JP2007323293A - Image processor and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a function capable of assisting a user so as to synchronize motions of a plurality of parts and facilitate coinciding of the timings of repeating operations, in an image processor or the like for recording the operation by the user in real time as it is and converting it into animation. <P>SOLUTION: This image processor comprises a picture recording means that traces the motion of the operated inputting means, creates the motion of a character image displayed on the displaying means, and records the motion of the character image in real time, and a hitting means for outputting rhythm sounds at a predetermined tempo when the motion of the character image is recorded. This image processor can ring the rhythm sounds at the predetermined tempo like a metronome in recording the animation, so that the user can operate an input device while hearing the rhythm sounds. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method, and more particularly to an information processing technique for creating an animation.

Conventionally, as a technique for intuitively creating an animation, a technique for recording an operation by a user as it is in real time to make an animation is known. Non-Patent Document 1 uses an ordinary input device such as a mouse to easily generate animation by a spatial key frame method that can give complex motion to a three-dimensional character having many joints. The technique to do is described.
“Character animation by spatial keyframe method”, [online], [search May 30, 2006], Internet <URL: http://www-ui.is.su-tokyo.ac.jp/~takeo /research/squirrel/index-j.html>

  By the way, in the above conventional animation creation method, for example, when creating an animation of walking and moving while synchronizing the movement of the foot and the movement of the whole body, it is necessary to record the movement of the foot and the movement of the whole body separately. There is. At this time, it is difficult to match the timing of the movement of the foot and the movement of the whole body, and there is a problem that the movement becomes unnatural if the timing of the movement of each part does not match.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and in an image processing apparatus and method for recording an operation by a user in real time and making an animation, the motions of a plurality of parts are synchronized or the timing of a repetitive operation is determined. It is an object to provide a function capable of assisting a user so that it can be easily arranged.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention generates a motion of a character image displayed on a display device, following a motion of an input device, and moves the motion of the character image in real time. Recording means for recording in the above, and beat means for outputting a rhythm sound at a predetermined tempo when recording the movement of the character image. According to this invention, when recording an animation, it is possible to play a rhythm sound at a predetermined tempo like a metronome. Since the user can operate the input device while listening to this rhythm sound, it becomes easy to synchronize the movement of the character image and align the timing of the repetitive actions.

  The image processing apparatus according to the present invention operates a storage means for storing image data, a display means for displaying an image obtained based on the image data stored in the storage means, and a cursor displayed on the display means. And an input unit capable of designating an arbitrary position on the image displayed on the display unit, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus. Then, when an arbitrary part of the character image displayed on the display unit is dragged by the input unit, the control unit follows the movement of the drag by the input unit and generates a motion of the character image. Recording means for recording the movement in real time, and beat means for outputting a rhythm sound at a predetermined tempo when recording the movement of the character image.

  At this time, it is desirable that the control means includes an adjusting means for correcting the movement of the character image recorded by the recording means so as to synchronize with the rhythm sound output from the beating means.

  An image processing method according to the present invention is a method for assisting creation of a moving image in an image processing apparatus including a control unit that controls the operation of the entire apparatus. Then, the control unit generates a motion of the character image displayed on the display unit following the movement of the input unit, and records the motion of the character image in real time; Recording a rhythm sound at a predetermined tempo. Preferably, the method includes a step of correcting the movement of the recorded character image so as to be synchronized with the rhythm sound.

  A program according to the present invention causes a computer to execute each processing step of the image processing method according to the present invention. Various recordings according to the present invention such as an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, and a semiconductor memory on which the program is recorded. It can be installed or loaded on a computer by reading it through a medium or by downloading it via a communication network or the like.

  In this specification and the like, the means does not simply mean a physical means, but includes a case where the functions of the means are realized by software. Further, the function of one means may be realized by two or more physical means, or the functions of two or more means may be realized by one physical means.

  According to the image processing apparatus or the like of the present invention, when an animation is created by recording a user's operation as it is in real time, the user is assisted to synchronize the movements of a plurality of parts or to align the timing of repeated operations. It becomes easy to do.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same element and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an image processing apparatus 100 receives a user instruction and stores a CPU (control means) 10 that controls each unit of the image processing apparatus 100 and image data necessary for displaying an image and executes image processing. A memory (storage means) 12 having a work area when performing an operation, an input controller 14 for receiving an input from a mouse (input means) 20 for designating (pointing) a position (coordinates) in the image, and displaying an image ( And an output controller 16 for displaying and outputting to the output means 22, which are connected via a bus 18 so that information can be transmitted and received between them.

