Facial Animation
Facial Animation , particularly on a realistic human face, can be a very elusive subject to animate. Capturing the myriad of tiny nuances that give a character expression and emotion has proved to be a very tough task. Animators have turned to hardware solutions, such as motion capture to achieve their goals. While this method has proved to be a time-saving technique in the fast paced production industry, I have chosen to direct my research into a software based solution. As a student in the art of 3d computer animation this is a subject which interests me. Through this report I intend to chronicle both my research and experimentation into software keyframe based facial animation.
Embodiment of a Dancer
The human body is a tool through which motion can be relayed. It is through intensive study and creative expression that this tool is able to channel and perform through art. When a dancer appears on stage her body is her tool. She expresses her emotions and her choreographed piece in an almost effortless fashion, floating across the stage seamlessly. She is the subject of our gaze. What if we were to alter our concentration slightly however and instead of focusing on the dancer herself, instead only saw her motion, the product created by the tool. Can the piece still be appreciated as much as when the visual stimuli of the tool itself was present, enabling better understanding and interpretation of the motion.
Innovations
‘Motion Capture – Satan’s rotoscope…’ (1)
eMotion 3D Sports Motion Analysis
The reoprt is a working business plan exploring the potential benefits of 3D Motion Capture in sports analysis in comparison to existing techniques.
Digital Puppetry
For this project, I wish to investigate my theory that a digital puppet can be used as a motion capture device. I intend to compare this idea against the standard methods that have been used in the animation industry to record the movements od actors. Hopefully, by the end of the project I will have created a puppet device that demonstrates how this theory can be put into practice.