Computer Facial Animation

Wikipedia

Number of words	1970
Computer science content	medium
Math content	low
English language complexity	medium

Sub-areas covered

Computer graphics

Learning objectives

to acquire basic vocabulary related to facial animation
to become familiar with different 3D-animation systems
to gain understanding of the major problems connected with speech animation

Keywords

morphing (morfing)

a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes (or morphs) one image into another through a seamless transition

keyframe (klatka kluczowa)

a key frame (or keyframe) in animation and film making is a drawing which defines the starting and ending points of any smooth transition

texture (tekstura)

a bitmap image applied to a surface in computer graphics

computer vision

the science and technology of machines that see

alignment (wyrównanie)

the adjustment of an object in relation with other objects, or a static orientation of some object or set of objects in relation to others.

motion capture

refers to the technique of recording the actions of human actors, and using that information to animate digital character models in 3D animation

Summary

A fairly general text about facial animation in computer graphics. It contains a short history of facial animation from the Facial Action Coding System, which defines 64 basic facial Action Units, to films like: The Matrix or The Lord of the Rings. The second part describes animation techniques: 2D animation, 3D animation and speech animation.

Tekst traktuje w sposób ogólny problem komputerowej animacji twarzy. Pierwsza część zapoznaje nas z historią tego zagadnienia poczynając od roku 1978, gdy pierwszy raz pojawił się FACS (Facial Action Coding System) zawierający 64 podstawowe jednostki ruchu twarzy, na animacji twarzy w filmach takich jak Matrix, czy Władca Pierścieni kończąc. Dalsza część tekstu zapoznaje nas z technikami używanymi w komputerowej animacji twarzy. Po kolei omawiane są techniki 2D, 3D i animacja mowy.

Pre-reading questions

Students are given pictures of human faces and try to guess what emotions they show.
What is the number of facial muscles?
Why are facial expressions so important in our lives?
Where can facial animations be used?
What is the rendering process in computer graphics? What is the motion capture technique?