prior knowledge in Artificial Intelligence, and established models of storytelling, which are too linear to have the potential to be highly interactive. This thesis reports on research that lays the ground for bridging this gap, leading to novel creation philosophies in future work. A design research process has been pursued, which centred on the suggestion of conceptual models, explaining a) process structures of interdisciplinary development, b) interactive story structures including the user of the interactive story system, and c) the positioning of human authors within semi-automated creative processes. By means of ‘implicit creation’, storytelling and modelling of simulated worlds are reconciled. The conceptual models are informed by exhaustive literature review in established neighbouring disciplines. These are a) creative principles in different storytelling domains, such as screenwriting, video game writing, role playing and improvisational theatre, b) narratological studies of story grammars and structures, and c) principles of designing interactive systems, in the areas of basic HCI design and models, discourse analysis in conversational systems, as well as game- and simulation design. In a case study of artefact building, the initial models have been put into practice, evaluated and extended. These artefacts are a) a conceived authoring tool (‘Scenejo’) for the creation of digital conversational stories, and b) the development of a serious game (‘The Killer Phrase Game’) as an application development. The study demonstrates how starting out from linear storytelling, iterative steps of ‘implicit creation’ can lead to more variability and interactivity in the designed interactive story. In the concrete case, the steps included abstraction of dialogues into conditional actions, and creating a dynamic world model of the conversation. This process and artefact can be used as a model illustrating non-programmer approaches to ‘implicit creation’ in a learning process. Research demonstrates that the field of Interactive Digital Storytelling still has to be further advanced until general creative principles can be fully established, which is a long-term endeavour, dependent upon environmental factors. It also requires further technological developments. The gap is not yet closed, but it can be better explained. The research results build groundwork for education of prospective authors. Concluding the thesis, IDS-specific creative principles have been proposed for evaluation in future work

Content rendering and interaction technologies for digital heritage systems

Existing digital heritage systems accommodate a huge amount of digital repository information; however their content rendering and interaction components generally lack the more interesting functionality that allows better interaction with heritage contents. Many digital heritage libraries are simply collections of 2D images with associated metadata and textual content, i.e. little more than museum catalogues presented online. However, over the last few years, largely as a result of EU framework projects, some 3D representation of digital heritage objects are beginning to appear in a digital library context. In the cultural heritage domain, where researchers and museum visitors like to observe cultural objects as closely as possible and to feel their existence and use in the past, giving the user only 2D images along with textual descriptions significantly limits interaction and hence understanding of their heritage. The availability of powerful content rendering technologies, such as 3D authoring tools to create 3D objects and heritage scenes, grid tools for rendering complex 3D scenes, gaming engines to display 3D interactively, and recent advances in motion capture technologies for embodied immersion, allow the development of unique solutions for enhancing user experience and interaction with digital heritage resources and objects giving a higher level of understanding and greater benefit to the community. This thesis describes DISPLAYS (Digital Library Services for Playing with Shared Heritage Resources), which is a novel conceptual framework where five unique services are proposed for digital content: creation, archival, exposition, presentation and interaction services. These services or tools are designed to allow the heritage community to create, interpret, use and explore digital heritage resources organised as an online exhibition (or virtual museum). This thesis presents innovative solutions for two of these services or tools: content creation where a cost effective render grid is proposed; and an interaction service, where a heritage scenario is presented online using a real-time motion capture and digital puppeteer solution for the user to explore through embodied immersive interaction their digital heritage