Character Animation Research Articles

A Survey on Cage‐based Deformation of 3D Models

AbstractInteractive deformation via control handles is essential in computer graphics for the modeling of 3D geometry. Deformation control structures include lattices for free‐form deformation and skeletons for character articulation, but this report focuses on cage‐based deformation. Cages for deformation control are coarse polygonal meshes that encase the to‐be‐deformed geometry, enabling high‐resolution deformation. Cage‐based deformation enables users to quickly manipulate 3D geometry by deforming the cage. Due to their utility, cage‐based deformation techniques increasingly appear in many geometry modeling applications. For this reason, the computer graphics community has invested a great deal of effort in the past decade and beyond into improving automatic cage generation and cage‐based deformation. Recent advances have significantly extended the practical capabilities of cage‐based deformation methods. As a result, there is a large body of research on cage‐based deformation. In this report, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art in cage‐based deformation of 3D geometry. We discuss current methods in terms of deformation quality, practicality, and precomputation demands. In addition, we highlight potential future research directions that overcome current issues and extend the set of practical applications. In conjunction with this survey, we publish an application to unify the most relevant deformation methods. Our report is intended for computer graphics researchers, developers of interactive geometry modeling applications, and 3D modeling and character animation artists.

Optimization Strategy for Animation Character Design Utilizing CAD and Multi-Agent Systems

Optimization Strategy for Animation Character Design Utilizing CAD and Multi-Agent Systems

City Of Dreams: An Open-World Games

In recent years, the gaming industry has witnessed a remarkable evolution, with open-world games emerging as a dominant genre that captivates players with expansive virtual worlds, intricate narratives, and immersive gameplay experiences. Among these innovative titles, "City of Dreams" stands out as a pinnacle of open-world game design, offering players a richly detailed urban landscape to explore, inhabit, and shape according to their desires. This research paper provides a comprehensive analysis of "City of Dreams," examining its technical development, player engagement dynamics, societal impact, and broader implications within the gaming industry and digital culture. The technical development of "City of Dreams" is explored in detail, encompassing various aspects such as game engine selection, character animation, environment design, and physics implementation. By delving into the technical intricacies of game development, this research sheds light on the creative processes and technological innovations that underpin the creation of immersive gaming experiences. Furthermore, the paper investigates the player engagement dynamics of "City of Dreams," exploring how its diverse gameplay mechanics, immersive world design, and compelling narrative drive player engagement and immersion. Through an analysis of player behavior, feedback, and interaction patterns, insights are gained into the factors that contribute to the game's success and longevity. Keywords—open-world games, player experience, player behavior, game development, immersive environments, Non-Playable Characters (NPCs).

"Ché Coco, ché Coco": An animal reading of Coco the parrot in Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea

The various human characters of Jean Rhys’s novel Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) have attracted the attention of literary scholars from different perspectives. However, the novel’s nonhuman animal characters have previously been studied mainly as symbols for human actions and destinies. In this article, I problematise this type of anthropocentric approach from a Human-Animal Studies and a literary criticism perspective. I analyse Coco as a character of the novel and as a member of his own species. My analysis examines the nature of human-animal relationships, their representations in literature, and the binary oppositions inherent in them. Additionally, I critically evaluate the ways in which nonhuman animals are perceived and depicted in cultural representations. I argue that Rhys shows Coco as a parrot with species-typical behaviour and as a character with his own agency. Nevertheless, one should not disregard his symbolic functions, which draw attention to gendered colonial violence. Furthermore, the symbolic and linguistic violence in the novel forces the nonhuman animal into a position below the human animal and normalises violence towards nonhuman animals. The human-animal relationships in Wide Sargasso Sea vary from something akin to close companionship all the way to subjugation under the will of the more powerful.

