Appearance-design interfaces and tools for computer cinematography: Evaluation and application

We define appearance design as the creation and editing of scene content such as lighting and surface materials in computer graphics. The appearance design process takes a significant amount of time relative to other production tasks and poses difficult artistic challenges. Many user interfaces have been proposed to make appearance design faster, easier, and more expressive, but no formal validation of these interfaces had been published prior to our body of work. With a focus on novice users, we present a series of investigations into the strengths and weaknesses of various appearance design user interfaces. In particular, we develop an experimental methodology for the evaluation of representative user interface paradigms in the areas of lighting and material design. We conduct three user studies having subjects perform design tasks under controlled conditions. In these studies, we discover new insight into the effectiveness of each paradigm for novices measured by objective performance as well as subjective feedback. We also offer observations on common workflow and capabilities of novice users in these domains. We use the results of our lighting study to develop a new representation for artistic control of lighting, where light travels along nonlinear paths

The young Van Dyck’s fingerprint : a technical approach to assess the authenticity of a disputed painting

The painting Saint Jerome, part of the collection of the Maagdenhuis Museum (Antwerp, Belgium), is attributed to the young Anthony van Dyck (1613–1621) with reservations. The painting displays remarkable compositional and iconographic similarities with two early Van Dyck works (1618–1620) now in Museum Boijmans van Beuningen (Rotterdam) and Nationalmuseum (Stockholm). Despite these similarities, previous art historical research did not result in a clear attribution to this master. In this study, the work’s authenticity as a young Van Dyck painting was assessed from a technical perspective by employing a twofold approach. First, technical information on Van Dyck’s materials and techniques, here identified as his fingerprint, were defined based on a literature review. Second, the materials and techniques of the questioned Saint Jerome painting were characterized by using complementary imaging techniques: infrared reflectography, X-ray radiography and macro X-ray fluorescence scanning. The insights from this non-invasive research were supplemented with analysis of a limited number of cross-sections by means of field emission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that the questioned painting’s materials and techniques deviate from Van Dyck’s fingerprint, thus making the authorship of this master very unlikely

Toward Evaluating Lighting Design Interface Paradigms for Novice Users

Lighting design is a complex and fundamental task in computer cinematography, involving adjustment of light parameters to define final scene appearance. Many lighting interfaces have been proposed to improve lighting design work flow. These paradigms exist in three paradigm categories: direct light parameter manipulation, indirect light feature manipulation (e.g., shadow dragging), and goal-based optimization of light through painting. To this date, no formal evaluation of the relative effectiveness of these methods has been performed. In this paper, we present a first step toward evaluating the three paradigms in the form of a user study with novice users. We focus our evaluation on simple tasks that directly affect lighting features, such as highlights, shadows and intensity gradients, in scenes with up to 2 point lights and 5 objects under direct illumination. We perform quantitative experiments to measure relative efficiency between interfaces together with qualitative input to explore the intuitiveness of the paradigms. Our results indicate that paint-based goal specification is more cumbersome than either direct or indirect manipulation. Furthermore, our investigation suggests improvements to not only the implementation of the paradigms, but also overall paradigm structure for further exploration

Shadows of Time: Content creation for the Performance art installation

Shadows of Time is a non-linear narrative video installation which would be used as a backdrop for the larger performance event. The content creation for the performance was undergone a series of process to achieve the style which was decided by the team. The installation will showcase only the photographs of architectural details of Tombs which would depict symbolically the different phases of her life such as Hayat Bakshi’s timeline, her husband’s death, her thoughts about future following her death and finally showcasing the present scenario. In the process, I explored various style of image processing, methods and processes of filmmaking, different kind of treatments in order to achieve the required output as per the decided framework. The result is an eight-minute video narrative projection without dialogues along with the composed music and set design. The final installation event would be a collaboration with the performance artists along with other interactive installations contributed by other members in the team

