Digital Culture & AudioVisual Challenges

Previous research has explored the basic theory of creating believable characters, looking specifically at psychology, animation, communication, and acting to create a repository of models that can be used to establish a comprehensive nonverbal behavior model and formulate its link to character attributes [1].

Acting, timing, and drawing techniques are available as guiding principles for conveying the personality of fictional characters. To name a few references from animation and dance, we can recall Disney’s 12 Principles of Animation [2] and Laban’s Movement Analysis [3].

Expanding the metaphor of character as currency across media, we would like to explore character personality as the value of currency and how currency exchange changes this value on IMAGINE platforms. IMAGINE stands for Interactive Media, Animation, Games, Interactive Networked Environments.

In the implementation of digital worlds, each pictorial element has its equivalent in the data space, analyzed in spatial, color, sound and texture coordinates. Each change in the data space corresponds to a change in the visualization space and vice versa. Graphic logic is coupled with digital logic, transmitting a potential for change to the represented world.

To build a holistic approach in the design of digital characters, we had to combine bibliographic research [4] and field research realizing prototypes in animation, computer games, interactive media and connected interactive environments, which we undertake in the framework of the research project IMAGINE MOCAP, based on the transmedia work MONOLOVE by G. Nikopoulos as a case study.

We propose to present this research framework in the conference.

[1] Kunz, T., & Wilde, L.R.A. (2023). Transmedia Character Studies (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003298793
[2] Lasseter, J. (1987) Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D Computer Animation. ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics, 21, 35-44
[3] Bishko, L. (2008) Developing Personality, contributed to Furniss, Maureen, The Animation Bible, Abrams, pp. 60-63
[4] Gambarato Renire (2013), Transmedia project design: Theoretical and analytical considerations- Baltic screen media review

Biographical note:
Assistant Professor since November 2018, Dr. Panagiotis Kyriakoulakos teaches Animation and Computer Animation as well as Digital Storytelling at the Department of Design Engineering, University of the Aegean in Syros. Dr. Kyriakoulakos has written five books in Greek on the subjects taught at the University and co-edited two other books on the history and artistic practice of animation. He is a member of the Interactive Systems Design Laboratory and Scientific Coordinator of the International Conference and Summer School on Extended Arts (XARTS) held in Syros in July every two years since 2013.