3DCG Animation Research Articles

Creation of Virtual Three-Dimensional Animation Using Computer Graphic Technology for Videoscopic Transcervical Upper Mediastinal Esophageal Dissection.

Background: Videoscopic transcervical mediastinal lymphadenectomy has been attempted to reduce thoracotomy-related complications of surgical treatment for esophageal cancer. However, many surgeons would hesitate to attempt this procedure because of the difficulty in understanding the anatomical orientation. In this study, we aimed to create a three-dimensional computer graphic (3D CG) animation and compare it with the real-life operation. Materials and Methods: LightWave 3D® version 7 was used as a rendering software to create the 3D CG. The 3D CG images were superimposed to generate an animation using AfterEffects CC®. Results: The 3D CG animation for videoscopic transcervical upper mediastinal esophageal dissection was successfully created; it dynamically shows the scene, especially the separation between the esophagus and trachea, and enables surgeons to easily understand the anatomical orientation when using transcervical approach. This 3D CG animation was of high quality and similar to the real-life operation. Conclusions: We created a virtual 3D CG animation for the transcervical approach, which will contribute to understanding this procedure for esophageal cancer preoperatively.

Designing The World Of 3D CG Animation “BALLOON” Through Low Poly Visual Style

This research focus on the process of creating the world of “Balloon” through low poly visual style in 3D CG animation using an alternative non-photorealistic rendering method that is both efficient and visually astonishing. Low poly are chosen as a visual style because it represent the spirit of courage to explore the world outside the film’s story. By using low poly visual style in most of the environment, it creates a unique contrast between the environment and the character. The character is made using a traditional high poly modeling for 3D character. Through variety of experiments with various pipeline, the chosen method is considered the best to accommodate the filmmaker needs in both production time and the visual result. In order to determine the best technique, the research is conducted by testing the render results of some environment scenes within the film. The writer also experimented using procedural materials in the design of the world to help speed up rendering of the compositing process, in order to achieve good visual quality in a shorter production time.
 Keywords : low poly, non-photorealistic rendering, 3D CG animation

空間表象の非ユークリッド的転回 : 3D CGアニメーション論(第五十七回美学会全国大会発表要旨)

空間表象の非ユークリッド的転回 : 3D CGアニメーション論(第五十七回美学会全国大会発表要旨)

Three-dimensional computer graphic animations for studying social approach behaviour in medaka fish: Effects of systematic manipulation of morphological and motion cues.

We studied social approach behaviour in medaka fish using three-dimensional computer graphic (3DCG) animations based on the morphological features and motion characteristics obtained from real fish. This is the first study which used 3DCG animations and examined the relative effects of morphological and motion cues on social approach behaviour in medaka. Various visual stimuli, e.g., lack of motion, lack of colour, alternation in shape, lack of locomotion, lack of body motion, and normal virtual fish in which all four features (colour, shape, locomotion, and body motion) were reconstructed, were created and presented to fish using a computer display. Medaka fish presented with normal virtual fish spent a long time in proximity to the display, whereas time spent near the display was decreased in other groups when compared with normal virtual medaka group. The results suggested that the naturalness of visual cues contributes to the induction of social approach behaviour. Differential effects between body motion and locomotion were also detected. 3DCG animations can be a useful tool to study the mechanisms of visual processing and social behaviour in medaka.

Creating 3DCG Animation with a Network of 3D Depth Sensors

The motion capture is a useful technique for creating animations instead of manual labor, but the expensive camera based devices restrict its practical application. The emerging of inexpensive small size of depth-sensing devices provides us opportunities to reconstitute motion capture system. We introduced a network of 3D depth sensors into the production of real time 3DCG animation. Different to the existing system, the new system works well for data communication and anime rendering. We discuss below server how communicate with a group of sensors, and how we operate a group of sensors in the rendering of animation. Some results of verification experiments are provided as well.

New approach to camerawork skills education for 3D/S3D computer graphics animation

Many vocational schools and universities offer lectures on non-stereoscopic 3D computer graphics (3DCG) animation production, as well as practical 3DCG software operation, modeling, and animation production. However, relatively few of these educational institutions provide lectures on stereoscopic 3D (S3D). To address this gap, we developed two 15-week syllabuses with educational materials, which focused on both knowledge-based and skills-based education about 3DCG animation and S3D computer graphics (S3DCG) animation production, considering the potential employment of students in animation studios. Our investigation confirmed that the knowledge and skills of the subjects improved in this study, so we presented a report on the effectiveness of the educational materials for S3DCG animation production education at the Education Symposium of SIGGRAPH Asia 2015.By developing these educational materials, we reaffirmed the importance of camerawork skills education, which may be regarded as the cornerstone of 3DCG animation and S3DCG animation production. However, camerawork skills education in 3DCG animation classes remains limited in vocational schools and universities at present. We hypothesized that one of the reasons for the paucity of camerawork skills education is the lack of suitable educational materials for practical classes in the use of 3DCG software. Indeed, educational materials that allow teachers to begin camerawork skills education for 3DCG and S3DCG animation production without preparation are greatly lacking. Furthermore, modeling and character animation are regarded as essential before camerawork practice. Camerawork practice can be started immediately if sufficient educational materials are provided. The educational materials that we developed are suitable for S3DCG but also for 3DCG camerawork practice.In this study, we present the camerawork skills education and evaluation methods involved in the educational materials developed for the S3D lectures and for camerawork practical classes in S3DCG animation. We then discuss the experimental classes in which we used the educational materials and we report the results of S3D knowledge tests and camerawork practical tests, which were conducted in order to measure the learning/education outcomes for the participating subjects, as well as the results of a survey that focused on their subjective experiences. The experimental results clearly demonstrated improvements in both the knowledge and skills of subjects, thereby confirming the effectiveness of the camerawork educational materials. We suggest that if students with knowledge of S3D and 3DCG animation are well-practiced in the use of these educational materials, their skills in S3DCG camerawork would improve markedly.

