Computational topology for hand-drawn animation technology: A survey

This survey reviews the use of computational topology in hand-drawn animation technology over the past 15 years. We discuss three main subfields of hand-drawn animation technology research: frame deformation, frame feature correspondence, and volumetric modeling of hand-drawn characters. We explore the various topological spaces and operators applied to each subfield, detailing the artistic and computational advantages and limitations of each topological approach. Throughout our discussion, we provide industry knowledge derived from interviews with leading hand-drawn animation professionals to enrich our assessments of topological approaches’ suitability in industry settings. • Reviews topology-based approaches to hand-drawn animation technology. • Compares and contrasts methods with respect to their use of computational topology. • Discusses advantages and limitations arising from each topological technique. • Insights on frame processing approaches from hand-drawn animation professionals.