I’ve mentioned ShapeMeshing on the RealTime VFX forum before, and I’m pleased to finally share the conclusion of an eight-year development journey.
ShapeMeshing is a suite of tools for transforming 2D animation into 3D. It allows artwork created through traditional 2D animation workflows to exist as dimensional assets that can be lit, shaded, viewed from moving cameras, and incorporated into real-time scenes, and of course, it’s entirely built with real-time applications in mind. The tools have been used in countless RT-projects to date, and I’m hoping to expand the user base.
The goal is to preserve the graphic design of hand-authored 2D while gaining the spatial and rendering advantages of 3D. This opens up possibilities for stylized effects, motion graphics and animated assets that would be difficult to create using conventional simulation or modelling alone.
The complete paper is now available through the ACM Digital Library:
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3757376.3771394
The ShapeMeshing tools are available for B2B sharing. We have already been in discussions with Pixar and The Third Floor, and we are interested in hearing from other studios, developers, and real-time teams who would like to explore the technology.
For more information, visit:
https://www.marza.com/shapemeshing/
You can also contact MZProduction@marza.com with the subject line “ShapeMeshing.”
Cheers!