JP2011209887A - Method and program for creating avatar, and network service system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To create a moderately illustrated avatar which is very similar to a user by partially using the photographic image of a user face.SOLUTION: The images of at least the eye and mouth parts extracted from a received photographic image are stored, in association with identification information, into a storage means as real parts 11, and when the selecting operation of face parts 12 as the face base and makeup parts 13 including at least hair parts is received by an operation means, the identification information of the real parts 11, the identification information of the selected face parts 12 and the identification information of the selected makeup parts 13 are combined, and stored as avatar synthetic information 14 of a user into the storage means.

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement in technology for creating a unique avatar for each user using a photographic image of a user face.

  Recently, on the Internet, not only photographic images but also sites where avatars can be used as an image representing users themselves have been increasing. Under such circumstances, a technique of using a photographic image of the user face in creating an avatar is being proposed.

  For example, the following Patent Document 1 detects, from image data obtained by photographing a subject, a deviation in the direction in which the subject is directed and a direction in which the subject is directed, and generates a character image in which the direction and the deviation in the direction are corrected. Teaches techniques to do.

  Further, Patent Document 2 performs matching between a photographed face and face parts stored in a database in advance, and adds data such as size, position, color, and inclination to the part, and encodes it. It teaches a technique for automatically outputting a portrait on the screen based on the data.

  Further, Patent Document 3 acquires a face image of a subject wearing makeup, acquires the shape and position of the skin color region, eyebrow region, eye region, or lip region of the subject's face image, and simulates the face image of the subject. Is formed, and a simulation image pattern for each makeup item is sequentially superimposed on the simulation image of the face to form a simulation image of the makeup face.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-092657 JP 2007-164408 JP 2007-257165 A

  In the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 3, the avatar, that is, the character image referred to in the document and the simulation image of the makeup face are created using the photographic image of the user's face as a material. The picture itself. Therefore, if such an avatar is used for a general homepage, the person may be identified from the face of the avatar. As a result, some users are expected to hesitate to use the avatar.

  On the other hand, in the technique of Patent Document 2, since the avatar, that is, the caricature referred to in the document, is created using the face parts prepared in advance as a material, there may be no face parts that the user can satisfy.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention creates an avatar that can generate an avatar that is similar to a user and appropriately illustrated by partially using a photographic image of the user's face. Provide technology.

  The avatar creation method according to the present invention is a method for creating a unique avatar for each user using a photographic image of a user's face, and accepts a photographic image of the user's face through an input means and extracts it from the accepted photographic image. At least the images of the eyes and mouth are stored in the storage means as real parts in relation to the identification information, and the face part that becomes the base of the face by the operation means and the selection of the makeup part that includes at least the hair part When the operation is received, the identification information of the real part, the identification information of the selected facial part, and the identification information of the selected makeup part are combined and stored in the storage means as user avatar synthesis information. Features.

  The avatar creation program according to the present invention is a program for creating a unique avatar for each user using a photographic image of the user's face, and accepts the photographic image of the user's face through the input means, and displays it on the display means. A step of displaying, a step of storing at least an eye and mouth part image extracted from the displayed photographic image in association with the identification information in a storage means as a real part, and a face part as a face base by the operation means Upon receiving a selection operation and a selection operation with at least a hair part including a hair part, the real part and the selected makeup part are superimposed on the selected face part and displayed on the display unit; When the storing operation is accepted by the operation means, the identification information of the real part and the selected face part And another information, in combination with the identification information of the selected make-up parts, and a step of storing in the storage means as an avatar synthesis information of the user, and characterized by causing a computer to execute.

  Here, both the face part and the makeup part may be illustrated images.

  In addition, the avatar creation program may be designated by the operation unit before the step of saving at least the eye and mouth image extracted from the photographic image in the storage unit as real parts in association with the identification information. May be further provided with a step of setting at least an eye and mouth extraction frame at a designated position of the photographic image.

