KR102560423B1 - Apparatus and method for 3d character animation - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a 3D character motion processing apparatus and a 3D character motion processing method. According to the first aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for processing motion of a 3D character having a surface implemented with vertices may include a simulator setting unit for arranging one or more simulators in a vertex group composed of one or more vertices, a simulator setting unit for sampling simulator bones according to the arrangement of the simulators, and a vertex rigging unit for rigging vertices belonging to the vertex groups to the simulator bones.

Description

3D character movement processing device and 3D character movement processing method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR 3D CHARACTER ANIMATION}

The present invention relates to a 3D character motion processing apparatus and a 3D character motion processing method, and more particularly, to a 3D character motion processing apparatus and a 3D character motion processing method that reduce a workload by adding a separate configuration capable of giving a unified set value to a group of 3D character vertices.

Technology in media content production has also greatly improved due to improved performance of display devices and information processing devices such as smart TVs, stereoscopic movies, smartphones, and head-mounted displays (HMDs). In particular, computer graphics appearing in advertisements and movies among media contents are produced at a level close to realism, and in games, 3D images including 3D characters are implemented to provide other pleasure to users.

In relation to the prior art document, Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0128316, “System and method for recommending 3D character installation based on broadcasting information,” analyzes user preferences based on broadcasting information, and then recommends installation of the user's preferred 3D character. A system and method are disclosed.

The above-described prior art presents a new consumption method in providing content related to 3D characters to users, but does not present an advanced technology in the field of producing 3D characters.

Therefore, a technique for solving the above problems has been required.

On the other hand, the above-described background art is technical information that the inventor possessed for derivation of the present invention or acquired during the derivation process of the present invention, and cannot necessarily be referred to as known art disclosed to the general public prior to filing the present invention.

An object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a 3D character motion processing apparatus and a 3D character motion processing method.

In addition, one embodiment of the present invention, in processing the motion of a 3D character by computer graphics, vertex settings can be processed in units of vertex groups, thereby reducing the workload of the user and the 3D character motion processing device.

In addition, an object of an embodiment of the present invention is to enable fast processing by enabling processing of vertex settings in units of vertex groups in processing motions of 3D characters by computer graphics.

Furthermore, an object of an embodiment of the present invention is to implement delicate and natural animation and minimize awkwardness.

Another object of an embodiment of the present invention is to prevent an error in which some of adjacent vertices move apart from other vertices, and ensure consistency by smoothly connecting adjacent vertices.

In addition, one embodiment of the present invention, when processing the movement of the 3D character in the game in conjunction with the game providing device, in real-time processing of the game user's manipulation of the 3D character, aims to increase the efficiency of graphic processing by reducing the workload.

As a technical means for achieving the above technical problem, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for processing motion of a 3D character having a surface implemented with vertices may include a simulator setting unit for arranging one or more simulators in a vertex group composed of one or more vertices, a simulator setting unit for sampling simulator bones according to the arrangement of simulators, and a vertex rigging unit for rigging vertices belonging to vertex groups to simulator bones.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a 3D character motion processing method performed by an apparatus for processing motion of a 3D character having a surface implemented with vertices includes arranging one or more simulators in a vertex group, sampling a simulator bone according to the arrangement of the simulator, and rigging vertices belonging to the vertex group to the simulator bone.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, as a computer readable recording medium on which a program for performing a 3D character motion processing method is recorded, the 3D character motion processing method may include arranging one or more simulators in a vertex group, sampling the simulator bones according to the arrangement of the simulators, and rigging vertices belonging to the vertex group to the simulator bones.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, as a computer program performed by a 3D character motion processing apparatus and stored in a recording medium to perform a 3D character motion processing method, the 3D character motion processing method may include arranging one or more simulators in a vertex group, sampling the simulator bones according to the arrangement of the simulators, and rigging vertices belonging to the vertex group to the simulator bones.

According to any one of the above-described problem solving means of the present invention, an embodiment of the present invention may provide a game providing device and a method for processing 3D character movement.

In addition, according to any one of the problem solving means of the present invention, in processing the motion of a 3D character by computer graphics, the workload of the user and the 3D character motion processing apparatus can be reduced by enabling the setting of vertices to be processed in units of vertex groups.