  Here, the mouse 20 can operate a mouse cursor displayed on the display 22 to designate an arbitrary location on the image displayed on the display 22 by a point or a drag. The display 22 displays a raster image obtained based on the image data stored in the memory 12.

  Note that a dedicated or general-purpose computer can be applied to the image processing apparatus 100. At this time, the image processing apparatus 100 causes the CPU 10 to function as various function realization means by causing the CPU 10 to execute a predetermined image processing program stored in a ROM or an external storage device (not shown). The image processing apparatus 100 is configured. Moreover, even if it comprises a single computer, it may comprise a plurality of computers distributed on a network.

  FIG. 2 is an example of a screen displayed on the display 22 of the image processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the display screen is used when animation processing is performed on a canvas frame 40 for drawing a picture and a character image 42 drawn on the canvas frame 40 (hereinafter simply referred to as “character 42”). And a control panel 50.

  First, the user draws a character 42 by drawing a picture in the canvas frame 40 or reading a file. In FIG. 2, the character 42 with “octopus” as a motif is drawn. However, the character 42 is not limited to “octopus”, and any character can be used for animation processing in the drawn picture. Needless to say, it can be anything. In the present embodiment, a picture can also be drawn on the peripheral edge of the canvas frame 40, and the picture can be drawn outside the canvas frame 40. If the protruding part is necessary, it can be moved into the canvas frame 40 later. Thus, the user can concentrate on the creative activity without taking care not to protrude from the canvas frame 40.

  The control panel 50 includes a recording button 52 for recording the movement of the character 42, a playback button 54 for reproducing the recorded movement, and a control point setting button 56 for setting a control point 44 for the character 42. Yes. Details of the control point 44 will be described later. Further, when recording the movement of the character 42, a metronome button 58 for generating a rhythm at regular intervals, a sound source button 60 for setting a sound source of the rhythm to be emitted, and a rhythm such as three beats, four beats, etc. It has a time signature setting button 62 to be set, a slider 64 for setting an interval between rhythms to be emitted (a beat tempo of the metronome), and a tempo display section 66 for displaying the beat tempo.

  In this embodiment, the “button” is, for example, a virtual button such as an icon or menu displayed on the control panel 50. When the mouse cursor is placed on the button and the mouse 20 is clicked, each button is displayed. The button can be pressed (selected).

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of a functional configuration realized by the CPU 10 included in the image processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the CPU 10 according to the present embodiment executes a predetermined image processing program, thereby realizing a recording unit 30, a beat unit 32, an adjusting unit 34, and a reproducing unit 36. .

  The recording unit 30 has a function of generating a movement of the character 42 following the movement of the mouse 20 and recording the movement of the character 42 in real time. The beat unit 32 has a function of outputting a rhythm sound at a predetermined interval such as a metronome when the recording unit 30 records the movement of the character 42. The adjusting unit 34 has a function of adjusting the movement of the animation image recorded by using the beating unit 32 and correcting the movement so as to move in synchronization with the rhythm sound output from the beating unit 32. The reproduction unit 36 has a function of reproducing the motion of the character recorded using the recording unit 30, the beat unit 32, and the adjustment unit 34 and reproducing it as an animation.

  Details of processing using these means will be described below.

(Recording function of animation by recording means 30)
In this embodiment, the user first hits the control point 44 in such a way as to stab a pin in an arbitrary portion (for example, head, hand, foot, etc.) to which the character 42 displayed on the display 22 is to be attached. Go. At this time, the user switches to the mode for setting the control point by pressing the control point setting button 56 and then operates the mouse 20 to move the mouse cursor on the display 22 to move the head, hand, A control point 44 is set by designating one point such as a foot where a movement is desired. If the control point 44 is dragged after the setting, the character 42 can be moved by a natural motion following the control point 44.

  For example, to move one foot 46, if the control point 44 plotted on the foot 46 is dragged and moved, the foot 46 is moved as if the control point 44 is moved with a finger. Can be done. For the animation that follows the movement of the control point, an algorithm is adopted in which the image is divided into triangular meshes and the movement of the control point 44 is followed so that the area of each triangle is not changed as much as possible. Can be generated. Depending on how the control point 44 is pulled, other parts may be naturally deformed.

  When creating an animation, a recording means is used to record the character 42 that the user has moved by dragging the control point 44 between the time when the recording button 52 is pressed to start recording and the time when the recording button 52 is pressed again to stop recording. Recording is performed under the control of 30. Note that the recording button 52 is a toggle button that switches between recording and stopping alternately.

