2.2 Body Mesh Animation
Body mesh animation can be achieved by graphic programming and commercial software. Given large amount of high-quality mocap data, 3D animation software can be used to create various human animation sequences with good quality and high efficiency. Three animation software tools are often used: Poser, Maya and MotionBuilder.
• Poser is easy-to-use software that provides a collection of human models and many types of motions. But it is not easy to directly incorporate data or models from other sources.
• Maya is high-end professional 3D computer modeling software that supports detailed graphical representation. Given its powerful and complex capabilities, it requires a steep learning curve for animation generation. Moreover, Maya needs additional software to handle various often-used mocap data formats (AMC/ASF, BVH, C3D etc.).
• MotionBuilder (MB) is specially designed software for 3D character animation with powerful tools to handle mocap data and various camera settings. It also provides well-designed physical constraints and optimization algorithms for motion-realistic animation. It is often encumbered by the skeleton incompatibility between shape models and mocap data.