SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING HIGHLY CUSTOMIZED BOOKS, MOVIES, AND OTHER PRODUCTS

• US 20140115451A1
• Filed: 06/28/2013
• Published: 04/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Madeleine Brett Sheldon-Dante
• Original Assignee: Madeleine Brett Sheldon-Dante
• Inventors: Sheldon-Dante, Madeleine Brett
• Application Number:
  US13/929,919
• Publication Number:
  US 20140115451A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/255
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates

Abstract

A system and method is described for customizing commercial-quality movies, books, and other products and media. An interface is employed to guide customers through the customization process, presenting a menu of available movies, books, products, and other offerings, as well as providing customers with the ability to continuously or discretely adjust a wide range of physical attributes to improve resemblance between them and their characters. A high degree of customization is achieved through the selective adjustment of the transparency of two-dimensional layers, through the manipulation of three-dimensional models, or through a combination thereof. Files size is kept to a minimum by recursively adding categories of body components to a base file. A dynamic database of body components is structured for easy expansion and so as to allow characters to migrate easily between artistic styles.

Claims

1. A system and method for publishing a customized media publication comprising:

a vendor-established digitized media publication having at least one of text, characters and illustrations disposed to be customized by a registered user;

said vendor providing an on-line accessible program permitting said user to perform said customization;

said user, having customized said digitized media publication, directs said vendor to publish and said media publication is published.

2. The system and method of claim 1 wherein said vendor-provided program presents vendor-selected features of an illustration of each character separately in selected variations in different layers in Photoshop or the like, said user selects a character, the program makes visible the corresponding layers and the user selects a variation of a feature which the program makes visible throughout the media publication all other layers being made invisible.

3. The system and method of claim 1 wherein said vendor creates at least one scene including a background and this and a tableau of at least one posed 3D character models are made available to the user and said user customizes the features of said at least one models and said customizations are propagated across all said at least one scenes.

5. The system and method of claim 1 wherein the vendor-provided program presents a posable 3D model for each character with specified poses and feature choices for each illustration in said media publication and said user selects poses and feature choices at will.

6. The system and method of claim 1 wherein the vendor-provided program presents a posable 3D model for each character and feature choices for each illustration in said media publication and said user creates poses for said model and selects feature choices at will.

7. The system and method of claim 3 wherein said feature choices include color, texture, size and shape.

8. The system and method of claim 3 wherein said user customizes said features by choosing from among vendor-selected variations of 3D features of each at least one 3D models.

9. The system and method of claim 3 wherein an interface allows said user to customize said features by directly manipulating at will the color, texture, size and shape of said features.

10. The system and method of claim 1 wherein the methods of claims 2 and 3 are combined in whole or in part.

11. The system and method of claim 2 wherein the color of said vendor-selected variations can be adjusted along a continuous color spectrum by said user.

12. A user interface for the system and method of claim 1 wherein said vendor provides a website, program or application wherein said user can design and save one or more avatars of family or friends adjusting such features as facial characteristics, hair color and style, clothing, accessories and the like, said user selecting a vendor-provided media publication and inserting said one or more avatars into that media publication, said vendor then printing said media publication.

13. A database structure for the system and method of claim 2, wherein comparable vendor-selected variations are identified across all vendor-established media publications, vendor-selected variations without direct analog in a given vendor-established media publication are assigned a closest match for said media publication, new instances of vendor-selected variations can be added to the database at any time, and based on the combination of variations of features selected by a user for one media publication, a combination of feature variations can be suggested to the user for all other vendor-established media publications.

14. A database structure for the system and method of claim 3, wherein comparable feature customizations are identified across all vendor-established media publications, feature customizations without direct analog in a given vendor-established media publication are assigned a closest match for said media publication, new instances of feature customizations can be added to the database at any time, and based on the combination of feature customizations selected by a user for one media publication, a combinations of feature customizations can be suggested to the user for all other vendor-established media publications.

18. The system and method of claim 1 wherein, in the course of publishing said media publication, said vendor adds, flattens, loads, renders, processes or otherwise combines customizable elements in more than one batch.

19. The system and method of claim 1 wherein the number of characters in said media publication can be changed according to the selections of said user.

4. The system and method of claim I wherein said vendor-provided program presents vendor-selected features of an illustration of each character separately in selected variations in one or more separate files, said user selects a character, the program loads the corresponding one or more files, and the user selects a variation of a feature which the program loads throughout the media publication all other layers being either deleted or never loaded.

15. The system and method of claim I wherein said vendor generates a movie, animation, or other moving image, customizes said movie, animation, or other moving image according to the selections of said user, and said vendor-provided program publishes said movie, animation, or other moving image.

16. The system and method of claim 15 wherein said movie, animation, or other moving image is generated using 2D animation techniques or graphics programs, and customized through the addition, removal, or varied transparency of vendor-selected 2D features, according to the selections of said user.

17. The system and method of claim 15 wherein said movie, animation, or other moving image is generated using 3D animation techniques or graphics programs, and customized through the addition, removal, or varied transparency of vendor-selected 3D features according to the selections of said user, or through the direct manipulation at will by said user of the the color, texture, size and shape of said 3D features, or through some combination of the two.