Developing a stereoscopic CG system with motion parallax and interactive digital contents on the system for science museums

As we watch 3D objects and move around them, the appearance of the objects would change. This is called motion parallax and it is one of important depth cues. We develop an interactive stereoscopic CG system using motion parallax. This system follows the position of a user's view point, and generates 3DCG images for the view point every moment. As a result, the system can reproduce motion parallax and can synthesize stereoscopy without special equipments. Based on this system, we develop two interactive stereoscopic contents which would be used in science museums. One is a constellation viewer, in which we can observe constellations and planets from any positions, and can grasp positional relationships and 3D shapes of them. It is also possible to control the content with gestures. The other is a virtual 3D photocopy system. When we put physical 3D objects on a desk and remove them, we can observe virtual objects from any points as a stereoscopic 3DCG image based on motion parallax. We can feel the removed objects being left as they were. When the system scans moving objects, a stereoscopic 3DCG animation is synthesized and the user can observe it from any positions. It is also possible to interact with the 3DCG objects such as touching and deforming the 3DCG objects.

Establishment of Educational Program for Multiorgan Procurement From Deceased Donors

IntroductionMultiorgan procurement is not an easy procedure and requires special technique and training. Since sufficient donors are not available for on-site training in Japan, establishment of the educational program for multiorgan procurement is mandatory. Materials and methodsDevelopment of e-learning and simulation using pigs are our main goals. E-learning contains three dimensional computer graphic (3DCG) animations of the multiorgan procurement, explanation of both donor criteria and procurement procedure, and self-assessment examination. To clarify the donor criteria, the risk factors to 3-month survival of the recipients were analyzed in 138 adult cases of liver transplantation. The 3DCG animation for liver procurement was developed, which was used in the lecture prior to the simulation on August 10, 2013. The results of the examination after this lecture (exam 2013) were compared with the results after the lecture without using animation in 2012 (exam 2012). The simulation was performed by 97 trainees divided into 9 teams, and the surveys were conducted. ResultsThe risk factors for early outcome of the recipients were cold ischemia time (≥10 hours), Model for End-stage Liver Disease score (≥20), and donor age (≥55 years). Results of examination showed that overall percentage of the correct answers was significantly higher in exam 2013 than in exam 2012 (48.3% vs 32.7%; P = .0001). The survey after the simulation of multiorgan procurement revealed that most trainees thought that the simulation was useful and should be continued. ConclusionThe novel educational program could allow young surgeons to make precise assessments and perform the exact procedure in the multiorgan procurement.

Estimation of E-education System Using Virtual Exploratory Learning

Recently studies using the e-Education system are expected very much, but most of them would be based on the WEB style contents, which includes texts, figures, photographs and actual videos. Although it is thought that actual videos are very effective, production cost of it may be too large to produce interactive teaching materials. Meanwhile, Studies using 3D-CG animation have been reported to be fine. To solve this problem, e-Education system named Cyber Assistant Professor 2 (CAP2) has been developed in my laboratory. It is based on the human shaped software robots implemented by 3D-CG animation and voice synthesis technology, which act as Virtual Teachers or Virtual Students. Further, the hypertext language named Cyber Person Scenario Language 3 (CPSL3) has also developed to reduce a production cost of teaching materials. Furthermore, Virtual Exploratory Learning (VEL) has developed to assist students in Virtual Science Experiment.

Development and Evaluation of Learning Support System of Braille using 3DCG and GIF animation

Development and Evaluation of Learning Support System of Braille using 3DCG and GIF animation

形状の特徴や動的な変形を考慮したリアルタイム3DCGにおける輪郭線の誇張表現手法

In two-dimensional (2D) animation, the thickness of object outlines and contour lines is often varied to emphasize or exaggerate the shape of the object. Adding a 2D touch to three-dimensional computer graphics (3DCG) animation using toon-rendering is common, but existing techniques cannot achieve varying line thickness. This paper proposes a method of recreating the effect of varying the outline and contour line thicknesses based on the object shape in real-time 3D environments such as video games. Our method focuses on exaggerating the thickness of lines where the target polygon is curved. Furthermore, by using a backface polygon of the target polygon, we are able to create a continuous outline of the object, thus recreating a closed outline of the object with varying line thickness.

