Approximate 3D Models out of 2D Strokes
When looking at the traditional production process (Blair
1994), animators first make reference drawings, which contain
proportion guidelines, of the separate objects.
Afterwards, the key poses of all the characters are created,
thereby referring to the reference images in order to retain
the proportions. This latter step is usually done by (i) constructing
the characters from circular and rounded “3D–ish”
forms (see figure 6(a)) that support the animator in retaining
the volume of the characters throughout the entire production,
and (ii) drawing outlines of the characters by making
sketches along the silhouettes of the rounded shapes (see figure
6(b)).
In a following stage, the so–called inbetween frames are
drawn.
It is obvious that this traditional procedure is unmanageable
and that mistakes are quickly made.
With our sketching tool, we propose to enhance these conventional
working practices in the creation of key poses