Offline painted media for digital animation authoring

Abstract

We present an animation creation workflow for integrating offline physical, painted media into the digital authoring of Flash-style animations. Generally, animators create animations with standardized digital authoring software. However, the results tend to lack the individualism or atmosphere of physical media. In contrast, illustrators have skills in painting physical media but have limited experience in animation. To incorporate their skills, we present a workflow that integrates the offline painting and digital animation creation processes in a labor-saving manner. First, a user makes a rough sketch of the visual elements and defines their movements using our digital authoring software with a sketch interface. Then these images are exported to printed pages, and users can paint using offline physical media. Finally, the work is scanned and imported back into the digital content, forming a composite animation that combines digital and physical media. We present an implementation of this system to demonstrate its workflow. We also discuss the advantages of using physical media in digital animations through design evaluations.