The process to create a talking avatar is the combination of technology and creativity. First, you will need a good idea. Describe what you want your avatar to be able to do. Maybe its customer service, entertainment or education? What you are aiming for will determine the design process For example, a customer service avatar can embody the feeling of being friendly and welcoming.
Next, gather your tools. Adobe Character Animator, CrazyTalk Animator and Reallusion's iClone are all must-have software. Adobe Character Animator - Real-time animation, though your webcam captures the movement and facial expressions. " The Late Show with Stephen Colbert " for live animation and more. Another very simple but powerful 2D facial animation and lip-syncing tool designed for beginners who are new to this field with a user-friendly interface is CrazyTalk Animator, now known as Cartoon Animator.
So the character design is equivalent to designing a person as an avatar. You can create a 2D avatar by using graphic design software like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. Programs such as Blender - which is a free open-source software for 3D avatars are used as well. Blender is equipped with Modeling, Rigging, Animation, Simulation, Rendering and Composing Tools along side its Motion Tracking capabilities.
After the design for the avatar is done, it can be brought to life with a voice. If you do not want to use a voice actor, enter the TTS -Text-to-speech- technology. Best options are Google Text-to-Speech, Amazon Polly and Microsoft Azure TTS. For example, Amazon Polly uses deep learning technologies to produce natural-sounding human speech. It is available in multiple languages and it can be integrated into your app using an API.
This is important to lip-sync the avatar with voice. Luckily, there is some software that can do all these things for you automatically (Synfig Studio and Adobe Character Animator). They link the movement of the mouth to words spoken and it appears as though he is speaking. A free 2D animation software that can be installed on almost all operating systems from linux to windows and also mac os, Synfig Studio is the name of professional choice having additional features for lip-syncing as well as bone system(animation programming).
Step 5: Lastly, implant your avatar to the rightful place. On the Web, you can embed an avatar: in websites - using JavaScript and HTML5. Higher complexity applications like VR content or interactive media, require tools like Unity and Unreal Engine. Game Development and Interactive ApplicationsUnity (Popular for its flexibility, support by a large community).
Video: A realistic talking avatar in 1 week, linkA successful project with a popular avatar takes several weeks of iterative testing. Best help feedback to tweak appearance and functionality of avatar. In the same vein, companies like Soul Machines and Synthesia have shown to open new horizons by develop AI-driven avatars providing customer interactions thus setting a foundation for future growth. Soul Machines, for example, sells astoundingly lifelike-faces and emotionally-intelligent AI in the form of digital people turned into disembodied assistants who have been adopted by many prominent brands; presumably to take full advantage of Mercedes-Benz' likeness rights.
While being small, there is time and resources involved in creating a talking avatar however the returns of engagement levels for your customers can be immense. Like Steve Jobs, once said: “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower” Get savvy and use talking avatars to differentiate your brand from the noise.
Experience talking avatar visit The Talking Avatar This shows an example how avatars can encourage users in a dynamic & interactive way.