Navigating accent bias in German: children's social preferences for a second-language accent over a first-language regional accent

Spoken language conveys rich sociolinguistic information about a speaker's language background. Previous research indicates that both monolingual and bilingual children use this information when making social decisions. They prefer local speakers whose accent or variety matches their own over speakers of foreign languages or second-language speakers. What remains unclear is how exposure to diverse linguistic communities affects children's preferences for non-local accents. This study examines social preferences for a regional and a second-language accent as a function of prior exposure to diverse accents and languages, measured on a continuous scale. German-speaking primary-school children (aged 7–10) were asked to choose stickers in a forced-choice task using animated cartoon characters. We replicated the observed social preferences for one's local accent. Interestingly, when the local accent was absent, children socially preferred a second-language accent (American) over a first-language regional accent (Bavarian), even though both accents were equally intelligible and relatively unfamiliar to the children, as determined through a sentence repetition task and a geographical classification task. Children's choices were not explained by continuous measures of accent or bilingual exposure. The results suggest a complex interaction of various factors not limited to the speakers' first- or second-language status.

Physics Based Animation Using Computer Graphics

Physics-based animation is a multidisciplinary area that uses ideas from physics, computer science, and mathematics to create realistic and dynamic movements in virtual settings. The basic ideas and methods of physics-based animation are introduced in this research paper, with an emphasis on how mathematical models and physical laws are used to produce realistic motion in computer-generated images. To construct realistic virtual environments, key disciplines covered include fluid simulation, fabric simulation, rigid body dynamics, and soft body dynamics. The report highlights recent developments in real-time physics simulations and addresses other topics such as processing economy, accuracy, and scalability. Applications for physics-based animation can be found in many different fields, such as virtual reality, simulation training, movies, and video games. The pursuit of more precise and effective physics-based animation is essential as technology develops to produce captivating and realistic virtual worlds. Keywords— Physics-based animation(PBA), virtual environment, Physics simulation, Dynamics, Animation software, Real-time physics, Collision detection, Fluid dynamics, Particle systems, Cloth simulation, Smooth particle hydrodynamics, finite element method, Navier-Stokes, Rigid body dynamics, Soft body dynamics, Deformation, Motion capture, Character animation, Kinematics, Rendering, Game development, Virtual reality, Augmented reality, Computer graphics, Simulation accuracy

Animal Fridays in Robinson Crusoe and Its Afterlives

Robinson narrates his rescue of Friday in a way that is reminiscent of the saving of the dog ten pages before: he calls them both ‘poor creatures’ and uses non-verbal communication with Friday at first as he does with his ‘pets’: all are discussed and addressed as his ‘subjects’ and possessions, irrespective of their human or non-human bodies. In a number of Robinsonades, the blurred human-animal boundary is translated in the fact that the role of Friday is taken up by an animal, most often a pet, as is the case with Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, in which the tiger, Richard Parker, is subjugated by Pi in a manner reminiscent of imperial control. Following recent critical work on ‘Animal Crusoes’ in children’s Robinsonades as well as the increased interest in ecocritical, posthuman theories and animal studies, this article focuses on animal comparisons and characters as regards Friday in Defoe’s novel and Life of Pi. It shows that while both texts may depict the subjugation of Friday in the context of colonialism and imperialism, they also participate in the breaking down of the absolute boundaries between humans and non-humans and provide a reflection upon and reevaluation of the nature/culture dichotomy.

MGA KWENTONG PAMBATANG RADIKAL (RADICAL CHILDREN’S STORIES): EXPLORING SOCIAL THEMES IN CONTEMPORARY CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

For thousands of generations, children’s literature has been one of the most powerful tools in providing moral values to children. It employs a subtle technique commonly used to entertain children and at the same time, educate them about rights and wrongs. This kind of literature used human and animal characters usually with a touch of magic which was designed to give entertainment and feed lore to the kids. This study aimed to explore Children’s Literature to examine the issues of its content. The researcher also determined the reasons of the two authors in writing such stories and the perceptions of the parents regarding these kinds of children’s stories. Therewith, the selected five (5) children’s books were first summarized and analyzed. Meanwhile, in both interviews done with the authors and parents, the researcher used a Key Informant and Personal Interview. Ten (10) parents were selected through identifying the age of their child (aged seven (7) and below). The researcher identified the social issues embedded in the children’s stories such as drug, liquor, cigarette, and gambling addiction and illness. Social issues such as this are atypical in children’s literature and this research wanted to determine whether it could help in teaching children’s literature.

