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3D Rendering And Animation
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3D Animation |
The modeling of human facial features is both one of the
most challenging and sought after elements in computer-generated
imagery. Computer facial animation is a highly complex field where
models typically include a very large number of animation variables.
Historically speaking, the first SIGGRAPH tutorials on State of the
art in Facial Animation in 1989 and 1990 proved to be a turning
point in the field by bringing together and consolidating multiple
research elements, and sparked interest among a number of
researchers.
The Facial Action Coding System (with 46 action units such as "lip
bite" or "squint") which had been developed in 1976 became a popular
basis for many systems.As early as 2001 MPEG-4 included 68 facial
animation parameters for lips, jaws, etc., and the field has made
significant progress since then and the use of facial
microexpression has increased.
In some cases, an affective space such as the PAD emotional state
model can be used to assign specific emotions to the faces of
avatars. In this approach the PAD model is used as a high level
emotional space, and the lower level space is the MPEG-4 Facial
Animation Parameters (FAP). A mid-level Partial Expression
Parameters (PEP) space is then used to in a two level structure: the
PAD-PEP mapping and the PEP-FAP translation model.
One open challenge in computer animation is a photorealistic
animation of humans. Currently, most computer-animated movies show
animal characters (A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Ice Age,
Over the Hedge, Open Season, Rio), fantasy characters (Monsters
Inc., Shrek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4, Monsters vs. Aliens),
anthropomorphic machines (Cars, WALL-E, Robots) or cartoon-like
humans (The Incredibles, Despicable Me, Up). The movie Final
Fantasy: The Spirits Within is often cited as the first
computer-generated movie to attempt to show realistic-looking
humans. However, due to the enormous complexity of the human body,
human motion, and human biomechanics, realistic simulation of humans
remains largely an open problem. Another problem is the distasteful
psychological response to viewing nearly perfect animation of
humans, known as "the uncanny valley." It is one of the "holy
grails" of computer animation. Eventually, the goal is to create
software where the animator can generate a movie sequence showing a
photorealistic human character, undergoing physically plausible
motion, together with clothes, photorealistic hair, a complicated
natural background, and possibly interacting with other simulated
human characters. This could be done in a way that the viewer is no
longer able to tell if a particular movie sequence is
computer-generated, or created using real actors in front of movie
cameras. Complete human realism is not likely to happen very
soon,but when it does it may have major repercussions for the film
industry.
For the moment it looks like three dimensional computer animation
can be divided into two main directions; photorealistic and
non-photorealistic rendering. Photorealistic computer animation can
itself be divided into two subcategories; real photorealism (where
performance capture is used in the creation of the virtual human
characters) and stylized photorealism. Real photorealism is what
Final Fantasy tried to achieve and will in the future most likely
have the ability to give us live action fantasy features as The Dark
Crystal without having to use advanced puppetry and animatronics,
while Antz is an example on stylistic photorealism (in the future
stylized photorealism will be able to replace traditional stop
motion animation as in Corpse Bride, Coraline, Nightmare Before
Christmas. None of these mentioned are perfected as of yet, but the
progress continues.
The non-photorealistic/cartoonish direction is more like an
extension of traditional animation, an attempt to make the animation
look like a three dimensional version of a cartoon, still using and
perfecting the main principles of animation articulated by the Nine
Old Men, such as squash and stretch.
While a single frame from a photorealistic computer-animated feature
will look like a photo if done right, a single frame vector from a
cartoonish computer-animated feature will look like a painting (not
to be confused with cel shading, which produces an even simpler
look).
CGI short films have been produced as independent animation since
1976, though the popularity of computer animation (especially in the
field of special effects) skyrocketed during the modern era of U.S.
animation. The first completely computer-generated television series
was ReBoot, in 1994, and the first completely computer-generated
animated movie was Toy Story (1995). See List of computer-animated
films for more.
The popularity of websites which allows members to upload their own
movies for others to view has created a growing community of amateur
computer animators. With utilities and programs often included free
with modern operating systems, many users can make their own
animated movies and shorts. Several free and open source animation
software applications exist as well. A popular amateur approach to
animation is via the animated GIF format, which can be uploaded and
seen on the web easily.
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For many years, I have lived
uncomfortably with the belief that most planning and architectural design
suffers for lack of real and basic purpose. The ultimate purpose, it seems
to me, must be the improvement of mankind.
James Rouse
I am but an architectural composer.
Alexander Jackson Davis
I hope that America as a whole, and especially its architects, will become
more seriously involved in producing a new architectural culture that would
bring the nation to the apex - where it has stood before - and lead the
world.
Tadao Ando
I look upon myself as a musical bricklayer with architectural aspirations.
Robert Mayer
I'd say that my profession ends where architectural thinking ends -
architectural thinking in terms of thinking about programs and
organizational structure. These abstractions play a role in many other
disciplines, and those disciplines are now defining their 'architectures' as
well.
Rem Koolhaas
I'm not an architectural composer.
Harrison Birtwistle
It fills one with a sense of architectural possibility.
Paul Goldberger
It was always my intention that The Frieze should be housed in a room which
would provide a suitable architectural frame for it.
Edvard Munch
Profit and bottom line, the contemporary mantra, eliminates the very source
of architectural expression.
Arthur Erickson
Supply and demand regulate architectural form.
Adolf Loos
The center of Western culture is Greece, and we have never lost our ties
with the architectural concepts of that ancient civilization.
Stephen Gardiner
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