Vision-based posing of 3D virtual actors

Abstract

Construction of key poses is one of the most tedious and time consuming steps in synthesizing of 3D virtual actors. Recent alternate schemes expect the user to specify two inputs. Along with a neutral 3D reference model, more intuitive 2D inputs such as sketches, photographs or video frames are provided. Using these, of all the possible configurations, the "best" 3D virtual actor is posed In this paper, we provide a solution to this ill-posed problem. We first give a solution to the problem of finding an approximate view consistent with the 2D sketch. Elements of this rigid-body solution are novel. Next, we provide a new solution to the process of extending or retracting limbs to more accurately suit the sketch. This posing algorithm, is based on a search based scheme inspired by anthropometric evidence. Less physical work is required by the actor to reach the desired pose from the base position. We also show that our algorithm converges to an acceptable solution much faster compared to the previous methods.