A list of projects for this quarter can be found here.

The Schedule of project presentations can be found here.

Introduction

The best learning comes from doing, thus the project you choose will be a most important means for getting familiar with one area, aspect, or technique of computer animation.  It is also the primary means on which you will be graded for the course.

The project will require that you implement a given technique or algorithm.  The result of the project should be either

• an assembled animation -- where the system results in a set of animation frames which are assembled together into a final animation 
• a real time app -- where the animation technique or algorithm is demonstrated in real time with interaction with a user.

Students will propose projects via a short proposal.  Each project will be individually approved by the instructor by the start of the 4th week of class.

In order that others may view your project, it is required that each student set up a Web site for their project.  The Web site must be set up by the mid-quarter update.  

Note that if you have an idea for a project but are unsure how you might go about doing it, please see the instructor early during the quarter and, together, we can see what we can work out.

Team projects are acceptable, however, the complexity of the project should reflect the number of members of the team and all team members are expected to contribute equally to the final project.  There can be no more than 3 members on a team.

Ultimately, this project will provide an opportunity for each of you to get experience with whatever it was that interested you enough about Computer Animation to sign up for this course.  So choose wisely and have fun!

Project Ideas

• Topics that will be covered in depth (Assignments given)
• Keyframing / Interpolation
• Rigid Body Dynamics
• Articulated Figure Motion
• Forward Kinematics
• Inverse Kinematics
• Walking
• Motion Capture
  
• Group Behaviour
• Flocking
• Particle Systems
  
• Topics that will be covered brielfly (Good fodder for projects)
• Advanced character animation
• Use of genetic algorithms
• Procedural Gesturing
• Levels of Control
• Facial Animation
• Animation and Sound
• Topics that will not be covered
• Automatic Camera Control
• Animated Lighting 
• Animation of Natural Phenomenon (Fire, Smoke, Plants)
• Animating surfaces
• Soft objects
• Cloth Animation
• Hair and Fur

• Virtual Theatre topics
• Use of peripheral devices to control animation
• Sound driving animation 
• Creating Motion based on Motion Capture data
• Animated stage lighting
  

• Winter 2007-8 (20072)
• Winter 2006-7 (20062)
• Winter 2005-6 (20052)
• Winter 2004-5 (20042)
• Winter 2003-4 (20032)
• Spring 2003 (20023)
  

Project Description

The project requires the implementation of an animation algorithm or technique.    This means that the project must primarily consist of a strong programming component!    

Implementation of an  algorithm described in a research paper or application of a techniques to a particular application domain are excellent examples of good projects.

Although there are many good tools available to animators for creating animation (e.g. Maya, SoftImage, 3D Studio Max), the focus of this course is in the techniques and algorithms that underlie these packages and not learning how to use these packages.  (Students interested in the use of these tools should check out the computer animation offerings in the School of FIlm and Animation).     Thus, projects that simply use these tools to create an animation will not be acceptable.

That being said, this course will not cover any modeling techniques.  Thus, the use of these tools for creating 3D models that will be used in your animation project is entirely acceptable as the focus of the project is in animation, not modeling.

It can be very tempting to spend a good deal of time making your animation / system "look good".  However, remember that this is a Computer Science and not an art course.  Projects will be graded on how well they demonstrate the programming of an animation technique.  Thus, functionality should be emphasized over production value.    A project that shows a complex animation algorithm with a cheesy model will be looked upon more favorable than a project that uses a complex model performing a simple animation algorithm.

Project Deliverables

Proposal - The proposal is a short document that describes the project to be undertaken.   It should include:

Summary of the project  including the technique, algorithm, or application on which your project will  focus and the means by which you will be approaching your implementation.

 

A Work plan - An indication of how you will be going about the project.  This will include the Renderer/API that you plan on using for your system, the hardware platform that you plan on using, etc.

If this is a group project, the work plan will also outline the responsibilities of each member in the group.

Final Presentation  - A indication of how you plan to demonstrate or present the project during the last week of the course.

With the proposal, students should set up a Web page for posting documents, schedules, and statuses associated with the project. Submission of the URL for the Web page should be included wth the proposal.

Proposals are due on December 19 and will be approved the first week after the Winter Break
 

• Web site - Each project will have a Web site associated with it.  The Web site will serve as the "home" for the project and will encourage and enable others to see what you are doing.   The project proposal, updates, and results should be linked from this site.
  

The Web site creation is due on January 7th (once the proposal is finalized)

Mid-Quarter update - A simple 1-2 page document that indicates your progress in completing your project.  It is appropriate to include any unexpected problems you have run into, and any changes in the project scope based on these problems.   

The mid-quarter update is due January 19th
 

Project Code  / Final Report - This is a the bulk of your work.  The report should be written as if you were going to pass the work on to another person.   The report should have enough details so that one, upon reading it, will have a clear idea of what you set out to do, how you went about doing it, and what you didn't get to.   It should be detailed enough so that the reader will be able to knowledgably start working on your code base after reading it.  

The final report and code submission are due  during finals week. 
 

Presentation / Demonstration - During the last week of the quarter, each individual/group will make a presentation to the class and/or instructor on their project.  The presentation should give a description of the project as well as a demonstration.  Use of visuals in giving the presentation (either Powerpoint, HMTL, or PDF)  is preferred.  For non interactive projects where the final result is a static animation, the animation should be shown during the presentation.   For projects that are applications, a demo of the system should be included.  (Please see the instructor in advance to set up whatever hardware may be required for the demo).

Students will also be given the opportunity to review each presentation via Peer Review.

Presentation time slots will be distributed on a first come,first served basis.  Students are encouraged to sign up early for their presentation slot.

Team Member Evaluations   - For team projects, each member of the team will have the opportunity to rate the effectiveness of the other team members and give feedback on the effectiveness of the team as a whole.    Teammate evaluation forms will be available via mycourses.

Project Grading

last updated 01/05/09