The research presents MARTI (Man-machine animation real-time interface) for the realisation of automated special effect animation and human computer interaction. The future developments of the Internet, video communications and multi-media, virtual reality, and animation will rely on the derivation of a natural human-machine interface in order to submerse people, irrespective of technical know-how, into the latest technology, and allow them to interact with computers and one another using their own personality and idiosyncrasies. MARTI introduces novel research in a number of engineering fields to realise the first natural interface and animation system capable of high performance for real-users and real-world applications.