Exploring Inbetween Charts with Trajectory-guided Sliders for Cutout Animation
Tsukasa Fukusato1, Akinobu Maejima2, 3, Takeo Igarashi4, and Tatsuo Yotsukura2, 3
1 Waseda University
2 OLM Digital Inc.
3 IMAGICA GROUP Inc.
4 The University of Tokyo
Abstract
We introduce an interactive tool to intuitively make inbetween charts for cutout character movements (i.e., transitioning from one image to another), inspired by cartoon animators’ techniques. Given several keyframes, this system constructs trajectory-guided sliders that enable users to directly adjust inbetween values on a screen. In addition, these sliders can visualize simple inbetween timings to provide guidance on cartoon-like motions, such as animating “on twos” and “slow-in/out” in the background of the slider. Thus, the users can intuitively explore inbetween charts until they are satisfied. This method is simple enough to easily implement in existing animation-authoring tools. We conduct a user study with novice and amateur users and confirm that the proposed slider (including the guidance function) is effective for manually constructing the inbetween charts envisioned by the users.
Acknowledgement
This research was supported by Waseda University Grant for Special Research Projects (Project number: 2023Q-009).
Publication
Tsukasa Fukusato, Akinobu Maejima, Takeo Igarashi, and Tatsuo Yotsukura. "Exploring Inbetween Charts with Trajectory-guided Sliders for Cutout Animation." Multimedia Tools and Applications, Vol.83, Issue.15, pp.44581--44594, Springer, 2023.10.
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