RASA TAKUT DALAM FILM ANIMASI 2 DIMENSI "FEARS" KARYA NATA METLUKHLUKH)

“Fears” is a graduation film made by Nata Metlukh at Vancouver Film School in 2015. Nata’s first twodimensional animation film got numerous awards at various film festivals. Without dialogs, the film putsforward the strength of how visualization in the form of animation and music represents the feelings of fearin different forms and conditions as the message of the animator. Analysis of “Fears” aims at (1) describingthe plot of the story through the visualization of animation, and (2) exploring the forms and meanings of thefeelings of fear through the interpretation of the visualization of the plot of the story. Fifteen selectedanimation visualizations of black creatures with white eyes --signifying feelings of fear and alwaysshadowing the main animation character and others—were analyzed. The result of the analysis demonstratesthat feelings of fear may be understood by the owners as the entity disturbing, hindering, and limiting theirthoughts and actions; but on the other side, feelings of fear are also understood in a constructive sense whichfacilitates people to be always alert and cautious.

4D Facial Expression Diffusion Model

Facial expression generation is one of the most challenging and long-sought aspects of character animation, with many interesting applications. The challenging task, traditionally having relied heavily on digital craftspersons, remains yet to be explored. In this paper, we introduce a generative framework for generating 3D facial expression sequences (i.e. 4D faces) that can be conditioned on different inputs to animate an arbitrary 3D face mesh. It is composed of two tasks: (1) Learning the generative model that is trained over a set of 3D landmark sequences, and (2) Generating 3D mesh sequences of an input facial mesh driven by the generated landmark sequences. The generative model is based on a Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Model (DDPM), which has achieved remarkable success in generative tasks of other domains. While it can be trained unconditionally, its reverse process can still be conditioned by various condition signals. This allows us to efficiently develop several downstream tasks involving various conditional generation, by using expression labels, text, partial sequences, or simply a facial geometry. To obtain the full mesh deformation, we then develop a landmark-guided encoder-decoder to apply the geometrical deformation embedded in landmarks on a given facial mesh. Experiments show that our model has learned to generate realistic, quality expressions solely from the dataset of relatively small size, improving over the state-of-the-art methods. Videos and qualitative comparisons with other methods can be found at https://github.com/ZOUKaifeng/4DFM. Code and models will be made available upon acceptance.

Going Beyond the Screen - Exploring Para-social Relationships with Anime Characters amongst the Anime Community

The purpose of this study was to explore the determinants and impacts of parasocial relationships (PSR) with anime characters within the anime community. Guided by a qualitative methodology, the research aimed to uncover the psychological mechanisms at play and the socio-emotional influences exerted by these one-sided relationships. Findings indicate that parasocial interactions serve as a platform for identification, coping, and escapism, providing emotional regulation, stress relief, and immersive experiences. These relationships significantly affect interpersonal dynamics, emotional well-being, and community belonging. They are pivotal in fostering social bonds, facilitating self-discovery, and reinforcing cultural identification. The study concludes that parasocial relationships are integral to individual and collective experiences, shaping the social fabric of the anime community. This research contributes to media psychology by highlighting the complex role of media characters in personal and social contexts, suggesting a nuanced understanding of the interplay between media consumption and social interaction.

Comparative analysis of transitions generated using the Unity game development platform

This paper conducts a comparative analysis of transitions generated using the Unity engine. It selects fifteen animations featuring a humanoid character, introduces breaks in marker trajectories, and fills them with transitions generated by the game engine's animator. These transitions are then compared with the unmodified original character animation. The study compares animations by calculating the average deviation in bone rotation and position between the original and generated motion throughout the animation. The results show that the Unity engine excels in generating transitions for slow animations involving the lower body limbs, with the largest errors occurring in the bones at the extremities of the limbs.

