Hello everyone my name is Erin McClure. I am in my last semester of my undergraduate degree in Computer Science. Previously, I received my bachelors in theatre. I am taking this class because I am interested in how computer science can support, create, and influence art. I had previously decided that my two educations would exist independently of each other. Since getting the opportunity to take the ubiquitous computing class and the opportunity to work in the Hand and Machine Lab I have been able to see my two educational backgrounds as complementary. The overlap in creative and technical disciplines is new to me but this area of study has quickly become a new and growing obsession.
As a creator and consumer I am particularly drawn to the art of visual story telling. The power a play, a film, or a tv show has to inspire deep thought and empathy is a phenomenon that continually fascinates me. I am so impressed with the props and costumes that have come to fruition out of digital fabrication. As I was looking for concrete examples of these props, I discovered this paper: “A system for efficient 3D printed stop-motion face animation.”
The Dynamic Graphics Project lab developed an algorithm that takes an animation in as input to produce an efficient set of replacement parts that captures the full range of expression shown in the animation. The algorithm first identifies areas of the animation that are close to stationary, next replacement parts are created and added to the replacement library iteratively until a combination of each replacement part can be mapped to the input animation. Below is a figure that generally illustrates their algorithm.
This software reduces the cost to create motion stop animation considerably. The figures bellow illustrates the significant size difference in replacement parts library between the industry standard and the DGP’s replacement parts library.
This research increases the access to the art of stop motion animation. I love that an algorithm is facilitating more people being able to tell their stories .
References and Links:
Rinat Abdrashitov, Alec Jacobson, and Karan Singh. 2019. A System for Efficient 3D Printed Stop-motion Face Animation. ACM Trans. Graph. 39, 1, Article 1 (February 2020), 11 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3360510
Hello, Erin:
Thanks for this great sharing, I also love the fascinating effects these techniques can make in movies and shows. Hope you can be a storyteller with these techniques one day.
Hi Erin! I think it’s super fascinating that you have been able to find overlap between your two degrees and build passion for something previously unexpected. I think that the intersection between art and computing is important in a world increasing in technology because I think art is vital to exercising our humanity, whatever that even means. In general I think that crossing and merging disciplines is how new and beautiful and revolutionizing ideas emerge, because it allows us to step outside of the box of what we are used to, and see the world through fresh eyes. In regard to the project you chose, I love animation as well as stop motion animation, so I find this very fascinating! The work that is put into stop motion is astounding, especially what I’ve seen Laika do. The engineering they do for their characters is awesome and I love that the process itself evolves and is just as creative as the actual stories they tell. I think it’s awesome that 3d printing and algorithms can help make this process even more accessible and possibly help them create even more:)