Approach Of Cartoon Animation Generating Combining Motion Capture Data

The technique of computer cartoon animation is one that aims at creating cartoon animation by the knowledge of computer graphics and computer vision, and one that can be applied into many areas. Recently, with the development of motion capture and non-photorealistic rendering, many algorithms have been advanced. In this paper, we discuss the techniques of computer animation, motion capture, and cartoon rendering. Based on these theories, we present a method of generating cartoon animation from 3D model. We import the motion data gained by motion capture and drive the 3D model with them. At last, we render the transformed 3D models by cartoon rendering algorithms. To verify our thoughts, we develop a prototype system: Cartoon Animation System (CAS).In chapter one, we reviewed the history, current situation, and application areas of computer animation, based on which, the object of our current research is introduced.Chapter two gives a survey of the related techniques of computer cartoon animation: animation tricks, computer animation techniques, 3D modeling, NPR, image processing and editing. We focus on the algorithms and theories.In chapter three, the basic idea of 3D animation is presented. Firstly, we describe some concepts of 3D animation. Secondly, we analyze the technique of motion capture which produces motion data that is one of input of our system. Thirdly, we give the modeling approach of 3D humanoid character.NPR is the other core technique of our system. It is described in chapter four in detail. We list the characters of cartoon rendering. The most important thing in cartoon rendering is how to draw the silhouette. Some silhouette rendering algorithms are introduced. Especially, the theory of cartoon motion is presented. We give some examples of cartoon rendering by our system in the last part of this chapter.Chapter five gives the approach of generating Cartoon character Animation combining motion capture data. We introduce the currently adopted algorithm and a new algorithm based on silhouette tracing technology.To validate the feasibility of the proposed techniques, in chapter six, a prototype system of computer cartoon animation is implemented. We introduce the architecture, data flow, data structure of the system. Some examples show that the system works quite well. Finally, chapter seven summarizes the main contributes of our work and furthur work under improvement.