  As for the recording method, recording starts when the recording button 52 is pressed (mouse click), and recording ends when the recording button 52 is pressed again. After the recording button 52 is pressed, the control point 44 is dragged. The recording method can be selected only when the recording button 52 is pressed, and after the recording button 52 is pressed, the recording starts when the rhythm by the beat means 32 described later starts to sound (without moving the mouse). In the method of starting recording in conjunction with the rhythm, it is also possible to sound a warning rhythm (countdown) that is not recorded before the recording starts. By sounding the notice rhythm, the user can easily grasp the timing to start recording.

  In this way, an animation can be created by recording the movement of the character 42 by moving the control point 44 in real time by pressing the recording button 52. The movement of the character 42 can be added later. So, for example, first make a movement on one of your legs, then make a movement that moves another leg, then add an upper body movement and create an animation as if walking while dancing. Can do.

(Metronome function by beat means 32)
As described above, the user presses the recording button 52 and then uses the control point 44 to move the character 42 and create an animation. At this time, for example, when an animation of walking and moving is generated by synchronizing the movement of the foot and the movement of the entire body, the movement becomes unnatural if the timing of the movement of each part does not match. Therefore, in the present invention, when a human operates the mouse to record the movement of the character 42, a rhythm sound is generated at a predetermined tempo like a metronome, thereby synchronizing the movements of a plurality of parts and the timing of repeated operations. It is easy to align.

  In the present embodiment, the metronome button 58 is a toggle button that can be switched on and off alternately. When the user sets the metronome button 58 to ON, a rhythm sound such as a metronome is generated under the control of the beat means 32, which is an assistance / guideline for timing when the character 42 is moved. On the other hand, when the metronome button 58 is set to OFF, no rhythm sound is produced.

  The rhythm sound that is generated when the metronome button 58 is turned on can be made faster or slower by moving the slider 64 left and right. The tempo of the currently generated rhythm is displayed as a numerical value in the tempo display section 66. In the example of FIG. 3, the rhythm is engraved at a tempo of 120 times per minute.

  A plurality of types of rhythm sound sources are prepared, and the sound source is switched when the sound source button 60 is pressed. Further, when the cover setting button 62 is pressed, the number of beats such as 2 beats, 3 beats, 4 beats, and the like is switched.

  As described above, the image processing apparatus that records and reproduces the movement of the character 42 by operating the mouse 20 can output a rhythm sound at a predetermined tempo. The user can align the timing of the movement of the character 42 by operating the mouse 20 while listening to the rhythm sound produced by the image processing apparatus. Further, the user can set the tempo of the rhythm sound, the sound source, and the number of beats according to the motion of the animation to be created, the user's mood, and the like.

(Quantize function by adjusting means 34)
In the present embodiment, when the movement of the character 42 is recorded while sounding a rhythm sound by the beat means 32, the adjusting means 34 analyzes the movement trajectory of each part of the character 42 based on the recorded contents, and the moving direction is determined. It is possible to adjust the recorded content so that the time at which the time of the change greatly changes is corrected and the movement is synchronized with the rhythm of the beat means 32. In this way, the process of correcting the recorded content so as to synchronize the time when the moving direction changes greatly with the rhythm of the beat means 32 is referred to as Quantize.

  In the quantization process, first, a point to be quantized (the position of the control point 44 and its time) is extracted, and then the time of the extracted point is corrected to be synchronized with the rhythm. Regarding extraction of points to be quantized, first, a speed vector of the movement of the control point 44 is obtained for each predetermined clock (unit time) shorter than the tempo of the rhythm sound, and the amount of change in the speed vector is a predetermined threshold value. Points that exceed the limit are extracted as points to be quantized. Regarding the correction of the time of the extraction point, the time for the control point to pass through each extraction point is corrected to match the timing of the rhythm sound.

FIG. 4 is an image diagram showing an outline of the quantization process in the present embodiment. FIG. 4 assumes a case where the control point 44 plotted at the position of the point A is moved (dragged) like a locus 70. It is assumed that the user reciprocates the control point 44 from the point A to the point B → the point C → the point D in accordance with the rhythm while listening to the rhythm sound. Here, the control point 44 is located at the point A (X _A , Y _A ) at the start of recording t = 0, the point B (X _B , Y _B ) at the time t = 1.1, and the time t = 1. .8 at point C (X _C , Y _C ) and at time t = 2.9, point D (X _D , Y _D ). Here, the time width of the time t is assumed to be equal to the tempo at which the beat means 32 beats the rhythm.

