Image-based Animation

Abstract

Animation has evolved over the years – from the early days of 2D animation to the present technology of using GPU-based shader programs for providing complex, photorealistic lighting. One thing has, however, remained constant – a geometrical model has been considered essential in computer animation. In this paper, we propose an alternative. An image-based framework is presented for creating arbitrary motions of an object using only captured images of the object; no geometry of the object or the environment is provided by the user. Photorealism is an immediate side effect as a consequence. Specifically we preprocess a set of images of a static object under a set of carefully chosen lighting configurations. Now given an arbitrary environment in the form of images again, and any arbitrary three-dimensional path that the object is desired to move, our algorithm creates a motion sequence of the object-realistically composed in the new environment.