Attachment-Based Character Deformation

Abstract

While advancements have made it easier to work with digital characters, it remains difficult to author animations that display the free and highly expressive shape change that characterize hand-drawn animation.We present a deformation method that combines skeletal control and free shape change in a single framework, along with an intuitive, sketch-based interface. By finding attachment points between the mesh and skeleton, we enable con gurable skeleton and surface-based deformations, and avoid common skinning artifacts. Use of sketch-based interfaces and graphics hardware make both skeletal and mesh deformation simple to control and fast enough for interactive use.