I created the vector graphics in Ai Draw, export to Pr for layer editing (Ai should also do but looks like my Draw app sends the .ai file to the Ai program on my company computer while I was at home), and import to Ch for facial tracking and performance.
The mouth tracking and animation need some investigation.
September 28, 2019
Custom puppet exercise
September 26, 2019
I only propose SIGGRAPH-level ideas for collaboration
This is a corollary of be the best; replace SIGGRAPH with CHI/UIST for HCI projects, ICCV/CVPR for vision projects, etc.
I usually propose safer/clearer ideas for collaboration, especially with more junior folks, and reserve riskier ideas for myself.
Sometimes it is faster for me to directly code than to indirectly describe what to do, especially for vague thoughts. (Some of my single-authored SIGGRAPH papers are results of not finding any collaborators.)
Given these, if a project cannot be published in a top venue, it is usually due to (lack of) execution, e.g., a first-author student needed to graduate and thus ran out of time, or chose to follow his/her own opinion instead of my advice.
I am completely OK with all these; I do the best I can without worrying about factors beyond my control.
September 22, 2019
Fur shading + texturing exercise
A little mouse got trapped a few days ago in the garage.
This is relative easy to draw, as I can easily double the strokes for (fur) texturing and shading.
Random lessons learned from making films
The most important lesson appears to have more to do with life than films: we never know what is going to happen.
September 21, 2019
Bright side down
I sketched the same sculpture I visited a week ago from a different angle.
It started well, but went downhill as I drew more.
When darkness fell, I realized that I probably made a fundamental mistake; I will verify my hypothesis in my next visit.
September 20, 2019
Provisional patent application
A provisional patent is worth considering, if your institution does not want to file a real (non-provisional) patent for your project.
It has much lower cost and much faster process than a formal patent filing, while offers similar protection in terms of public disclosure date.
There is a one-year period for a provisional patent, during which you can evaluate whether it is worthwhile to file a real patent.
For example, I filed a provisional patent (out of my own pocket) for the autocomplete hand-drawn animation project, which has gathered a lot of interests and yet it is tricky to file a patent due to the institutions involved (University of Hong Kong, University of Tokyo, Microsoft Research).
However, after one year, Jun, the first author and builder of the system, did not manage to produce a sharable prototype, so I just let the provisional patent expire. If he had a prototype with enough product interests, I would proceed filing an official patent.
September 14, 2019
Head of Pierre de Wissant, burgher of Calais
After the summer heat and before the winter rain, autumn is a good season to spend weekend evenings at the Stanford Rodin garden.
His dark bronze sculptures are hard to draw though; I had a great deal of difficulty with the eye sockets for this one.
Needle through brick
A master of a traditional art form recently told me that nowadays it is becoming harder to find apprentices with required patience and will power to really learn the craft, probably due to the modern lifestyle accelerated by modern technology, such as social media and mobile devices.
He was considering modifying the curriculum to fit this modern world.
I have the opposite opinion. I will keep the bar as high as possible so that only the most motivated and talented will come to me.
千軍易得一將難求