Abstract—The paper centers on the digitizing of 2D sketched animated character, to be incorporated in game environment aimed at Graphical Imagery therapy. Two aspects are taken into account: The healing pattern of visual therapy through the use of colors, shapes and form and the use of designing software compatible for gaming software. The character is designed in 3D Studio Max. This software has integrated modeling and animation tools with visual effects and game compatibility. The character is developed through a “sphere” and modifiers are applied to change the shape into a tumor character. Textures are applied and final character is developed by adding bones to make its multiple moves. It is made compatible for game software while exporting it from .max to .fbx extension. The result depicts the designing of proposed 3D enemy character, symbolizing ugly tumor with human features. The final exported extension is easily incorporated in gaming environment. Index Terms—Sketch, 2D, digitization, animated character. I. INTRODUCTION 3D modeling refers to a systematic process of developing a three-dimensional object though the use of a tool. That tool can be computer software or a manual technique. Three-dimensional object is modeled when three axis are playing their part at a time i-e height, width and depth. In this regard, digitizing any 2D sketched object is another aspect that leads to the development of a 3D model. Digitizing is specifically known as a “digital image” that can be seen on the computer screen. 3D model designing is incomplete without a 2D sketch where the idea is presented on a paper in order to digitize it into a 3D form. 3D modeling is now an essential part of a game that is labeled as 3D game. Similarly, 3D animation is an addition to the visual effect of the game that resembles real movements that are seen by human eye. A 3D game is basically a structured playing platform that is usually used for recreation and enjoyment. This playing platform is having its own specific environment that is portraying the theme on which the game is being developed. There are different elements that compliment the game environment e- g characters, props, game play and medals. These elements altogether create an impact on the player’s mind and interest. 3D game has different genres under its umbrella e-g war, education, puzzle, mathematics and many more. 3D games Manuscript received May 2, 2012; revised June 3, 2012. S. Sajjad, S. Mohsin, S. Riaz are with COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan (smohsin@comsats.edu.pk). S. Sajjad and A. H. Abdullah are with University Technology Malaysia, Malaysia. are now being utilized for healing various diseases. The visual content of a 3D game is effectively used for visual therapy in order to cure various diseases. Graphical imagery therapy is a visual therapy in the form of a 3D game that would facilitate children in fighting against their brain tumors. This therapy has cognitive behavioral effects on children to recover from their psychological illnesses. The paper focuses on the digitizing of 2D sketched enemy character for Graphical imagery therapy-3D game. This enemy is the brain tumor with which the patient would fight to recover. Two aspects are taken into account in this study: How 3D enemy character is visually presented to compliment Graphical imagery therapy, to heal cancer patients? How to design 3D enemy character and its animations in software that would be compatible with the gaming software i-e 3D Unity? II. LITERATURE REVIEW Jarvis (2001) believes that 3D modeling is done with the use of basic shapes and forms including sphere, rectangles, polygons and boxes. Pollefeys (2002) adds that 3D model is created after sketching its reference 2D image on the paper. The 2D sketch is known as the projection of a “three- dimensional scene onto a two-dimensional image”. Ono et al (2002) explain that 2D sketching is an easy way to define how the character or any object is to be modeled in 3D form. 3D software is used to create models in multiple frames. Robbins (2003) defines animation as containing separate images in the form of frames that are quickly viewed together creating an illusion of motion. Kirsh (2005) believes that children have been entertained through animated films and movies for more than eighty years. There was found a series of 2D animated characters as international celebrities involving Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto. They were meant to entertain children through the portrayal of social issues of the society with comedic elements. He argues that when comedic or aggressive acts are presented in cartoon movies, children develop similar thoughts, feelings and concepts in their minds. Hence, they are influence by the visual presentation of events, problems and their solutions. Beside animated cartoon movies, Chuang & Chen (2009) argue that computer generated 3D games are getting popularity. They are ever-growing tools designed by game developers. They have characters in them, too. The use of 3D characters in 3D games is another phenomenon after cartoon movies. Lamb & Johnson (2006) argue that though the use of animation, interaction and multimedia interesting informative projects can be developed. It is quite easy for Digitizing 2D sketched Animated Character for Graphical Imagery Therapy (GIT) Game Sadaf Sajjad, Sajjad Mohsin, Sahar Riaz, and Abdul Hanan Abdullah International Journal of Information and Education Technology, Vol. 2, No. 4, August 2012 341