I am trying to create a comic series using 3D VRoid characters. So far it has been more learning than creating content. I have slowly been fleshing out my cast of characters in VRoid Studio and creating locations in Unity leveraging purchased assets. I have explored blend shapes using AR Kit for facial expressions. I … More What is the fastest way to create an animation clip or pose on a budget?
This post includes an update on my plans to do expressions with VRoid characters for the purpose of creating short animated video clips using Unity and VRoid Studio characters. Note: The main value of this post may be the summary list of blendshapes and how they move parts of the face below. The tables can … More Example Expressions from Blendshapes with VRoid Studio, HANA_Tool, and Unity
Yesterday I wrote a blog post on a list of low end motion capture tools. Today I thought I would share my opinions and (limited) experiences of the different options. My goal is to create short animated cartoon sequences, not be a VTuber, so my requirements may different from what most people are after. To … More First Experiences with Low End Motion Capture Tools
One of my personal challenges is how to create 3D animated content with relatively low effort and decent quality. I have been building up a library of animation clips in Unity (a game creation platform) which I stitch into a sequence to make up a scene, but it is proving time consuming. Another approach is … More Low End Motion Capture Tools
My personal goal is to create an semi-animated comic. In particular, create a “web story” per episode of a series. I do not plan to create fully animated episodes, but instead create pages with short animation clips – more like a comic book where the pictures move a bit (the eyes widen, a punch in … More 3D Anime Approaches (and thoughts for myself)
I wanted to have a character ride an electric scooter. I am not going to worry initially about mounting and dismounting, but I do want the character to have the hands on the handlebars as the scooter turns left and right as it moves. Later I would want to scooter to follow a target, but … More Riding a Scooter in Unity with VRoid Characters
I recently shared a blog post on a Unity script I am experimenting with to add ARKit compatible expressions to VRoid characters. Of course the day after, another tool became available that could have saved me quite a bit of hair pulling! Lol! I thought I would write up my brief experience with Hana_Tool and … More Changing Facial Expressions (part 3)
I have described challenges in animating facial expressions in a previous post. Facial expressions are based on “blend shapes” to adjust the shape of the face (e.g. move eye brows lower to indicate anger). Animating hand positions is different as it relates to moving bones rather than blend shapes. There are two ways to animate … More Animating Hand Poses in Unity
I have been exploring iFacialMocap, an iOS app that uses the iPhone “ARKit” library to convert facial expressions into a series of movements. These can be sent to Unity so your character inside Unity follows what is being recorded on your iPhone. A challenge however is the iOS ARKit library uses more blendshapes than come … More Generating iFacialMocap Blend Shapes in Unity for VRoid Characters
Runevision developed a locomotion system for use with Unity. It deals with issues such as walking over sloped or uneven surfaces, making sure the feet correctly walk on the ground. This is not the only way to do locomotion in Unity, but the combination of features appealed to me. You tell the character where to … More Unity Locomotion Package Trials and Tribulations
Extra Ordinary, the Series 