Line drawing image generating device, storage medium, and line drawing image generating method

• US 20040217970A1
• Filed: 10/28/2003
• Published: 11/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HAL Laboratory, Inc., Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: HAL Laboratory, Inc., Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Fujita, Yoshikazu
• Granted Patent: US 7,095,417 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/589
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6009 for importing or creating game content, e.g. authoring tools during game development, adapting content to different platforms, use of a scripting language to create content
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6692 using special effects, generally involving post-processing, e.g. blooming
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8094 Unusual game types, e.g. virtual cooking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/20 Drawing from basic elements, e.g. lines or circles

Abstract

In an original image, an area whose brightness is smaller than a predetermined value is detected as an ink line area, and a neighboring area of the ink line area, which surrounds the ink line area, is detected as a neighboring area. Furthermore, with respect to an area other than the ink line area and the neighboring area in the original image, an outline portion of an image is detected as an outline area. A color is applied to the ink line area and the outline area, and a different color is applied to an area other than the above two types of area.

Claims

1. A line drawing image generating device for generating line drawing data based on original image data, comprising:

ink line area detecting means for detecting an area whose brightness is smaller than a predetermined value in an original image, as an ink line area;

neighboring area detecting means for detecting a neighboring area of the ink line area, which surrounds the ink line area;

outline area detecting means for detecting an outline portion of an image as an outline area, with respect to an area other than the ink line area and the neighboring area in the original image;

line drawing data storing means for storing the line drawing data; and

color data writing means for writing color data to a storage area of the line drawing data storing means, which corresponds to the ink line area and the outline area, and writing different color data to a storage area of the line drawing data storing means, which corresponds to an area other than the ink line area and the outline area.

2. The line drawing image generating device according to claim 1, wherein

the original image contains a plurality of pixels, and

when the ink line area is included in a predetermined area surrounding a pixel to be processed in the original image, and the pixel to be processed is not included in the ink line area, the neighboring area detecting means detects the pixel to be processed as the neighboring area.

3. The line drawing image generating device according to claim 1, wherein the ink line area detecting means detects, as the ink line area, a portion of an area where brightness is smaller than a predetermined value, such that the portion lies near the outline of the area.

4. The line drawing image generating device according to claim 3, wherein

the original image contains a plurality of pixels, and

when an area other than the ink line area is included in a predetermined area surrounding a pixel to be processed included in an area whose brightness is smaller than a predetermined value, the ink line area detecting means detects the pixel to be processed as the ink line area.

5. The line drawing image generating device according to claim 1, further comprising still image data extracting means for extracting arbitrary still image data from moving image data, wherein

the line drawing data is generated using the still image data, which is extracted by the still image data extracting means, as the original image data.

6. A computer readable storage medium storing a line drawing image generating program for generating line drawing data based on original image data, wherein the line drawing image generating program causes a computer to execute:

an ink line area detecting step of detecting an area whose brightness is smaller than a predetermined value in an original image as an ink line area;

a neighboring area detecting step of detecting a neighboring area of the ink line area, which surrounds the ink line area;

an outline area detecting step of detecting an outline portion of an image as an outline area with respect to an area other than the ink line area and the neighboring area in the original image; and

a color data writing step of writing color data to a storage area of line drawing data storing means for storing the line drawing data, which corresponds to the ink line area and the outline area, and writing different color data to a storage area of the line drawing data storing means, which corresponds to an area other than the ink line area and the outline area.

7. The storage medium according to claim 6, wherein

the original image contains a plurality of pixels, and

when the ink line area is included in a predetermined area surrounding a pixel to be processed in the original image and the pixel to be processed is not included in the ink line area, the line drawing image generating program causes the computer to detect the pixel to be processed as the neighboring area at the neighboring area detecting step.

8. The storage medium according to claim 6, wherein the ink line area detecting step detects, as the ink line area, a portion of an area where brightness is smaller than a predetermined value, such that the portion lies near the outline of the area.

9. The storage medium according to claim 8, wherein

the original image contains a plurality of pixels, and

when an area other than the ink line area is included in a predetermined area surrounding a pixel to be processed included in an area whose brightness is smaller than a predetermined value, the line drawing image generating program causes the computer to detect the pixel to be processed as the ink line area at the ink line area detecting step.

10. The line drawing image generating program according to claim 6 further causing the computer to execute a still image data extracting step of extracting arbitrary still image data from moving image data, wherein

the line drawing image generating program causes the computer to generate the line drawing data using the still image data, which is extracted by the still image data extracting step, as the original image data.

11. A line drawing image generating method for generating line drawing data based on original image data, comprising:

an ink line area detecting step of detecting an area whose brightness is smaller than a predetermined value in an original image, as an ink line area;

a neighboring area detecting step of detecting a neighboring area of the ink line area, which surrounds the ink line area;

an outline area detecting step of detecting an outline portion of an image as an outline area with respect to an area other than the ink line area and the neighboring area in the original image; and

a color data writing step of writing color data to a storage area of line drawing data storing means for storing the line drawing data, which corresponds to the ink line area and the outline area, and writing different color data to a storage area of the line drawing data storing means, which corresponds to an area other than the ink line area and the outline area.