  A network system according to the present invention provides a database server for avatar storage that stores the real part, the face part, the makeup part, and the avatar synthesis information in order to execute the avatar creation method, A web server for creating an avatar that stores a program file for causing the user terminal to execute the avatar creation method according to Item 1, identifies a connected user, and downloads the program file; A user terminal that creates an avatar by referring to the database server for creating an avatar in accordance with a program file downloaded from a web server for creating an avatar.

  When the network system accepts the editing operation of the makeup part, the avatar editing method updates the avatar synthesis information with the identification information of the edited makeup part and overwrites and saves it on the database server for storing the avatar May be further provided with a web server for editing an avatar that identifies a connected user and downloads the program file.

  In the present invention, at least the eye and mouth image extracted from the photographic image of the user's face are used as real parts, and the real parts, the face parts prepared in advance, the hair parts, the eyebrow parts, and the like are made up. The user's avatar is created by combining the parts. Accordingly, an avatar that looks like the user's eyes, mouth, and other important features of the face can be obtained, and the face base, hair, etc. can be made into an illustration image, etc., so the user may be identified from the created avatar Absent.

These are the basic flowcharts of the avatar preparation program by this invention. FIG. 4 is an overall view of a photographic image of a user face. (A) is an example of a screen display of a photographic image, and (b) to (d) are examples of a screen display for setting eye, nose, and mouth extraction frames for a photographic image. Is an example of a real part. (A) is the state of the face part, (b) is the state where the real part is superimposed on the face part, and (c) is the state where the real part and the makeup part are superimposed on the face part. Indicates three-dimensional the order in which face parts, real parts, and makeup parts are superimposed. Is an example of a network system for carrying out the method of the present invention.

  The avatar creation method according to the present invention accepts a photographic image 21 of the user's face through the input means, and associates at least the eye and mouth image extracted from the received photographic image 21 with the identification information assigned to the image. The real part 11 is stored in the storage means, and when the selection operation of the face part 12 that becomes the face base by the operation means and the makeup part 13 including at least the hair part is accepted, the identification information of the real part 11 and the selection are selected. The identification information of the selected face part 12 and the identification information of the selected make-up part 13 are combined and stored in the storage means as user avatar synthesis information 14.

  The flowchart of FIG. 1 shows the basic procedure of a program that causes a computer to execute the above method, and includes the following steps (S101 to S109).

  In the first step (S101, S102), the photograph image 21 of the user's face is received through the image input means, and the photograph image 21 is subjected to predetermined preprocessing and displayed on the display means. The photographic image 21 is a digital camera image or the like taken from the front of the user, and the preprocessing includes enlargement / reduction, parallel movement, and the like of the photographic image 21.

  FIG. 2 is an overall view of a photographic image of the user's face, and FIG. 3A is an example of a screen display of the photographic image 21. In FIG. 3A, the egg-shaped face guideline 16 is displayed on the photographic image 21. The position of the face guideline 16 is fixed with respect to the display area, and the display portion of the photographic image 21 is translated in accordance with the operation of the direction button 17. Enlargement / reduction and rotation sliders 18 and 19 on the left side of the display area correspond to enlargement / reduction and rotation movement of the photographic image 21. Since the face guideline 16 indicates the size and angle (face inclination) of the face adapted to the face part 12, the face portion of the photographic image 21 becomes a face by scaling, rotation, and translation of the photographic image 21. If the guide line 16 is overlapped, the eye, nose and mouth images suitable for the face part 12 can be extracted from the photographic image 21 in that state. In enlargement / reduction, the resolution of the photographic image 21 may be converted, but the display magnification may be changed. In this case, after that, the real part is converted into a resolution suitable for the display magnification before being stored in the storage means.

  In the next steps (S103 to S105), when the operation unit accepts an operation for setting the eye, nose, and mouth extraction frame 20, the image in the extraction frame 20 is extracted, identification information is added, and the real part is extracted. 11 is stored in the storage means. Note that the eye, nose, and mouth image extraction may be automatically performed by applying a face recognition technique based on image processing.

