Abstract
Animating an articulated 3D character currently requires manual
rigging to specify its internal skeletal structure and to define how
the input motion deforms its surface. We present a method for animating
characters automatically. Given a static character mesh and
a generic skeleton, our method adapts the skeleton to the character
and attaches it to the surface, allowing skeletal motion data to animate
the character. Because a single skeleton can be used with a
wide range of characters, our method, in conjunction with a library
of motions for a few skeletons, enables a user-friendly animation
system for novices and children. Our prototype implementation,
called Pinocchio, typically takes under a minute to rig a character
on a modern midrange PC.
CR Categories: I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional
Graphics and Realism—Animation
Keywords: Animation, Deformations, Geometric Modeling