In addition, according to any one of the problem solving means of the present invention, in processing the movement of a 3D character by computer graphics, it is possible to process the vertex settings in units of vertex groups, thereby enabling fast processing.

In addition, according to any one of the problem solving means of the present invention, delicate and natural animation can be implemented and awkwardness can be minimized.

Furthermore, according to any one of the problem solving means of the present invention, an error in which some of the adjacent vertices move away from other vertices is prevented, and the adjacent vertices are smoothly connected, so consistency is guaranteed.

In addition, according to any one of the problem solving means of the present invention, when processing the movement of the 3D character in the game in conjunction with the game providing device, in processing the game user's 3D character manipulation in real time, the efficiency of graphic processing can be increased by reducing the workload.

In particular, according to any one of the problem solving means of the present invention, the efficiency of graphic processing is improved in realizing the movement of short hair of a 3D character and the fine vibration of a body or clothes.

Effects obtainable in the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

1 is a block diagram showing a 3D character motion processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 to 5 are flowcharts for explaining a 3D character motion processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily practice the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. And in order to clearly explain the present invention in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and similar reference numerals are attached to similar parts throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to be “connected” to another part, this includes not only the case where it is “directly connected” but also the case where it is “electrically connected” with another element interposed therebetween. In addition, when a certain component is said to "include", this means that it may further include other components without excluding other components unless otherwise stated.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

However, before explaining this, the meaning of terms used below is first defined.

Hereinafter, a character refers to a virtual object visualized by computer graphics. In the present invention, a character may operate according to a user's setting. At this time, the character does not necessarily have to be in the form of a person, and may include animals, objects, and other virtual objects that operate according to the user's settings. Furthermore, the character may be a graphic object that operates under the control of a user who plays the game according to an embodiment. In this case, the 3D character refers to a three-dimensional expression of the above-described character, and on graphics, the 3D character may have a surface implemented with vertices. That is, in one embodiment of the present invention, vertices may be used to define the shape of a 3D character.

In addition to the terms defined above, terms that require explanation are separately explained below.

1 is a block diagram for explaining a 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 seeks to reduce the workload by enabling processing of vertex settings, which are tools for defining the shape of a 3D character, in units of vertex groups in processing 3D character motion with computer graphics. To this end, the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 may set a separate object for processing setting in units of vertex groups. For example, the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 may process vertex characteristic values in a group unit using the above-described separate object, and sample the vertex and the bone to be rigged based on the separate object, thereby simplifying the motion processing of the 3D character and reducing the workload. At this time, the separate object is called a simulator.

As an embodiment of the present invention, the 3D character motion processing device 100 may process the motion of a 3D character in a game provided by a game providing device. To this end, the 3D character motion processing device 100 may include a game providing device or may be included in a game providing device. Through this, the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 can increase the efficiency of graphic processing by reducing the workload in processing the game user's manipulation of the 3D character in real time.

At this time, the game providing device is a device that stores various information necessary to provide the game, detects and records various events occurring within the game, and enables the time-sequential progress of the game.

Meanwhile, the 3D character motion processing device 100 may be implemented as an electronic terminal in which a program for 3D character motion processing is installed, or may be implemented as a server-client system. If the 3D character motion processing device 100 is implemented as a server-client system, the 3D character motion processing device 100 may include an electronic terminal in which a client for interaction with a user is installed.

At this time, the electronic terminal may be implemented as a computer, a portable terminal, a television, a wearable device, or the like that may include an interface capable of interacting with a user. Here, the computer includes, for example, a laptop, desktop, or laptop equipped with a web browser, and the portable terminal is, for example, a wireless communication device that ensures portability and mobility, and includes a Personal Communication System (PCS), Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), Personal Handyphone System (PHS), Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT)-2 000, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)-2000, W-CDMA (W-Code Division Multiple Access), Wibro (Wireless Broadband Internet), smart phone, mobile WiMAX (Mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), and the like. In addition, television may include IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), Internet TV (Internet Television), terrestrial TV, cable TV, and the like. Furthermore, a wearable device is a type of information processing device that can be worn directly on the human body, such as, for example, a watch, glasses, accessories, clothes, shoes, etc., and can be connected to a server in a remote location via a network directly or through another information processing device, or can be connected to other terminals.