  3B to 3D are examples of screen displays for setting the eye, nose, and mouth extraction frames 20 for the photographic image 21, respectively. Here, with respect to the eyes, only the left eye image is extracted and reversed left and right to generate the right eye image. The enlargement / reduction and rotation sliders 18 and 19 correspond to the enlargement / reduction and rotation of the extraction frame 20. It is desirable that these extraction frames 20 can be translated with respect to the face guideline 16.

  FIG. 4 is an example of the real part 11 extracted from the photographic image 21. The image extracted in this way may be used as the real part 11 as it is, but the image after the deformation can be deformed by freely performing processing such as enlargement / reduction, rotation and the like as the real part 11. Also good. In addition, in order to improve the matching between the real part 11 and the face part 12, the extracted image is subjected to monochrome processing, transmission processing, and the like to obtain a shadow transmission image, and a background color such as eyes, nose, mouth, etc. prepared in advance. An image obtained by superimposing the shadow transmission image on the image may be stored as the real part 11. The background color image may be generated by extracting the eye and mouth color from the photographic image 21. In this way, eye parts with clear black eyes and white eyes and mouth parts with bright colors can be obtained, so that the quality of the real part 11 is improved.

  The real part 11 stored in the storage unit may be an extracted image, may be an image after deformation, or may be both. Alternatively, only the shadow-transparent image may be stored as the real part 11 and the background color image may be changed later as the make-up part 13.

  In the next step (S106), when the selection operation of the face part 12 is accepted by the operation means, the real part 11 is superimposed on the selected face part 12 and displayed on the display means. When the adjustment operation is accepted by the operation means, the arrangement adjustment of the real parts 11, for example, enlargement / reduction, parallel movement, rotational movement, and the like are performed.

  The face part 12 is a face base, that is, a face image of the top, but in order to obtain an avatar image 15 that closely resembles the user, a plurality of types of face contours such as a round face, an egg face, and a square face are made different. Face parts 12 are prepared in advance. Although an example of screen display for selecting the face part 12 is omitted, for example, a plurality of types of face parts 12 may be displayed in a list and freely selected from there. Furthermore, it is desirable that a desired face color and expression can be selected.

  In the next step (S107, S108), when the operation means accepts a selection operation of the makeup part 13 such as a hair part, the makeup part is further superimposed on the face part 12 where the arrangement of the real part 11 is completed. The completed avatar image 15 is displayed on the display means.

  The makeup parts 13 are facial parts such as hair parts, eyebrow parts, eyelash parts, mole parts, etc. In addition, various parts such as accessory parts such as ribbons, clothing parts, etc. are possible and can be freely selected from them. It can be so. An example of the screen display for selecting the makeup part 13 is omitted, but is basically the same as the case of the face part 12. The selection of the real part 11 and the make-up part 13 is preferably performed again and again until a satisfactory result is obtained.

  5A is a state of the face part 12, FIG. 5B is a state where the real part 11 is superimposed on the face part 12, and FIG. 5C is a state where the real part 11 is superimposed on the face part 12. Furthermore, the state where the makeup parts 13 are stacked is shown. The makeup parts 13 include eyebrow parts, eyelash parts, and hair parts. At this stage, the avatar image 15 is basically completed, but the real part 11 may be deformed here. When the real part 11 is deformed, the deformed real part 11 is overwritten and stored in the storage means.

  FIG. 6 three-dimensionally shows the overlapping order of the face part 12, the real part 11, and the make-up part 13.

  In the last step (S109, S110), when a saving operation is accepted by the operation means, the identification information of the real part 11, the identification information of the selected face part 12, the arrangement information of the real part 11, and the selected make The identification information of the up parts 13 is combined and stored in the storage means as the user avatar synthesis information 14. Here, the arrangement information of the real part 11 may be included in the avatar synthesis information 14 as an offset from the reference coordinates of the face part 12.

