SAMURAI：A Transformation System for Animation Characters based on GLCIC to Alleviate the Workload of Animation Directors

Abstract

People from various professions are involved in the production of anime, including directors, animation directors, character designers, and voice actors/actresses. Specifically, the role of an animation director is of importance in the realm of animation. The animation director serves as the unifying force in shaping the animation's style by meticulously reviewing and redrawing the key animations provided by the key animators. The aim of this study is to develop a redrawing system using GLCIC to reduce the workload on animation directors when redrawing original key animation. Specifically, this study devised a system that employs GLCIC to analyze and learn the distinctive drawing styles of individual animation directors from images of their work and subsequently apply those styles to the conversion process. In the experiment, we asked people whose hobby is drawing to experience the developed system, and conducted a qualitative evaluation using a questionnaire and a quantitative evaluation using KLM analysis. As a result, we found that there were issues with ease of modification and UI. Additionally, the KLM analysis revealed that improving the system could reduce work time by a quarter. In the future, we think to improve the system with the aim of increasing work efficiency.