2C1-4 脳死ドナー多臓器摘出手術の教育アニメーション制作

2C1-4 脳死ドナー多臓器摘出手術の教育アニメーション制作

A Fundamental Study for Creating 3D CG Animation of an Assembly Work

This paper presents a new mode of expressing a 3D assembly work for creating a 3D CG animation without judgment by human from minimal required information. In the field of manufacturing, there are favorable movements in the utilization of 3D CAD for 3D simulation to shorten lead time for product development and pre-production. But simulating an assembly work has troubles to need huge quantity of manually input data. This paper discusses what minimal necessary information for creating 3D CG animations of assembly works is, focusing on the features of assembly works. Furthermore, a new mode of expressing a 3D assembly work is proposed as "state/change transition diagrams" (SCTD), which express arbitrary scenes in an assembly work as "state" and describe a sequential assembly work with "state" and "change", and the outline of its stepwise generation algorithm is also described. SCTD can be converted to a 3D CG animation of an assembly work without judgment by human. This paper focuses on the creating 3D CG animation of assembly works which workers use only their both hands.

Productivity and Quality Evaluation of 3D CG Short Animation Generated

This paper describes a web database system that stores specific human emotional motion data sets for 3D CG short animation. An evaluation of sample 3D CG animation movies produced by two creators with and without the proposed database showed the following results: (1) production time is drastically reduced to less than one-fifth of the conventional production time by using the developed system, and (2) the coincidence ratio between the creator's intended emotional motion and the audience's impression was more than 80%, which indicates that the proposed system generates good nonverbal communication in 3D CG animation.

モーションアーカイブと3DCGを用いたコンテンポラリーダンスの創作実験

We developed an interactive system, “Web3D Dance Composer (WDC),” which allows users to create dance choreographies by using a dance motion data archive and simulate them with 3DCG animation. In this research, we conducted two evaluation experiments on the choreographic creation of contemporary dance to evaluate the capacity of the WDC as a dance creation support system. First, we conducted an experiment on choreographic creation for a professional choreographer and proved the usability of the system. Second, we conducted an experiment on training students to create choreography. The results of an evaluation by eight students confirmed that the WDC has the usability and potentiality for producing unpredictable movements and aiding in the learning of a new choreographic process.

S202016 航空機用水平対向4気筒エンジンの3D-CGモデルの製作

The author has developed some of the educational material content of CG animation for an explanation of the structure and principles of the engine so far. Using this know-how, an animation contents of technology heritage was developed. This time, this study dealt with an air-cooled horizontally flat-four engine for a very old plane which was made during the second war that currently belong to the University of the author. This engine is a type O-290-A manufactured by Lycoming in the United States. This engine was decomposed and each components were measured. Then, a 3DCG animation content was made by using 3DCAD.

P‐9: Integral Imaging of 3‐D CG Animation Using a Laptop PC and General‐purpose Fly's Eye Lens

AbstractA new moving integral imaging system was developed. 3D CG animation data are rendered from multiple viewpoints and integrated into a video sequence with our method. The sequence is displayed on a laptop LCD and observed through a general‐ purpose fly's eye lens. A stereoscopic view with full parallax was obtained.

パーソナルコンピュータを用いた３ＤＣＧアニメーション作成の基礎

パーソナルコンピュータを用いた３ＤＣＧアニメーション作成の基礎

A method for expressing human posture as 3DCG using thermal image processing and 3D model fitting

An imitation of human motion has been used as a promising technique for the development of a robot. Some techniques such as motion capture systems and data-gloves are used for analyzing human motion. However, since those methods involve (a) environmental restrictions such as the preparation of two or more cameras and the strict control of brightness, and (b) physical restrictions such as the wearing of markers and/or data-gloves, they are far removed from a method for recognizing human motion in a natural condition. In this article, we propose a method that makes a 3-dimensional CG (3DCG) by transforming a feature vector of human posture on a thermal image into a 3DCG model. The 3DCG models for use as training data are made with manual model fitting. Then human models synthesized by our method are geometrically evaluated in CG space. The average error in position is about 10 cm. Such a relatively small error might be acceptable in some cases e.g., 3DCG animation generation and the imitation of human motion by a robot. Our method has neither physical nor environmental restrictions. The rotation-angles at each joint obtained by our method can be used for an imitation of human posture by a robot.

ディジタルコンテンツ制作―ＤＣＳ’０７関連―直感的に影を演出可能な編集ツール

Shadows in cartoon animation are generally used for dramatizing scenes. In hand-drawn animation, these shadows reflect the animators' intention and style rather than physical phenomena. On the other hand, shadows in 3 DCG animation are photorealistically rendered, and animators can not fully reflect their intention. This is because, in 3DCG animation, shadows are automatically generated once the light source is defined. Therefore, we develop an interactive tool for editing shadows that combines the advantages of hand-drawn animation and 3DCG technology. the advantage of our tool is that shadow attributes are inherited once animators edit the shape and location of shadows. Animators are only required mouse operations for editing shadows. Consequently, our tool enables animators to create shadows automatically and easily to reflect their intention and style.