  If such avatar composition information 14 is used, even after the avatar image 15 is created, the avatar image 15 such as a hairstyle change, clothing change, etc. can be changed by simply updating the identification information of the face part 12 and the makeup part 13. Can edit.

  Further, the avatar image 15 synthesized based on the real part 11 and the avatar synthesis information 14 is stored in the storage means as one image so that it can be easily referred to based on the identification information assigned for each user. That's fine.

  As described above, in the present invention, the images of the eyes, nose, and mouth extracted from the photographic image 21 of the user's face are used as the real parts 11 and the face parts 12 that serve as the face base prepared in advance. The user's avatar image 15 is created by combining the makeup parts 13 such as hair parts and eyebrow parts.

  Accordingly, since the avatar image 15 whose eyes, mouth, and the like, which are important features of the face, look exactly like the user can be obtained and the face base and hair can be made into an illustration image or the like, the user can specify from the created avatar image 15 There is no fear of being done.

  FIG. 7 is an example of a network system for executing the method of the present invention. In this system, an avatar storage database server 31, an avatar creation web server 32, an avatar display web server 33, and an avatar editing web server 34 are arranged on a network 36. Assuming such a system, the image input means is an interface for reading data from a hard disk built in the user terminal 35 or a removable medium such as a CDROM or USB memory, a network interface, or the like. The storage means is a database server 31 for avatar storage, the operation means is a keyboard, a mouse 35a, etc. of the user terminal 35, and the display means is a liquid crystal monitor 35b, etc. of the user terminal 35.

  Here, the database server 31 for avatar storage stores shared data such as the face part 12 and the make-up part 13, the real part 11 for each user, and the avatar synthesis information. Each of the real part 11, the face part 12, and the makeup part 13 is assigned unique identification information, and can be referred to by the identification information. The avatar synthesis information 14 can be referenced by the user identification information. The user's avatar image 15 is also stored so that it can be referred to from the outside by a unique address.

  The web server 32 for creating an avatar has a function of authenticating a connected user. A program file for causing the user terminal 35 to execute the above-described avatar creating method, a template source file for an avatar creating home page, and the like. Saved. Then, when the user is authenticated, a source file customized for the user is generated from the template source file, and the avatar creation home page is displayed on the web browser of the user terminal 35. Run the program.

  Note that, as an example of the prior art in which a program file downloaded from a web server is directly executed by a web browser, for example, there is Flash (registered trademark) by Adobe Systems Inc., USA. The main purpose of this is to create web content that combines audio and moving images, but it is also possible to perform operations with a mouse or keyboard 35a, input / output of files, and interactive processing.

  When using Flash, the avatar creation program is described as Action Script (registered trademark) embedded in a Flash file, and is executed by a web browser in which a plug-in for Flash is installed. However, in addition to such a form, for example, the avatar creation program may be executed on the web server according to the remote operation by the user terminal 35, or may be executed as a normal application by the user terminal 35. Good.

  The avatar display web server 33 is for displaying a general homepage including the avatar image 15 and has a function of authenticating a connected user. A template source file for the homepage to be displayed is provided. Saved. When the user is authenticated, a source file customized for the user is generated from the template source file, and the home page is displayed on the web browser of the user terminal 35. A tag including user identification information is embedded in the customized source file, and the avatar image 15 is read from the database server 31 for avatar storage and displayed on the homepage in accordance with the tag.

  The avatar editing web server 34 is a server for changing or adding a part of the avatar image 15, that is, the face part 12 or the makeup part 13. This web server has a function of authenticating a connected user, and a program file for executing processing for editing an existing avatar image 15 in the user terminal 35, a template source file for an avatar editing home page, and the like Is saved. When the user is authenticated, a customized source file is generated from the template source file, the avatar editing home page is displayed on the web browser of the user terminal 35, and the avatar editing program is displayed using the home page as a display means. Let it run.