AESTHETICS OF JACKAL’S JUDGEMENTS IN THE FOLKTALES OF TRIBAL COMMUNITIES OF JHARKHAND

Aesthetics, the philosophical perspective that guides the interpretation of an art or its elements for beauty and taste, is not as a simple tool as it appears to be, and its complexity rests on its association with multiple principles and concerns. As located by Immanuel Kant in his The Critique of Judgement Kant (1790/1928), the presence of faculty of judgement consists two parts: ‘critique of aesthetic judgement and critique of teleological judgement,’ and there is a discussion on the ‘aesthetic purposiveness’ in judgement which is presented immediately after the discussion on the ‘logical purposiveness’ in the introduction. In handling the aesthetics of art, it is not merely an expression of the feeling or the sense of taste; rather it is a judgement ascribed to it. Teleology, on the other hand, moves on the regulative or heuristic path in achieving a goal or purpose of the object Bird (2023). However, this article moves away from the core philosophical dialogue on the nature of aesthetics to evolve a framework for contemplating the aesthetics associated with the presence of animal characters in the folktales of judicial/judgement belonging to the tribal communities of Jharkhand. A few judgement tales are taken for this study, not with any specific reason, but these tales have been identified as a matter of convenience in addressing a strong message that is constructed using the popular animal motifs that are quite common and particular to tribal communities in the state. By employing literary tools in delineating and portraying the animal characters as folk motifs and their aesthetic representations to effectively construct and convey the notion of moral judgement on the narrative events that are conditioned with the narrative requirements as per the narrative programme, this article attempts contemporize the dialogue on the moral and ethical attributes as well as to signify the existence of oral tradition with greater responsibility for human beings with amusement as a mere camouflage technique.

A proposed reconstruction method of a 3D animation scene based on a fuzzy long and short-term memory algorithm.

With the development of computer technology leading to a broad range of virtual technology implementations, the construction of virtual tasks has become highly demanded and has increased rapidly, especially in animation scenes. Constructing three-dimensional (3D) animation characters utilizing properties of actual characters could provide users with immersive experiences. However, a 3D face reconstruction (3DFR) utilizing a single image is a very demanding operation in computer graphics and vision. In addition, limited 3D face data sets reduce the performance improvement of the proposed approaches, causing a lack of robustness. When datasets are large, face recognition, transformation, and animation implementations are relatively practical. However, some reconstruction methods only consider the one-to-one processes without considering the correlations or differences in the input images, resulting in models lacking information related to face identity or being overly sensitive to face pose. A face model composed of a convolutional neural network (CNN) regresses 3D deformable model coefficients for 3DFR and alignment tasks. The manuscript proposes a reconstruction method for 3D animation scenes employing fuzzy LSMT-CNN (FLSMT-CNN). Multiple collected images are employed to reconstruct 3D animation characters. First, the serialized images are processed by the proposed method to extract the features of face parameters and then improve the conventional deformable face modeling (3DFDM). Afterward, the 3DFDM is utilized to reconstruct animation characters, and finally, high-precision reconstructions of 3D faces are achieved. The FLSMT-CNN has enhanced both the precision and strength of the reconstructed 3D animation characters, which provides more opportunities to be applied to other animation scenes.

UNITY OF MIDDLE-AGE ARAB FRAME STORIES "KALILAH AND DIMNAH", "THE BOOK OF SINDIBAD"

The present article studies frame story organization principles into a thematic and idea unity on the example of middle-age Arabic versions of Ancient Indian books. Such an examination is based on the importance of study of “Kalilah and Dimnah” and “The Book of Sindibad” for the description of how frame collections were initially formed and for the analysis of frame construction. Both of the books adapt thematical contents, structure and tale order, which are very close to their Indian original sources, to national peculiarities and the goals provided by the authors. “Kalilah and Dimnah” is characterized by the absence of polytheistic beliefs, presence of secular didacticism and humoristic functioning of animal characters. The creator of “The Book of Sindibad” asserts his authorship, thus aiming at perpetuating not only the wisdom source, but also his own name. A distinctive feature of the Arab books is the formation of a clearly distinguished author`s frame that includes the foreword (as in “Kalilah and Dimnah” and “The Book of Sindibad”) and the afterword (as in “The Book of Sindibad”). These structural elements serve for the purpose of quite an effective means to directly orient the reader to the book`s message. Narration becomes more consecutive and connected while simplifying the mechanism to change from one tale to another, while simplifying the multilayer tale structure with the help of making the third- or forth-layer tales into separate chapters and making them reflect the general frame message. Genre unity is acquired through applying a single parable basis to all of the stories.

