Animated Drawings: Bringing Drawings to Life
Animated Drawings is a fascinating project that builds on the idea of animating children's drawings of human figures. This initiative, based on the paper titled "A Method for Animating Children's Drawings of the Human Figure," is designed to be both a creative tool and a platform for exploration. It allows users to animate their own sketched characters easily. The project invites users to share their creative outputs through the hashtag #FAIRAnimatedDrawings on social media, especially on Twitter.
Getting Started: Installation
To get started with Animated Drawings, it is recommended to use a Python virtual environment. Conda's Miniconda is a suitable tool for setting up this environment. Once set up, users can clone the Animated Drawings repository from GitHub and use pip to install the necessary components. The project supports macOS Ventura 13.2.1 and Ubuntu 18.04, but there may be challenges when using other operating systems. Mac M1/M2 users might need to make specific adjustments if they encounter architecture errors during installation.
How to Use Animated Drawings
Quick Start Guide
Once installed, animating a drawing is straightforward. Users open a terminal, activate the conda environment, launch a Python interpreter, and perform a simple sequence of commands. This configuration will bring up an interactive window where users can animate characters and control various elements, such as motion and scenes, using configuration files.
Exporting Animations
Animated Drawings offers several options for exporting animations. Users can choose to export their creations as MP4 videos or transparent GIFs, allowing for flexibility depending on the intended use of the animations.
Animating Your Own Drawings
The project simplifies the process of animating personal drawings. Users can use Docker or run scripts locally on macOS to convert images into animations. These methods involve detecting and estimating the pose of drawn characters and creating annotation files necessary for animation. In the event of inaccurate predictions, the project offers tools to manually adjust and correct these predictions.
Advanced Features
Adding Multiple Characters and Backgrounds
Animated Drawings supports complex animations by allowing multiple characters within a scene. Users can also enhance their animations by adding backgrounds using configuration files.
Using Different Motion Files
To cater to various animation needs, the project supports BVH files, allowing artists to use different motion clips with various skeletons. Additionally, Animated Drawings provides options to create custom BVH files using modern tools like Rokoko, which enables users to capture motion data from regular videos.
Custom Configurations
Users who wish to customize their animations further can create their own configuration files. This flexibility makes Animated Drawings a versatile tool for animation enthusiasts.
Browser-Based Demo
For those who prefer a simple and accessible option, Animated Drawings offers a browser-based version, making it easy for users to experiment with animating their drawings without dealing with complex installations.
Research and Data
The project stems from a robust research foundation, culminating in a paper that explores animating children's drawings. This research also led to the creation of the Amateur Drawings Dataset, a unique collection featuring over 178,000 annotated drawings.
Animated Drawings exemplifies blending creativity with technology, offering a unique platform for bringing static drawings to life. Whether for educational purposes, entertainment, or personal passion, this project invites users of all backgrounds to explore the magic of animation.