Dynamic Glyphs — Depicting Dynamics in Images of 3D Scenes

Abstract

Depicting dynamics offers manifold ways to visualize dynamics in static media, to understand dynamics in the whole, and to relate dynamics of the past and the future with the current state of a 3D scene. The depiction strategy we propose is based on visual elements, called dynamic glyphs, which are integrated in the 3D scene as additional 2D and 3D geometric objects. They are derived from a formal specification of dynamics based on acyclic, directed graphs, called behavior graphs. Different types of dynamics and corresponding mappings to dynamic glyphs can be identified, for instance, scene events at a discrete point in time, transformation processes of scene objects, and activities of scene actors. The designer or the application can control the visual mapping of dynamics to dynamic glyphs, and, thereby, create own styles of dynamic depiction. Applications of dynamic glyphs include the automated production of instruction manuals, illustrations, and storyboards.