In addition, the server of the server-client system may be implemented as a computing device capable of communicating with an electronic terminal on which a client is installed and through a network, and may include a storage device capable of storing data, or may store data through a third server (not shown).

The 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 as described above may include a simulator setting unit 101 as shown in FIG. 1 .

The simulator setting unit 101 may arrange one or more simulators in a vertex group composed of one or more vertices.

At this time, as an embodiment for designating a vertex group, the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 may further include a vertex grouping unit 102, and the vertex grouping unit 102 may receive an input of a designated area on the surface of the 3D character from the user, and group vertices included in the input designated area into vertex groups. Alternatively, the vertex grouping unit 102 may receive a user input designating one or more vertices, and generate a vertex group for the one or more designated vertices.

The vertex grouping unit 102 may add color information to the input designated area. For this purpose, a user input specifying a color for each vertex group may be received. This is to provide a visually clear interface by displaying colors in response to the input of the user's designated area. That is, when the user selects a certain area on the surface of the 3D character, an interface displaying a color according to the selection may be provided. More specifically, according to the interface described above, the user can color the surface of the 3D character and input the specified area, thereby grouping vertices belonging to the specified area to be colored into vertex groups.

Meanwhile, the simulator setting unit 101 may be based on the set simulator density in arranging the simulator in the designated area. At this time, the simulator density may be defined as a ratio of the area of the designated area to the number of simulators disposed in the designated area. The setting of the simulator density may be performed according to the initial setting of the simulator setting unit 101 itself or according to the setting received from the user by the simulator setting unit 101 .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the characteristics of the surface of the 3D character to be expressed can be expressed according to the density of the simulator. The higher the density of the simulator, the finer the movement of the surface of the 3D character can be. Therefore, the user can express the characteristics of the surface of the 3D character by setting the simulator density differently according to the part of the 3D character corresponding to the vertex group.

In addition, the simulator setting unit 101 may set a simulator value, which is a characteristic value of the simulator. The simulator value will be described later in the related section.

On the other hand, the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 may sample bones according to the arrangement of the simulator described above, and in order to distinguish them from the basic bones constituting the 3D character, the basic bones of the 3D character are character bones, and the bones sampled according to the arrangement of the simulator are called simulator bones. At this time, the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 may include a simulator bone setting unit 103 for sampling a simulator bone. In addition, the simulator bone setting unit 103 may set the simulator bone as a child of a nearby character bone. That is, the simulator bone can be set as one of the character bones.

In addition, the 3D character motion processing apparatus may include a vertex rigging unit 104 for rigging vertices to simulator bones. For example, the vertex rigging unit 104 may rig a vertex belonging to a vertex group to a simulator bone sampled for a simulator corresponding to the vertex group. Or you can rig the vertices to simulator bones close to the vertices.

At this time, the vertex rigging unit 104 may set a weight to the vertex when rigging the vertex to the simulator bone. Weight refers to the amount of influence a simulator bone has on a vertex. For example, when the vertex rigging unit 104 rigs a vertex to a simulator bone, when one vertex and one or more rigged simulator bones are present, weights may be assigned based on a distance between the vertex and the simulator bone, and in this case, weights may be assigned higher in order of proximity in inverse proportion to the distance. Also, for example, normalization can be performed so that the sum of the influences of all bones mapped to vertices equals 1. In this case, a Poisson distribution may be used, and deterministic sampling may be used according to an embodiment.

Furthermore, the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 may further include an animation setting unit 105 that receives animation settings for simulator bones and an animation implementation unit 106 that implements motions of the 3D character based on the animation set by the animation setting unit 105. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the animation realization unit 106 can implement the animation preset in the animation setting unit 105 or the animation set in the animation setting unit 105 in real time.

For example, when the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 processes the 3D character motion in association with the game providing device, real-time animation for the user's character manipulation may be implemented and output.

