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Taman Perindustrian Sime UEP,
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Fictron Industrial Supplies Sdn Bhd
No. 7 & 7A,
Jalan Tiara, Tiara Square,
Taman Perindustrian Sime UEP,
47600 Subang Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia.
No. 7 & 7A,
Jalan Tiara, Tiara Square,
Taman Perindustrian Sime UEP,
47600 Subang Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia.
Fictron Industrial
Automation Pte Ltd
140 Paya Lebar Road, #03-01,
AZ @ Paya Lebar 409015,
Singapore.
+65 31388976
sg.sales@fictron.com
Automation Pte Ltd
140 Paya Lebar Road, #03-01,
AZ @ Paya Lebar 409015,
Singapore.
+65 31388976
sg.sales@fictron.com
Fraunhofer 3D-printing technology animation studio LAIKA
16 Apr 2019
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LAIKA's new stop-motion movie Missing Link features models made using Fraunhofer IGD's Cuttlefish 3D-printer driver. Film fans can observe the results for themselves in cinemas.
LAIKA's current animated film Missing Link will be released on April 12th, with theatrical release in Germany to follow in late May. The movie is the animation studio's fifth stop-motion feature, and the first to make use of the Cuttlefish 3D-printer driver put together by Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD. Using this technology, LAIKA has printed a myriad of models, including subtle changes in facial expression for each individual character. The greatest challenge is assuring that the colors of each model seamlessly fit the ones used in old frames. With this in mind, LAIKA chose Fraunhofer's patented Cuttlefish technology due to its outstanding color consistency.
High-precision 3D printing brings stop-motion characters to life
In stop-motion animation, each scene is made by properly setting up elaborate physical models and minimally manipulating them between frames. Photographs are taken after each of these changes - enabling the individual frames to be connected to form a complete motion picture. Playing the series of still images in quick sequence brings the illusion of movement. 24 frames in combination translate into about one second of film. To animate the characters' facial expressions in Missing Link, LAIKA used a number of Stratasys J750 3D printers, in combination with the Cuttlefish 3D-printer driver, to create 106,000 highly thorough color 3D faces. Brian McLean, who was nominated for an Academy Award® for Visual Effects for Kubo and the Two Strings, is LAIKA's Director of Rapid Prototype. He has extensive experience in deploying 3D printing for stop-motion animation, and in 2016 obtained a Scientific and Engineering Oscar® plaque for his pioneering work. 'We have utilized 3D printers for our stop-motion movies since Coraline, LAIKA's first film', says McLean. 'For our latest production Missing Link, we leveraged Fraunhofer IGD technologies because they are unrivalled in terms of color consistency and geometric accuracy. The combination of Cuttlefish software and Stratasys J750 hardware has granted us to build the most advanced colored 3D prints ever.'
Cuttlefish enables precise 3D printing of colored translucent objects
Cuttlefish is a voxel-based universal printer driver, meaning it can be deployed for different 3D output devices. The driver makes it possible to work simultaneously with numerous printing materials. It also enables high fidelity reproduction of the shapes, colors and subtle color transitions of the original, and allows objects to be simulated on screen prior to printing. In addition, it is now possible to print translucent, i.e., mostly to fully transparent, objects. Cuttlefish accounts for the dispersion of light through the object, and changes in hues and surface textures in accordance with incidental light. There are a variety of applications for high-fidelity 3D printing of this type, not just in the film business, but even in medicine, automotive engineering or cultural heritage, to name a few. The technology plays an increasingly crucial role in the manufacture of prototypes, end-products and replicas. As 3D printer capabilities expand, such as a growing range of available materials, so do the challenges that software must conquer. Accurately positioning the input material to reproduce geometric and visual attributes requires huge amounts of data. Against this backdrop, Cuttlefish supports streaming, i.e. operating only the data currently required for printing, minimizing the amount of memory needed. Even highly complex and large 3D models are prepared to start printing in a matter of seconds.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com
LAIKA's current animated film Missing Link will be released on April 12th, with theatrical release in Germany to follow in late May. The movie is the animation studio's fifth stop-motion feature, and the first to make use of the Cuttlefish 3D-printer driver put together by Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD. Using this technology, LAIKA has printed a myriad of models, including subtle changes in facial expression for each individual character. The greatest challenge is assuring that the colors of each model seamlessly fit the ones used in old frames. With this in mind, LAIKA chose Fraunhofer's patented Cuttlefish technology due to its outstanding color consistency.
High-precision 3D printing brings stop-motion characters to life
In stop-motion animation, each scene is made by properly setting up elaborate physical models and minimally manipulating them between frames. Photographs are taken after each of these changes - enabling the individual frames to be connected to form a complete motion picture. Playing the series of still images in quick sequence brings the illusion of movement. 24 frames in combination translate into about one second of film. To animate the characters' facial expressions in Missing Link, LAIKA used a number of Stratasys J750 3D printers, in combination with the Cuttlefish 3D-printer driver, to create 106,000 highly thorough color 3D faces. Brian McLean, who was nominated for an Academy Award® for Visual Effects for Kubo and the Two Strings, is LAIKA's Director of Rapid Prototype. He has extensive experience in deploying 3D printing for stop-motion animation, and in 2016 obtained a Scientific and Engineering Oscar® plaque for his pioneering work. 'We have utilized 3D printers for our stop-motion movies since Coraline, LAIKA's first film', says McLean. 'For our latest production Missing Link, we leveraged Fraunhofer IGD technologies because they are unrivalled in terms of color consistency and geometric accuracy. The combination of Cuttlefish software and Stratasys J750 hardware has granted us to build the most advanced colored 3D prints ever.'
Cuttlefish enables precise 3D printing of colored translucent objects
Cuttlefish is a voxel-based universal printer driver, meaning it can be deployed for different 3D output devices. The driver makes it possible to work simultaneously with numerous printing materials. It also enables high fidelity reproduction of the shapes, colors and subtle color transitions of the original, and allows objects to be simulated on screen prior to printing. In addition, it is now possible to print translucent, i.e., mostly to fully transparent, objects. Cuttlefish accounts for the dispersion of light through the object, and changes in hues and surface textures in accordance with incidental light. There are a variety of applications for high-fidelity 3D printing of this type, not just in the film business, but even in medicine, automotive engineering or cultural heritage, to name a few. The technology plays an increasingly crucial role in the manufacture of prototypes, end-products and replicas. As 3D printer capabilities expand, such as a growing range of available materials, so do the challenges that software must conquer. Accurately positioning the input material to reproduce geometric and visual attributes requires huge amounts of data. Against this backdrop, Cuttlefish supports streaming, i.e. operating only the data currently required for printing, minimizing the amount of memory needed. Even highly complex and large 3D models are prepared to start printing in a matter of seconds.
This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com