Analyse de l'espace des chemins pour la composition des ombres et lumières

La réalisation des films d'animation 3D s'appuie de nos jours sur les techniques de rendu physiquement réaliste, qui simulent la propagation de la lumière dans chaque scène. Dans ce contexte, les graphistes 3D doivent jouer avec les effets de lumière pour accompagner la mise en scène, dérouler la narration du film, et transmettre son contenu émotionnel aux spectateurs. Cependant, les équations qui modélisent le comportement de la lumière laissent peu de place à l'expression artistique. De plus, l'édition de l'éclairage par essai-erreur est ralentie par les longs temps de rendu associés aux méthodes physiquement réalistes, ce qui rend fastidieux le travail des graphistes. Pour pallier ce problème, les studios d'animation ont souvent recours à la composition, où les graphistes retravaillent l'image en associant plusieurs calques issus du processus de rendu. Ces calques peuvent contenir des informations géométriques sur la scène, ou bien isoler un effet lumineux intéressant. L'avantage de la composition est de permettre une interaction en temps réel, basée sur les méthodes classiques d'édition en espace image. Notre contribution principale est la définition d'un nouveau type de calque pour la composition, le calque d'ombre. Un calque d'ombre contient la quantité d'énergie perdue dans la scène à cause du blocage des rayons lumineux par un objet choisi. Comparée aux outils existants, notre approche présente plusieurs avantages pour l'édition. D'abord, sa signification physique est simple à concevoir : lorsque l'on ajoute le calque d'ombre et l'image originale, toute ombre due à l'objet choisi disparaît. En comparaison, un masque d'ombre classique représente la fraction de rayons bloqués en chaque pixel, une information en valeurs de gris qui ne peut servir que d'approximation pour guider la composition. Ensuite, le calque d'ombre est compatible avec l'éclairage global : il enregistre l'énergie perdue depuis les sources secondaires, réfléchies au moins une fois dans la scène, là où les méthodes actuelles ne considèrent que les sources primaires. Enfin, nous démontrons l'existence d'une surestimation de l'éclairage dans trois logiciels de rendu différents lorsque le graphiste désactive les ombres pour un objet ; notre définition corrige ce défaut. Nous présentons un prototype d'implémentation des calques d'ombres à partir de quelques modifications du Path Tracing, l'algorithme de choix en production. Il exporte l'image originale et un nombre arbitraire de calques d'ombres liés à différents objets en une passe de rendu, requérant un temps supplémentaire de l'ordre de 15% dans des scènes à géométrie complexe et contenant plusieurs milieux participants. Des paramètres optionnels sont aussi proposés au graphiste pour affiner le rendu des calques d'ombres.The production of 3D animated motion picture now relies on physically realistic rendering techniques, that simulate light propagation within each scene. In this context, 3D artists must leverage lighting effects to support staging, deploy the film's narrative, and convey its emotional content to viewers. However, the equations that model the behavior of light leave little room for artistic expression. In addition, editing illumination by trial-and-error is tedious due to the long render times that physically realistic rendering requires. To remedy these problems, most animation studios resort to compositing, where artists rework a frame by associating multiple layers exported during rendering. These layers can contain geometric information on the scene, or isolate a particular lighting effect. The advantage of compositing is that interactions take place in real time, and are based on conventional image space operations. Our main contribution is the definition of a new type of layer for compositing, the shadow layer. A shadow layer contains the amount of energy lost in the scene due to the occlusion of light rays by a given object. Compared to existing tools, our approach presents several advantages for artistic editing. First, its physical meaning is straightforward: when a shadow layer is added to the original image, any shadow created by the chosen object disappears. In comparison, a traditional shadow matte represents the ratio of occluded rays at a pixel, a grayscale information that can only serve as an approximation to guide compositing operations. Second, shadow layers are compatible with global illumination: they pick up energy lost from secondary light sources that are scattered at least once in the scene, whereas the current methods only consider primary sources. Finally, we prove the existence of an overestimation of illumination in three different renderers when an artist disables the shadow of an object; our definition fixes this shortcoming. We present a prototype implementation for shadow layers obtained from a few modifications of path tracing, the main rendering algorithm in production. It exports the original image and any number of shadow layers associated with different objects in a single rendering pass, with an additional 15% time in scenes containing complex geometry and multiple participating media. Optional parameters are also proposed to the artist to fine-tune the rendering of shadow layers

Depicting shape, materials and lighting: observation, formulation and implementation of artistic principles