Also, in implementing the animation, the animation implementation unit 106 may apply a preset simulator value to a vertex belonging to a vertex group in which the simulator is placed.

This reduces the workload of the device that receives the animation settings and implements the animation, and the workload of the artist who sets the animation, because it is not necessary to specify the vertex setting values one by one, but only the simulator corresponding to the vertex group. That is, fast processing is possible.

In addition, vertex setting is done in vertex group units, but animation is implemented in vertex units, so the processing process is simplified, while animation is implemented delicately and naturally, and awkwardness can be minimized. In particular, consistency is ensured by preventing errors, such as a part of adjacent vertices moving away from other vertices, and making adjacent vertices smoothly connected.

In addition, the simulator value may be specifically set by the simulator setting unit 101 received from the user or set by the initial setting of the simulator setting unit 101 itself. At this time, the animation implementation unit 106 may apply the set simulator value to the vertices belonging to the vertex group. The simulator value may include setting values for physics simulation such as spring simulation. Here, spring simulation refers to simulating the movement of vertices assuming that vertices and bones rigged to vertices are connected with elastic materials such as rubber or springs. At this time, the simulator value may include the elasticity value of the spring simulation.

Hereinafter, a 3D character motion processing method using the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 as described above will be described. 2 to 5 are flowcharts illustrating a 3D character motion processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The 3D character motion processing method according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 includes steps processed time-sequentially in the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 . Therefore, even if the contents are omitted below, the contents described above with respect to the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 can also be applied to the 3D character motion processing method according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 5.

According to the 3D character motion processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2 , the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 arranges one or more simulators in a vertex group (S201).

At this time, as a pre-processing step for S201, the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 receives a designated area from the user for the surface of the 3D character implemented as vertices as shown in FIG. 3 (S301), and groups the vertices included in the input designated area into vertex groups (S302). As described above, the 3D character motion processing apparatus arranges one or more simulators in the grouped vertex group.

In addition, in step S201, as shown in FIG. 4, a simulator density may be set by the user according to an embodiment of the present invention (S401), and simulators may be placed in vertex groups based on the set simulator density (S402). The movement of the 3D character surface can be subdivided through the step of setting the simulator density. Using this, the characteristics of the 3D character surface can be expressed.

Next, the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 may sample a simulator bone according to the arrangement of the simulator (S202). In addition, the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 may rig the vertices belonging to the vertex group to the above-described simulator bones (S203).

Referring to FIG. 5 thereafter, the 3D character motion processing apparatus 100 may receive animation settings for simulator bones (S504), and implement motions of the 3D character based on the set animations (S505).

In implementing the movement of the 3D character in step S505, the movement of vertices may be performed based on simulator setting values set for the simulator.

The term '~unit' used in this embodiment means software or a hardware component such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or ASIC, and '~unit' performs certain roles. However, '~ part' is not limited to software or hardware. '~bu' may be configured to be in an addressable storage medium and may be configured to reproduce one or more processors. Thus, as an example, '~unit' includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, segments of program patent code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables.

Functions provided within components and '~units' may be combined into smaller numbers of components and '~units' or separated from additional components and '~units'.

In addition, components and '~units' may be implemented to play one or more CPUs in a device or a secure multimedia card.

The 3D character motion processing method according to the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 may be implemented in the form of a recording medium including instructions executable by a computer, such as program modules executed by a computer. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. Also, computer readable media may include both computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Communication media typically includes computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave, or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media.

In addition, the 3D character motion processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented as a computer program (or computer program product) including instructions executable by a computer. A computer program includes programmable machine instructions processed by a processor, and may be implemented in a high-level programming language, an object-oriented programming language, assembly language, or machine language. Also, the computer program may be recorded on a tangible computer-readable recording medium (eg, a memory, a hard disk, a magnetic/optical medium, or a solid-state drive (SSD)).

Therefore, the 3D character motion processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention can be implemented by executing the computer program as described above by a computing device. A computing device may include at least some of a processor, a memory, a storage device, a high-speed interface connected to the memory and a high-speed expansion port, and a low-speed interface connected to a low-speed bus and a storage device. Each of these components are connected to each other using various buses and may be mounted on a common motherboard or mounted in any other suitable manner.

