OLM, the Japanese animation group behind the “Pokemon” anime series and films, has developed an AI coloring tool that picks up a show’s look from just three hand-painted frames, OLM Digital board director Yotsukura Tatsuo said at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) in Taipei.
\n\nThe tool came out of ANIMINS, a 15-month research project Yotsukura led under GENIAC, a generative AI program overseen by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The project, which looked at how anime creators could put AI to use, wrapped in February.
\n\nBecause AI models usually need vast amounts of training data that studios struggle to assemble, OLM took the opposite approach. An artist colors three frames by hand, and the system learns that show’s line shapes and color palette on the spot in about 90 seconds, then colors each remaining frame in around 15 seconds. The more frames an artist paints by hand, the more accurate it becomes.
\n\n“Strictly speaking, it isn’t generative AI,” Yotsukura said.
\n\nTraining only on a production’s own frames means no other works are harmed, he added, and the tool can adapt immediately when a new character or creature, such as a dragon, appears. The point OLM most wanted…
Original source: https://variety.com/v/tv/