The appearance of a scene results from complex interactions between the geometry, materials and lights that compose that scene. While Computer Graphics algorithms are now capable of simulating these interactions, it comes at the cost of tedious 3D modeling of a virtual scene, which only well-trained artists can do. In contrast, photographs allow the instantaneous capture of a scene, but shape, materials and lighting are difficult to manipulate directly in the image. Drawings can also suggest real or imaginary scenes with a few lines but creating convincing illustrations requires significant artistic skills.The goal of my research is to facilitate the creation and manipulation of shape, materials and lighting in drawings and photographs, for laymen and professional artists alike. This document first presents my work on computer-assisted drawing where I proposed algorithms to automate the depiction of materials in line drawings as well as to estimate a 3D model from design sketches. I also worked on user interfaces to assist beginners in learning traditional drawing techniques. Through the development of these projects I have formalized a general methodology to observe how artists work, deduce artistic principles from these observations, and implement these principles as algorithms. In the second part of this document I present my work on relighting multiple photographs of a scene, for which we first need to estimate the materials and lighting that compose that scene. The main novelty of our approach is to combine image analysis and lighting simulation in order to reason about the scene despite the lack of an accurate 3D model

The Art of Costuming: Interpreting the Character Through the Costume Designer\u27s Eyes

Creating a believable illusion through costume design is a very important aspect in a theatrical production. Every production in theater is the culmination of a collaboration of creative individuals who each have a very explicit role to play. Part of the success of a production depends on set designers, lighting coordinators, directors, producers, props masters, actors, etc. The idea is to create a believable new world that relates to the audience. The costume designer’s job is to use all of the tools that are within their grasp to both research the best option for costuming and to actually construct the costumes. In order to do this, they must conduct research while working with the needs of the production team and the constraints that their products place on the costumes. The relationship between research, construction tools, and the abilities of creative peers gives the costume designer all that is needed to help define the characters in a production. All of these tools are used by the costume designer to polish off the character which helps to ensure the audience’s correct interpretation of a production

A survey on personal computer applications in industrial design process

Thesis (Master)--Izmir Institute of Technology, Industrial Design, Izmir, 1999Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 157-162)Text in English, Abstract: Turkish and Englishxii, 194 leavesIn this thesis, computer aided design systems are studied from the industrial designer's point of view. The study includes industrial design processes, computer aided design systems and the integration aspects.The technical issues are priorly studied, including current hardware and software technologies. The pure technical concepts are tried to be supported with real-world examples and graphics. Several important design software are examined, whether by personal practice or by literature research, depending on the availability of the software.Finally, the thesis include a case study, a 17" LCD computer monitor designed with a set of graphic programs including two-dimensional and three-dimensional packages.Keywords: Computers, industrial design methods, design software, computer aided design

Shading with Painterly Filtered Layers: A Process to Obtain Painterly Portraits

In this thesis, I study how color data from different styles of paintings can be extracted from photography with the end result maintaining the artistic integrity of the art style and having the look and feel of skin. My inspiration for this work came from the impasto style portraitures of painters such as Rembrandt and Greg Cartmell. I analyzed and studied the important visual characteristics of both Rembrandt’s and Cartmell’s styles of painting.These include how the artist develops shadow and shading, creates the illusion of subsurface scattering, and applies color to the canvas, which will be used as references to help develop the final renders in computer graphics. I also examined how color information can be extracted from portrait photography in order to gather accurate dark, medium, and light skin shades. Based on this analysis, I have developed a process for creating portrait paintings from 3D facial models. My process consists of four stages: (1) Modeling a 3D portrait of the subject, (2) data collection by photographing the subjects, (3) Barycentric shader development using photographs, and (4) Compositing with filtered layers. My contributions has been in stages (3) and (4) as follows: Development of an impasto-style Barycentric shader by extracting color information from gathered photographic images. This shader can result in realistic looking skin rendering. Development of a compositing technique that involves filtering layers of images that correspond to different effects such as diffuse, specular and ambient. To demonstrate proof-of-concept, I have created a few animations of the impasto style portrait painting for a single subject. For these animations, I have also sculpted high polygon count 3D model of the torso and head of my subject. Using my shading and compositing techniques, I have created rigid body animations that demonstrate the power of my techniques to obtain impasto style portraiture during animation under different lighting conditions