(PR.co.nz) Graphic Monk had the opportunity to work with Heidi Renata, Chief Energy Officer INNOV8HQ – Dunedin to create a Digital Double Digital Human in her likeness.
This was an experimental project to help showcase the advancement in emerging technologies with machine learning and AI to create a fully animation ready virtual human from just one photograph.
Digi-Heidi is still very much a work-in-progress project to possibly integrate with business systems and processes. There are a multitude of directions and digital careers for Digi-Heidi’s future.
The project goes to showcase the possibilities available today in Dunedin via Graphic Monk to assist brands create digital humans for network effects and social marketing.
AI is no longer limited just to research projects but instead is a valuable technology toolkit to help accelerate labor-intensive tasks and in turn, give better time management and control back to artists to concentrate on the creation process.
Digital humans are now able to be created with quicker iterations and agile processes by using neural networks, machine learning to help with face swapping, image denoising, character locomotion using real-time motion performance capture, facial animation, gesture blend shapes and texture creations.
Creating real-time digital humans requires more than just creative expression, but rather a need to solve complex problems like replicating and data streaming motions and facial gestures of the performer directly onto the digital human character, rendering the character to ensure it looks realistic and most importantly to ensure that the digital human’s body moves like the real person as well as the facial gestures are replicated to match those of the performer driving the digital humans. All these nuances form parts of delivering a high-fidelity digital human that others can relate to and believe to be real.
These digital humans can be used as actors for virtual productions for film, media, and broadcasting, for game development, AR, VR, MR applications, health & wellbeing, tourism, education, interactive storytelling and more.
Digi-Heidi is an experimental work-in-progress based on Heidi Renata (CEO-Innov8HQ, Dunedin) as a personalised digital double, created using a single image through AI-Machine Learning workflow.
(2020 © Graphic Monk)
Jeasy Sehgal, Founder of Graphic Monk, has been involved with the CGI, Film, Game, Advertising and Media industry for over two decades and has had the opportunity to learn and work alongside some talented people and emerging technologies.
Throughout our professional practice, we have had the benefit of using emerging technologies to test and incorporate into our workflow pipelines.
We are currently working with EDT (emerging & disruptive technologies) like AI (Artificial Intelligence) & Machine Learning, enabling us to design, iterate, deploy a realistic digital human character in record times while maintaining a close realism of the digital human’s skin textures, blemishes, iris reflections for the eyes and more.
Founded in 2017, Graphic Monk is a production company born out of the work of Jeasy Sehgal. Graphic Monk, along with its subsidiary; DynaKinetix moved from Auckland to Dunedin in 2019 to establish a hub and to create opportunities for the creative talent in the South Island.
Graphic Monk specialize in film production, film editing, 3D asset development, digital humans, animation, mobile motion capture, game design and more.
Media Release 21 July 2020.