Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 2

Sheridan College will partner with SideFX, a leading computer graphics software company, to help them achieve breakthrough delivery of solutions within the area of digital character animation. At the core, Houdini is a fully procedural system that allows artists to create non-destructive workflows. This workflow allows a studio and its artists to create iterations and rapidly share hierarchies with various teams along the animation pipeline. A procedural system can further allow teams to collaborate internally and share assets and scene hierarchy remotely. By sharing resources within the pipeline productions become streamlined making them efficient and cost effective. The proposed project will center on research and development of character animation workflows within Houdini, mainly in the areas of animation and simulation of photo realistic digital characters, rules and behavioral actions. The results will demonstrate the advantages of digital characters animation in a procedural workflow. The applications will include integration of digital humans, computer-generated characters that exhibit life-like qualities and demonstrate behaviors that react and interact within their environments. The potential for growth in the commercial application of digital human characters and animation is being enabled by developments of increased demand for animation and visual effects in video games, movies, and television. Success within this project will require a research and development process that achieves close coupling and consideration of the relationship between the aesthetics of computer graphics content creation, graphical limitations of hardware, intimate knowledge of complex production and post-production workflows, and software development. The project will enable a team of Sheridan's Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT) researchers from the digital arts and computer sciences to work together with an industry partner, SideFX, to develop solutions that benefit the company while having the secondary benefit of helping to support the growth and international competitiveness of Ontario's media and entertainment sectors within areas of the animation and media industry.