Animation producing method and device, and recorded medium on which program is recorded

• US 20030132938A1
• Filed: 11/27/2002
• Published: 07/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shibao, Tadahide
• Granted Patent: US 7,095,413 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/473
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/00 Animation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2213/08 Animation software package

Abstract

An animation creating device creates composite animation, in which an object has been added to a pre-described animation image that includes a motion object, the animation creating device including: an additional object selecting section (14), which selects an additional object; a motion animation creating section (20), which generates motion animation, in which the motion object moves according to the selected additional object, using the pre-described animation image; and an animation composite section (15), which combines the motion animation with an animation image of the additional object. This provides an animation creating method and an animation creating device with a capability to create composite animation with simple operations and in a short period of time. An animation creating program, which is provided to execute the animation creating method on a computer, is recorded in a computer-readable recording medium.

Claims

1. An animation creating method for creating composite animation by entering editing instructions so as to add a previously created second object to a pre-described animation image that includes a first object,

said method comprising the steps of:

selecting the second object;

generating motion animation in which the first object moves according to the selected second object, using the pre-described animation image; and

combining the motion animation with an animation image of the second object.

2. The animation creating method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the step of preparing plural types of object data that include the animation image of the second object and that include control information for controlling movement of the first object,

said step of selecting the second object selecting at least one of said plural types of object data,

said step of generating motion animation controlling movement of the first object based on the control information.

3. The animation creating method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the step of entering positional information that is indicative of a position of the animation image of the second object added to the pre-described animation image,

said step of generating motion animation changing the motion animation in accordance with the positional information.

4. The animation creating method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the step of entering positional information that is indicative of a position of the animation image of the second object added to the pre-described animation image,

said step of selecting the second object changing the second object in accordance with the positional information.

5. The animation creating method as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said step of selecting the second object successively selects a plurality of different objects as second objects, and

said step of generating motion animation controls movement of the first object based on order the second objects were selected.

6. The animation creating method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the step of outputting composite animation, which is a result of composition of the motion animation with the animation image of the second object.

7. The animation creating method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying an icon that is indicative of the second object,

said step of selecting the second object further including the step of selecting the displayed icon.

8. The animation creating method as set forth in claim 7, wherein said step of displaying an icon that is indicative of the second object displays only an icon that is indicative of a second object that can be added to the pre-described animation image.

9. The animation creating method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

outputting an animation file, which is animation that was obtained by combining the motion animation with the animation image of the second object;

selecting a third object that is different from the second object;

generating second motion animation in which the first object moves according to the selected second object and the third object, using a pre-stored animation file; and

combining the second motion animation with an animation image of the third object.

10. The animation creating method as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said step of entering the second object enters additional animation, which is animation of the second object, and

said step of combining the motion animation with the second object combines the motion animation with the additional animation.

11. An animation creating method for creating composite animation by entering editing instructions so as to selectively add at least one of a plurality of previously created second objects to a pre-described animation image that includes a first object,

said method comprising the steps of:

selecting at least one of the second objects in relation to the first object;

generating motion animation in which the first object moves according to contents of a relation between the second object and the first object; and

combining the motion animation with animation image of the second object.

12. The animation creating method as set forth in claim 11, further comprising the step of preparing plural types of object data that include control information for controlling the animation image of the second object and movement of the first object,

said step of selecting the second object selecting at least one of the plural types of object data, and

said step of generating motion animation controlling movement of the first object based on the control information.

13. The animation creating method as set forth in claim 11, further comprising the step of entering positional information that is indicative of a position of the animation image of the second object added to the pre-described animation image,

said step of generating motion animation changing the motion animation in accordance with the positional information.

14. An animation creating device for creating composite animation by entering editing instructions so as to add a previously created second object to a pre-described animation image that includes a first object,

said animation creating device comprising:

an object selecting section, which selects the second object;

a motion animation generating section, which generates motion animation in which the first object moves according to the selected second object, using the pre-described animation image; and

an animation composite section, which combines the motion animation with an animation image of the second object.

15. The animation creating device as set forth in claim 14, further comprising a positional information input section for entering positional information that is indicative of a position of the animation image of the second object added to the pre-described animation image,

said motion animation generating section changing the motion animation in accordance with the positional information.

16. The animation creating device as set forth in claim 14, further comprising a positional information input section for entering positional information that is indicative of a position of the animation image of the second object added to the pre-described animation image,

said object selecting section changing the second object in accordance with the positional information.

17. A computer-readable recording medium recording an animation creating program that creates composite animation upon entry of user editing instructions, by adding a previously created second object to a pre-described animation image that includes a first object,

said computer-readable recording medium recording the animation creating program, in response to selection of the second object by a user, generating motion animation in which the first object moves according to the selected second object, using the pre-described animation image, and thereafter combining the motion animation with an animation image of the second object.

18. An animation creating program that creates composite animation upon entry of user editing instructions, by adding a previously created second object to a pre-described animation image that includes a first object,

said animation creating program, in response to selection of the second object by a user, generating motion animation in which the first object moves according to the selected second object, using the pre-described animation image, and thereafter combining the motion animation with an animation image of the second object.