Animation authoring system and method for authoring animation

• US 10,152,817 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2010
• Issued: 12/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jae Woong Jeon
• Original Assignee: Jae Woong Jeon
• Inventors: Choy, Yoon Chul, Jeon, Jae Woong, Jang, Hyun Ho
• Primary Examiner(s): Merouan, Abderrahim
• Application Number:
  US13/695,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20130135316A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,953 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/20 3D [Three Dimensional] animation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2213/08 Animation software package

Abstract

This invention relates to an animation authoring system and an animation authoring method, to enable beginners to produce a three-dimensional animation easily and to solve input ambiguity problem in the three-dimensional environment. The animation authoring method according to the invention comprises the steps of: (a) receiving a plane route of an object on a predetermined reference plane from a user; (b) creating a motion window formed along the plane route and having a predetermined angle to the reference plane to receive motion information of the object on the motion window from the user; and (c) implementing an animation according to the received motion information.

Claims

1. An animation authoring method, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a first screen electronically displaying a reference plane to a user;

(b) determining a plane route of an object on the reference plane according to a sketch of a line that the user makes on the first screen;

(c) forming a motion window extending in a upward direction from the plane route on the reference plane, the motion window making an angle to the reference plane;

(d) providing a second screen displaying the motion window to the user, a bottom line of the motion window on the second screen corresponding to the plane route;

(e) receiving a sketch of a gesture for the object on the second screen;

(f) determining gesture data of the object and corresponding parameters based on the sketch of the gesture;

(g) determining a motion of the object in the motion window based on the gesture data of the object and corresponding parameters; and

(h) implementing an animation based on the determined plane route and the determined motion,

wherein a type of the motion of the object corresponds to a shape of the gesture.

2. The animation authoring method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parameters include the speed or height of the object, and wherein the speed of the object corresponds to the speed of the user drawing the gesture and the height of the object corresponds to the height of the gesture.

3. The animation authoring method as claimed in claim 1, wherein step (g) comprises the step of displaying the gesture to the user via the second screen while a virtual camera moves along the motion window in the input direction of the gesture, maintaining a distance to the motion window.

4. The animation authoring method as claimed in claim 3, wherein, when the gesture gets out of the motion window, the virtual camera performs zoom out with respect to the second screen.

5. The animation authoring method as claimed in claim 3, wherein, when the input direction of the gesture is changed to the opposite direction, the virtual camera performs scrolling with respect to the second screen in the corresponding direction.

6. The animation authoring method as claimed in claim 1, wherein step (g) comprises the step of converting the gesture data into the corresponding one of pre-stored motion data.

7. The animation authoring method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising the step of:

(g′

) after step (g) and before step (h), creating a motion sequence of the object by arranging the motion data and the corresponding parameters in a temporal manner.

8. The animation authoring method as claimed in claim 1, wherein step (g) comprises:

(g1) partitioning the gesture data;

(g2) determining whether the gesture data in each partition corresponds to predetermined motion data; and

(g3) if it is determined that the gesture data corresponds to the predetermined motion data, converting the gesture data to the motion data, and if it is determined that the gesture data does not correspond to the predetermined motion data, converting the gesture data to pre-stored basic motion data.

9. The animation authoring method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the determined motion of the object in the motion window is a main route movement of the object in the motion window, and the method further comprising the step of:

(g′

) after step (g) and before step (h), providing a third screen displaying a plurality of secondary motion windows passing through the main route and each formed with an interval therebetween, and determining detailed motions of the object in the plurality of secondary motion windows according to information on the detailed motions in the plurality of secondary motion windows that the user inputs via the third screen.

10. An animation authoring system, comprising:

a plane route module to provide a first screen displaying a reference plane to a user and determine a plane route of an object on the reference plane according to a sketch of a line that the user makes on the first screen;

a motion window module configured to;

form a motion window extending in a upward direction from the plane route on the reference plane, the motion window making an angle to the reference plane;

provide a second screen displaying the motion window to the user, a bottom line of the motion window on the second screen corresponding to the plane route;

receive a sketch of a gesture for the object on the second screen;

determine gesture data of the object and corresponding parameters based on the sketch of the gesture; and

determine a motion of the object in the motion window based on the gesture data of the object and corresponding parameter; and

an animation implementation unit to implement an animation based on the determined plane route and the determined motion,

wherein a type of the motion of the object corresponds to a shape of the gesture.

11. The animation authoring system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the motion window module further displays the gesture to the user via the second screen while a virtual camera moves along the motion window in the input direction of the gesture, and maintains a distance to the motion window,

wherein, when the gesture gets out of the motion window, the virtual camera performs zoom out with respect to the second screen, and

wherein, when the input direction of the gesture is changed to the opposite direction, the virtual camera performs scrolling with respect to the second screen in the corresponding direction.

12. The animation authoring system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the motion window module further converts the gesture data into the corresponding one of pre-stored motion data and creates a motion sequence of the object by arranging the motion data and the corresponding parameters in a temporal manner.

13. The animation authoring system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the motion window module partitions the gesture data, determines whether the gesture data in each partition corresponds to predetermined motion data, and if it is determined that the gesture data corresponds to the predetermined motion data, converts the gesture data to the motion data, and if it is determined that the gesture data does not correspond to the predetermined motion data, converts the gesture data to pre-stored basic motion data.

14. The animation authoring system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the determined motion of the object in the motion window is a main route movement of the object in the motion window, and

wherein the motion window module provides a third screen displaying a plurality of secondary motion windows passing through the main route and each formed with an interval therebetween, and determining detailed motions of the object in the plurality of secondary motion windows according to information on the detailed motions in the plurality of secondary motion windows that the user inputs via the third screen.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions which, when executed by a computer system, perform an animation authoring method, the method comprising:

(a) providing a first screen electronically displaying a reference plane to a user;

(b) determining a plane route of an object on the reference plane according to a sketch of a line that the user makes on the first screen;

(c) forming a motion window extending in a upward direction from the plane route on the reference plane, the motion window making an angle to the reference plane;

(d) providing a second screen displaying the motion window to the user, a bottom line of the motion window on the second screen corresponding to the plane route;

(e) receiving a sketch of a gesture for the object on the second screen;

(f) determining gesture data of the object and corresponding parameters based on the sketch of the gesture;

(g) determining a motion of the object in the motion window based on the gesture data of the object and corresponding parameter; and

(h) implementing an animation based on the determined plane route and the determined motion,

wherein a type of the motion of the object corresponds to a shape of the gesture.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein step (g) comprises the step of displaying the gesture to the user via the second screen while a virtual camera moves along the motion window in the input direction of the gesture, maintaining a distance to the motion window

wherein, when the gesture gets out of the motion window, the virtual camera performs zoom out with respect to the second screen, and

wherein, when the input direction of the gesture is changed to the opposite direction, the virtual camera performs scrolling with respect to the second screen in the corresponding direction.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein step (g) comprises the step of converting the gesture data into the corresponding one of pre-stored motion data, and after step (g) and before step (h), creating a motion sequence of the object by arranging the motion data and the corresponding parameters in a temporal manner.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein step (g) comprises:

(g1) partitioning the gesture data;

(g2) determining whether the gesture data in each partition corresponds to predetermined motion data; and

(g3) if it is determined that the gesture data corresponds to the predetermined motion data, converting the gesture data to the motion data, and if it is determined that the gesture data does not correspond to the predetermined motion data, converting the gesture data to pre-stored basic motion data.