1. (IN ADOBE CHARACTER ANIMATOR) BEN MANSUR
LIVE 2D ANIMATION
(IN ADOBE CHARACTER ANIMATOR)
BEN MANSUR

2. WHAT IS IT NOT? Traditional 2D animation
Homer & June Bellamy [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from

3. WHAT IS IT CURRENTLY?
Essentially facial motion-capture for 2D motion graphic animation with extra features
Facial Motion Capture [Image]. (2015). Retrieved from

4. EXAMPLE OF WORK:
The Simpsons S27E21 “Simprovised” featured a 3-minute live-broadcast Q&A segment
Animation on FOX. (2016, May 17). THE SIMPSONS | Homer Live: East Coast | ANIMATION on FOX [Video File]. Retrieved from

5. EXAMPLE OF WORK:
Made use of Adobe’s Character Animator in After Effects (lip sync & keyboard command triggers)
Simpsons director, David Silverman, was in charge of Homer’s on-air animation control (Failes, I., 2016)
Homer’s voice actor, Dan Castellaneta, was required for live audio & lip sync
A stable lip sync update of Character Animator was produced specifically for the segment (Simons, D., 2016)
Homer Keypad [Image]. (2016). Retrieved from

6. HOW IT WORKS:
Webcam to recognise head & facial expressions (pupils & eyebrows, head rotation & scale) to animate puppet’s head
Microphone detects audio to sync mouth position
Can customise keyboard command triggers for set animations
Can set up click & drag sections of character (e.g. limbs)
Can set up physics for secondary animation & visual effects (dangle, particles, etc.)
Can record a performance with multiple takes for different sections of the character
Not limited to standard characters
Okay Samurai. (2015, June 15). Top 10 Tips for Getting Started (Adobe Character Animator Tutorial) [Video File Screenshot].
Retrieved from
Okay Samurai. (2016, June 20). Making Your First Character (Adobe Character Animator Tutorial) [Video File Screenshot].
Retrieved from

7. MAIN CURRENT LIMITATIONS:
Doesn’t use a bone system (i.e. rig), it uses origin points instead, therefore limb deformation occurs
Limited to 5 head positions (Left, ¾ Left, Centre, ¾ Right, Right) (with no tweening)
Only 13 mouth shapes (with no tweening)
Adobe After Effects. (2016). Character Animator Tutorial: Scene 01. Getting Started [Screenshot]

8. THE SIGNIFICANCE TO ANIMATION:
Very quick to begin motion-graphic character animation
Very simple to set up for custom puppets (layers simply need to follow naming conventions & ‘tags’ shown in example character files) (Warner, D., 2015)
Aiming to incorporate Universal Bone System (i.e. 2D character rig) for full body motion-capture (Simons, D., 2016)
Could lead to smooth 2D motion-graphic character animation with rotation
Could lead to real-world, real-time character animation in film & T.V., amusement parks, etc.
Anh Huyen Nguyen. (2014, May 1). Use After Effects to Motion Capture And Controller For Character 2D Animation [Video File Screenshot]. Retrieved from

9. References:
ABC News. (2016, May 16). Homer Simpson Appears Live on “The Simpsons” | ABC News [Video File]. Retrieved from
Adobe Creative Cloud. (2015, April 8). Bringing 2D characters to life with Adobe Character Animator | Adobe Creative Cloud [Video File]. Retrieved from
Animation on FOX. (2016, May 17). THE SIMPSONS | Homer Live: East Coast | ANIMATION on FOX [Video File]. Retrieved from
Failes, I. (2016).How ‘The Simpsons’ Used Adobe Character Animator To Create A Live Episode. Retrieved from
Intern Team. (2016, May 18). BEHIND THE SCENES: THE "SIMPROVISED' SIMPSON'S EPISODE. Retrieved from
Kopriva, T. (2015, April). Adobe Character Animator revealed. Retrieved from
Okay Samurai (Warner, D). (2015, Octover 14). Making Your First Cartoon (Adobe Character Animator and After Effects Tutorial) [Video file]. Retrieved from
Vizrt NEWS. (2014). Fox Sports uses virtual graphics powered by Vizrt for Daytona 500. Retrieved from

10. Image References:
Adobe After Effects. (2016). Character Animator Tutorial: Scene 01. Getting Started [Screenshot]
Anh Huyen Nguyen. (2014, May 1). Use After Effects to Motion Capture And Controller For Character 2D Animation [Video File Screenshot]. Retrieved from
Facial Motion Capture [Image]. (2015). Retrieved from
Homer Keypad [Image]. (2016). Retrieved from
Homer & June Bellamy [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from
Okay Samurai. (2015, June 15). Top 10 Tips for Getting Started (Adobe Character Animator Tutorial) [Video File Screenshot]. Retrieved from
Okay Samurai. (2016, June 20). Making Your First Character (Adobe Character Animator Tutorial) [Video File Screenshot]. Retrieved from