Tools for Live 2D Animation

Abstract

Live animation of 2D characters is an emerging form of storytelling that has begun to

appear on streaming platforms and broadcast TV. Unlike traditional animation, human

performers control characters in real time so that they can respond and improvise

to live events. Current live animation systems provide a range of animation controls,

such as camera input to drive head movements, audio for lip sync, and keyboard

shortcuts to trigger discrete pose changes via artwork swaps. However, managing all

of these controls during a live performance is challenging.

This dissertation presents four tools to assist performers in creating compelling live

2D animation. To create more compelling characters, we propose three tools to control

artwork layers' swaps and deformations. First, we introduce an interactive system

that addresses the problem of triggering artwork swaps in live settings. Next, another

system transfers poses from an input video to a character, automatically driving

new animation through pose data. We also describe a framework that augments the

primary motion of a character by adding secondary motion - subtle movement of parts

like hair, foliage or cloth that complements and emphasizes the primary motion. To

add more details to scene backgrounds, we show a mixed initiative interface which,

from a few user-drawn scribbles, extracts repetitive texture elements in an image, and

supports animating them.