  When the avatar editing program refers to the avatar storage database 31 and receives an editing operation for the makeup part 13, the avatar editing program updates the avatar synthesis information 14 with the identification information of the edited makeup part 13 to save the avatar. The database server 31 is made to execute the process of overwriting and saving.

  In such a network system, the database server 31 for avatar storage, the web server 32 for avatar creation, the web server 33 for avatar display, and the web server 34 for avatar editing are the same avatar image 15 as viewed from the user. The service group that is displayed. At this time, the web server 33 for displaying avatars is suitable for an exchange site or the like where users displayed as avatar images 15 communicate with each other, and the site for editing avatars is a sales site for clothing, accessories, etc., where the user is a customer. It is suitable for etc. Since the make-up parts 13 similar to the products sold on the sales site can be worn on the avatar image 15, the user's willingness to purchase can be further stimulated. In addition, if the same avatar image 15 can be displayed in the service group, the user can be effectively enclosed.

  In addition, the avatar image created according to the avatar creation method can be suitably used for various homepages such as blogs, SNSs, online shopping, advertisements, campaigns, chats, webmails, online games and the like. It can also be used for mobile phone standby screens, deco-mail (registered commercial use), and the like. The avatar creation method can also be used as an application program for a portable game machine having a built-in CCD camera such as Nintendo DS (registered trademark).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Real part 12 Face part 13 Makeup part 14 Avatar synthetic information 15 Avatar image 20 Extraction frame 31 Database server for avatar preservation 32 Web server for avatar creation 34 Web server for avatar edit 35 User terminal

Claims (6)

A method for creating a unique avatar for each user using a photographic image of the user's face,
Accept photographic images of the user's face through the input means,
The image of at least the eyes and mouth extracted from the received photographic image is stored in the storage means as a real part in association with the identification information,
When the operation means accepts a selection operation of a facial part that is a face base and a makeup part that includes at least a hair part, the identification information of the real part, the identification information of the selected facial part, and the selected makeup A method for creating an avatar, characterized in that it is combined with part identification information and stored in the storage means as user avatar synthesis information. A program that creates a unique avatar for each user using a photographic image of the user's face,
Accepting a photographic image of the user's face through the input means and displaying it on the display means;
A step of storing at least the image of the eye and mouth portion extracted from the displayed photographic image in the storage means as a real part in association with the identification information;
When the selection operation of the face part which becomes the face base by the operation means and the selection operation of the makeup part including at least the hair part are accepted, the real part and the selected makeup part are selected as the selected facial part. Superimposing and displaying on the display unit;
When a storage operation is accepted by the operation means, the real part identification information, the selected face part identification information, and the selected makeup part identification information are combined to provide user avatar synthesis information. An avatar creation program for causing a computer to execute the step of storing in the storage means. In claim 2,
The avatar creation program in which the face part and the makeup part are both illustration images. In claim 2,
Prior to the step of storing at least the eye and mouth image extracted from the photographic image in association with the identification information in the storage means as a real part,
An avatar creation program further comprising a step of setting at least an eye and mouth extraction frame at a designated position of the photographic image when a designation operation is received by the operation means. A network system for executing the avatar creation method according to claim 1,
A database server for avatar storage that stores the real parts, the face parts, the makeup parts, and the avatar synthesis information;
An avatar creation web server for storing a program file for executing the avatar creation method according to claim 1 on a user terminal, identifying a connected user, and downloading the program file;
A network system comprising a user terminal that creates an avatar by referring to the database server for creating an avatar according to a program file downloaded from the web server for creating an avatar. In claim 5,
An avatar editing method for updating the avatar synthesis information with the identification information of the edited makeup part upon receiving the edit operation of the makeup part, and overwriting and saving it in the database server for avatar storage, A network system further comprising a web server for editing avatars, which stores a program file to be executed in step 1, identifies a connected user, and downloads the program file.

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