Sketch-driven character posing/animation technique.
In particular embodiments, a 2D representation of an object may be provided. A first method may comprise: receiving sketch input identifying a target position for a specified portion of the object; computing a deformation for the object within the context of a character rig specification for the object; and displaying an updated version of the object. A second method may comprise detecting sketch input; classifying the sketch input, based on the 2D representation, as an instantiation of the object; instantiating the object using a 3D model of the object; and displaying a 3D visual representation of the object.
TECHNICAL FIELD (1) This disclosure generally relates to animation tools. BACKGROUND (2) In traditional two-dimensional (“2D”) animation, artists may craft each pose of a character by hand using pencil and paper or any other suitable medium. This tangible connection may provide a powerful interface that may give artists substantial control over a character's shape. In three-dimensional (“3D”) animation, posing a character may be a more involved endeavor, since it may entails the coordinated movement of thousands or more vertices. To make this process tractable, rigging artists may build rigs that may define the space of meaningful deformations for a character in terms of abstract rigging parameters (e.g., a full character rig or a rig for a portion of a character). In some situations, animators may determine a character's pose indirectly by choosing values for these parameters. (3) Rigging is the process of taking a static 3D mesh and preparing it for animation. This process involves creating a hierarchical set of interconnected “bones” (referred to as the skeleton or character rig) which is then used to animate the mesh. Additionally, rigging a character may involve placement of the character rig (or the skeleton), creation of a joint hierarchy, forward kinematics, inverse kinematics, defining degrees of freedom and constraints, and/or facial rigging. In reference to the joint hierarchy, in order for a character rig to function properly the joints must follow a logical hiera
1. A method, performed by one or more computing devices, comprising: providing a two-dimensional (2D) representation of an object to be animated, wherein the 2D representation of the object is created by projection of a three-dimensional (3D) model of the object into a viewing plane; mapping rig parameters of a character rig specification for the object to a 2D representation of the 3D model and to a surface mesh for the 3D model, wherein changes to the character rig specification simultaneously influence the surface mesh and the 2D representation; receiving sketch input with respect to the object, wherein the sketch input identifies a target position for a specified portion of the object; updating the character rig specification based on the target position for the specified portion of the object; computing a deformation for the object based on the updated character rig specification, wherein: the surface mesh and the 2D representation are deformed in accordance with the computed deformation, the character rig specification comprises a defined space of deformations, and the computed deformation is within the defined space; and displaying an updated version of the 2D representation of the object based on the computed deformation. ||
11. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to: provide a two-dimensional (2D) representation of an object to be animated, wherein the 2D representation of the object is created by projection of a three-dimensional (3D) model of the object into a viewing plane; map rig parameters of a character rig specification for the object to a 2D representation of the 3D model and to a surface mesh for the 3D model, wherein changes to the character rig specification simultaneously influence the surface mesh and the 2D representation; receive sketch input with respect to the object, wherein the sketch input identifies a target position for a specified portion of the object; update the character rig specification based on the target position for the specified portion of the object; compute a deformation for the object based on the updated character rig specification for the object, wherein the character rig specification comprises the 3D model of the object, and wherein: the surface mesh and the 2D representation are deformed in accordance with the computed deformation, the character rig specification comprises a defined space of deformations, and the computed deformation is within the defined space; and display an updated version of the 2D representation of the object based on the computed deformation. ||
20. A system comprising: one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media coupled to one or more of the processors and comprising instructions operable when executed by one or more of the processors to cause the system to: provide a two-dimensional (2D) representation of an object to be animated, wherein the 2D representation of the object is created by projection of a three-dimensional (3D) model of the object into a viewing plane; map rig parameters of a character rig specification for the object to a 2D representation of the 3D model and to a surface mesh for the 3D model, wherein changes to the character rig specification simultaneously influence the 3D model and the 2D representation of the 3D model; receive sketch input with respect to the object, wherein the sketch input identifies a target position for a specified portion of the object; update the character rig specification based on the target position for the specified portion of the object; compute a deformation for the object based on the updated character rig specification for the object, wherein the character rig specification comprises the 3D model of the object, and wherein: the surface mesh and the 2D representation are deformed in accordance with the computed deformation, the character rig specification comprises a defined space of deformations, and the computed deformation is within the defined space; and display an updated version of the 2D representation of the object based on the computed deformation.