What Does Bla Bla Mean? Gibberish As Fictional Language In Larva Island, Masha and The Bear, and Rabbid Invasion


 
 
 
 Gibberish is a term for nonsense language commonly found in animated films with anthropomorphic characters. This research is limited to analyzing the gibberish anthropomorphic characters that interact with non-gibberish characters. In this study, the authors examine how interactions between animals and humans by analyzing how humans, as non-gibberish characters, can understand what animals, as gibberish characters, convey with vague language and no identifiable meaning, such as sounds, expressions, and movements made by anthropomorphic characters. In analyzing the film and solving problems, the writer uses several theories, such as Thomason's hypnosis, Jasper's fluidity, and Arguby Purnomo's fictional language. Based on the theory used in this study, the writer can understand anthropomorphic characters in animated films like the Rabbid in Rabbids Invasion, the animals in Masha and The Bear, and also the interactions between Yellow, Red, and his friends with a man who was stranded in Larva Island, which only makes a faint sound, expression and body movements. By doing this research, we can prove that gibberish is used by anthropomorphic characters is functioned as a fictional language and proven by its aspects. This study can be used by future researchers in the fields of language and literature as a guide to reveal how gibberish in animal characters has functioned as fictional language.
 
 
 

Development of Animated Videos Based on Character Educationon Learning Indonesian Language is in Low Class

This research explores the development of animated character education videos in Indonesian language learning in lower grades. Using development research methods, we design, produce and evaluate animated videos that are integrated with the Indonesian language curriculum. The results showed positive responses from teachers and students, showing the potential of animated videos to improve understanding of the material. These findings highlight the relevance of this innovation in improving the quality of Indonesian language learning in elementary schools. This study provides a basis for further development in integrating character education through animation media in the context of basic education.

Media Representations of Speech Disorders in Characters from Selected Films for Children

Research so far shows that animated films are present in children's lives from an early age. Young audiences are looking for role models, which often take the form of characters from animated films. The aim of the research presented in this article was to reconstruct media representations of speech disorders specific to characters in selected animated films aimed at children. The author used archive searching as a data collection method and content analysis as a method to analyse the collected material. The paper presents results of a speech disorder analysis of 18 children from Poland. Research shows that the most common speech disorder in animated films is lisping, followed by rhotacism and pararhotacism; there is also a relationship between animated characters' speech disorders and their charakcter traits.

To trust or not to trust? Face and voice modulation of virtual avatars

Introduction: This study explores the graduated perception of apparent social traits in virtual characters by experimental manipulation of perceived affiliation with the aim to validate an existing predictive model in animated whole-body avatars.Methods: We created a set of 210 animated virtual characters, for which facial features were generated according to a predictive statistical model originally developed for 2D faces. In a first online study, participants (N = 34) rated mute video clips of the characters on the dimensions of trustworthiness, valence, and arousal. In a second study (N = 49), vocal expressions were added to the avatars, with voice recordings manipulated on the dimension of trustworthiness by their speakers.Results: In study one, as predicted, we found a significant positive linear (p < 0.001) as well as quadratic (p < 0.001) trend in trustworthiness ratings. We found a significant negative correlation between mean trustworthiness and arousal (τ = −.37, p < 0.001), and a positive correlation with valence (τ = 0.88, p < 0.001). In study two, wefound a significant linear (p < 0.001), quadratic (p < 0.001), cubic (p < 0.001), quartic (p < 0.001) and quintic (p = 0.001) trend in trustworthiness ratings. Similarly, to study one, we found a significant negative correlation between mean trustworthiness and arousal (τ = −0.42, p < 0.001) and a positive correlation with valence (τ = 0.76, p < 0.001).Discussion: We successfully showed that a multisensory graduation of apparent social traits, originally developed for 2D stimuli, can be applied to virtually animated characters, to create a battery of animated virtual humanoid male characters. These virtual avatars have a higher ecological validity in comparison to their 2D counterparts and allow for a targeted experimental manipulation of perceived trustworthiness. The stimuli could be used for social cognition research in neurotypical and psychiatric populations.

Response to “The effect of animated Sci-Fi characters’ racial presentation on narrative engagement, wishful identification, and physical activity intention among children”

Response to “The effect of animated Sci-Fi characters’ racial presentation on narrative engagement, wishful identification, and physical activity intention among children”