<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"> <meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 14"> <meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 14"> <link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CCATHER%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml">  <link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CCATHER%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"> <link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CCATHER%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml">  <style>  </style> Special Issue on Animation of Natural Virtual Characters<o:p></o:p> Final submissions due: 1 November 2016 <o:p></o:p> Publication date: July/August 2017<o:p></o:p> Virtual characters are used in a range of applications—from interfaces to games to tutors—where they must effectively employ human nonverbal communication. Often these characters must hold conversations with either human users or other characters and must appropriately utilize arm gestures, head movements, posture changes, and facial expressions. Building systems that can support these interactions involves both the automatic specification and generation of appropriate character motion as well as coordination across communication modes and between multiple characters. Challenges include expressing a range of socio-emotional signals, maintaining consistent character personalities, and communicating intended messages clearly.<o:p></o:p> This special issue of IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications will provide an opportunity for researchers and practitioners in both the character animation and virtual agents fields to publish their latest work. For this special issue, we solicit papers describing innovative character animation techniques and models. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:<o:p></o:p> _ Expressive character animation (animation reflecting emotion, personality, and style)<o:p></o:p> _ Models of gesture and nonverbal communication<o:p></o:p> _ Relevant perceptual studies of character motion<o:p></o:p> _ Multimodal communicative behavior planning and coordination<o:p></o:p> _ Capturing the behavior/animation style of particular people<o:p></o:p> _ Specification and generation of conversational character models<o:p></o:p> _ Multicharacter conversational interaction<o:p></o:p> _ Machine learning techniques applied to these problems<o:p></o:p> _ Evaluations of expressive conversational character systems<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Guest Editors<o:p></o:p> Please direct any correspondence before submission to the guest editors:<o:p></o:p> _ Michael Neff, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:mpneff@ucdavis.edu">mpneff@ucdavis.edu</a>, University of California, Davis<o:p></o:p> _ Catherine Pelachaud, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:catherine.pelachaud@telecomparistech.fr">catherine.pelachaud@telecomparistech.fr</a>, CNRS-LTCI, Telecom-ParisTech<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Submission Guidelines<o:p></o:p> Nondepartment articles submitted to IEEE CG&A should not exceed 8,000 words, including the main text, abstract, keywords, bibliography, biographies, and table text, where a page is approximately 800 words. Articles should include no more than 10 figures or images. Each 1/4 page figure, image, and table counts for approx. 200 words. Note that all tables, images, and illustrations must be appropriately scaled and legible; larger elements should be accounted for accordingly with respect to word count. Please limit the number of references to the<o:p></o:p> most relevant and ensure to delineate your work from relevant past articles in CG&A. Furthermore, avoid an excessive number of references to published work that might only be marginally relevant. Consider instead providing such pertinent background material in sidebars for non-expert readers. Visit the CG&A style and length guidelines at_www.computer.org/ web/peer-review/magazines. We also strongly encourage you to submit multimedia (videos, podcasts, and so on) to enhance your article. Visit the CG&A supplemental guidelines at_www.computer.org/web/ peer-review/magazines.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Please submit your paper using the online manuscript submission service at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cs-ieee">https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cs-ieee</a>. When uploading your paper, select the appropriate special issue title under the category “Manuscript Type.” Also, include complete contact information for all authors. If you have any questions about submitting your article, contact the peer review coordinator at <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:cga-ma@computer.org">cga-ma@computer.org</a>.<o:p></o:p> </body> </html>