Here, the processor may process commands within the computing device, such commands may be stored in a memory or storage device to display graphic information for providing a GUI (Graphic User Interface) on an external input/output device, such as a display connected to a high-speed interface. As another example, multiple processors and/or multiple buses may be used along with multiple memories and memory types as appropriate. Also, the processor may be implemented as a chipset comprising chips including a plurality of independent analog and/or digital processors.

Memory also stores information within the computing device. In one example, the memory may consist of a volatile memory unit or a collection thereof. As another example, the memory may be composed of a non-volatile memory unit or a collection thereof. Memory may also be another form of computer readable medium, such as, for example, a magnetic or optical disk.

Also, the storage device may provide a large amount of storage space to the computing device. A storage device may be a computer readable medium or a component that includes such a medium, for example, may include devices or other components within a storage area network (SAN), and may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or a tape device, flash memory, or other semiconductor memory device or device array of the like.

The above description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes, and those skilled in the art may understand that it can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as illustrative in all respects and not limiting. For example, each component described as a single type may be implemented in a distributed manner, and similarly, components described as distributed may be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims to be described later rather than the detailed description above, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and equivalent concepts thereof should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100: 3D character movement processing device
102: vertex grouping unit 101: simulator setting unit
103: simulator main setting part 104: vertex rigging part
105: animation setting unit 106: animation implementation unit

Claims (16)

a simulator setting unit for arranging one or more simulators in a vertex group;
a simulator bone setting unit for sampling simulator bones based on the arrangement of simulators; and
A vertex rigging unit for rigging vertices belonging to the vertex group to the simulator bone;
The simulator setting unit,
3D character motion processing apparatus for receiving different simulator densities from a user according to parts of the 3D character corresponding to the vertex groups and arranging the simulators based on the set simulator densities. According to claim 1,
an animation setting unit that receives an animation setting for the simulator bone; and
The 3D character motion processing apparatus further comprises an animation implementation unit implementing motion of the 3D character based on the animation set by the animation setting unit. According to claim 2,
The animation implementation unit additionally,
3D character motion processing apparatus for applying a preset simulator value for the simulator to a vertex belonging to a vertex group in which the simulator is disposed. According to claim 3,
The simulator setting unit additionally,
A 3D character motion processing device for receiving the simulator value set by a user. According to claim 3,
The simulator value includes the elasticity value of the spring simulation, 3D character movement processing device. delete According to claim 1,
The simulator main setting unit additionally,
A 3D character motion processing device for setting the simulator bone as a child of a nearby character bone. According to claim 1,
The vertex rigging unit additionally,
When there is one or more simulator bones rigged with the vertex, a weight is assigned to the rigged simulator bone based on a distance to the vertex. According to claim 1,
A 3D character motion processing apparatus further comprising: a vertex grouping unit that receives a designated area from a user for a 3D character surface implemented with vertices and groups vertices included in the input designated area into vertex groups. According to claim 9,
The vertex grouping unit additionally,
A 3D character motion processing device for visualizing by adding color information to the input designated area. A 3D character motion processing method performed in a 3D character motion processing apparatus for processing the motion of a 3D character having a surface implemented as vertices,
placing one or more simulators in a vertex group;
sampling simulator bones based on the placement of the simulator; and
Rigging vertices belonging to the vertex group to the simulator bones;
The step of arranging one or more simulators in the vertex group,
receiving different simulator densities from a user according to parts of the 3D character corresponding to the vertex groups; and
Arranging the simulator based on the set simulator density; including, 3D character movement processing method. According to claim 11,
receiving animation settings for the simulator bone; and
Further comprising the step of implementing the movement of the 3D character based on the set animation, 3D character movement processing method. delete According to claim 11,
receiving an input of a designated area from a user for a 3D character surface implemented as vertices; and
A method for processing 3D character movement, further comprising grouping vertices included in the input designated area into vertex groups. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for performing the method according to claim 11 is recorded. A computer program executed by a 3D character motion processing device and stored in a recording medium to perform the method according to claim 11.