At this time, the adjusting unit 34 calculates the amount of change in the velocity vector of the control point 44, and extracts three points (point B, point C, point D) where the amount of change exceeds a predetermined threshold. Then, the fraction of the time is corrected (for example, rounded off) for each extracted point. In this way, the control point 44 after the quantization process has a point B (X _B , Y _B ) at time t = 1, a point C (X _C , Y _C ) at time t = 2, and a point D (X at time t = 3. _D , Y _D ). Then, the image processing (interpolation and thinning) for the time adjusted by the quantization process is performed to finish the animation.

  By applying this quantization process, for example, when creating an animation that moves multiple parts at the same time, such as creating a walk with two foot movements, the movement of multiple parts can be simplified. It can be synchronized.

(Animation playback function by playback means 36)
The movement of the character 42 recorded and corrected as described above can be reproduced as an animation by pressing the reproduction button 54.

  Next, the flow of animation creation / playback processing in the image processing apparatus 100 configured as described above will be specifically described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an outline of the animation creation process in the present embodiment.

  First, the user draws a picture on the canvas frame 40 or reads an image file from an external storage device (not shown) to display the character 42 on the display 22 (S80). Next, the user presses the control point setting button 56 to place the control point 44 on a portion of the character 42 to be moved, such as a hand / foot (S82).

  Thereafter, after the recording button 52 is pressed, the control point 44 is dragged to record the movement of the character 42 (S84). If you want to move multiple parts at the same time, repeat this recording process. At this time, when the metronome button 58 is pressed, a rhythm sound sounds at a predetermined tempo, and the user moves the control point 44 in accordance with the rhythm sound.

  Then, after the movement is recorded, when the reproduction button 54 is pressed, the recorded movement is reproduced as an animation (S86). When the quantization process is performed, the movement timing of each part is reproduced in synchronization.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various other forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. For this reason, the said embodiment is only a mere illustration in all points, and is not interpreted limitedly. For example, the processing steps in the above embodiment can be executed in any order or in parallel as long as the processing contents do not contradict each other.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a mouse is used as an input unit has been described. However, the input unit is not limited to a mouse, and a pointing device such as a stylus pen or a tablet pen may be used. Moreover, you may designate an area | region with a finger | toe using a touch panel. In short, it is only necessary to be able to designate a portion where a line is desired to be smoothed by moving the line on the displayed image. The output means is not limited to the display, and a projector or the like may be used.

  Furthermore, although the present embodiment has been described as performing quantization processing, it may be possible to select whether or not to perform quantization processing.

2 is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of the image processing apparatus. FIG. 4 is an example of a screen displayed on the display 22; It is a block diagram which shows the outline of a function structure. It is an image figure which shows the outline of a quantization process. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of an animation creation process.

Explanation of symbols

10 CPU (control means)
12 Memory (storage means)
14 Input controller 16 Output controller 18 Bus 20 Mouse (input means)
22 Display (output means)
30 Recording means 32 Beating means 34 Adjusting means 36 Reproducing means 100 Image processing apparatus

Claims (7)

Recording means for generating movement of the character image displayed on the display means in accordance with the movement of the input means, and recording the movement of the character image in real time;
When recording the movement of the character image, a beat unit that outputs a rhythm sound at a predetermined tempo;
An image processing apparatus comprising: Storage means for storing image data;
Display means for displaying an image obtained based on the image data stored in the storage means;
An input unit capable of operating a cursor displayed on the display unit and designating an arbitrary position on an image displayed on the display unit;
Control means for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus;
With
The control means includes
When an arbitrary part of the character image displayed on the display means is dragged by the input means, the movement of the character image is generated following the movement of the drag by the input means, and the movement of the character image is Recording means for recording in real time;
When recording the movement of the character image, a beat unit that outputs a rhythm sound at a predetermined tempo;
An image processing apparatus comprising: The control means includes
Adjusting means for correcting the movement of the character image recorded by the recording means so as to synchronize with the rhythm sound output by the beating means;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: In an image processing apparatus provided with a control means for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus, a method for assisting creation of a moving image,
The control means follows the movement of the input means to generate a movement of the character image displayed on the display means, and records the movement of the character image in real time;
When recording the movement of the character image, the control means outputs a rhythm sound at a predetermined tempo; and
An image processing method comprising: Modifying the movement of the recorded character image to synchronize with the rhythm sound;
An image processing method according to claim 4.   A program for causing a computer to execute the image processing method according to claim 4 or 5. A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 6 is recorded.

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