Pixar

Other

Kurt Fleischer

Kenrick Kin

Andrew Witkin

Allison M Styer

Fernando Ferrari De Goes

C Bart Sullivan

Warren Trezevant

Alan H Barr

William F Sheffler

David B Kirk

Tony De Rose

Boris Dalstein

Brooke P Anderson

Douglas A Kerns

Techniques for computer animation are disclosed. These techniques include receiving a plurality of curvenet segments relating to a computer animation model comprising a surface mesh, and generating a cut-mesh that cuts the surface mesh using the curvenet segments. The techniques further include computing a deformation of the plurality of curvenet segments to the surface mesh using the cut-mesh, and displaying the computer animation model in a pose based on the deformation.

Character articulation through profile curves

One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to enabling a user to specify one or more forces to influence how a movable object carried by a 3D character may move during an animation sequence of the 3D character. In some embodiments, the user input can include an arrow. The user can be enabled manipulate the arrow to specify values for at least one parameter of the force to be applied to the movable object during the animation sequence. Another aspect of the disclosure is directed to enabling the user to draw a silhouette stroke to direct an animation of the movable object during the animation sequence. The silhouette stroke drawn by the user can be used as a 'boundary' towards which the movable object may be 'pulled' during the animation sequence. This may involve generating forces according to the position where the silhouette stroke is drawn.

Directable cloth animation

Users may dynamically specify a 'posing root' node in an animation hierarchy that is different than the model root node used to define the animation hierarchy. When a posing root node is specified, users specify the pose, including translations and rotations, of other nodes relative to the posing root node, rather than the model root node. Poses of nodes may be specified using animation variable values relative to the posing root node. Animation variable values specified relative to the posing root node are dynamically converted to equivalent animation variable values relative to the model root node, which then may be used to pose an associated model. Animation data may be presented to users relative to the current posing root node. If a posing root node is changed to a different location, the animation data is converted so that it is expressed relative to the new posing root node.

Posing animation hierarchies with dynamic posing roots

A computer-implemented method for generating a pose of an object in an interactive application executing on processor. The method includes receiving a posing template that defines a posing path for one or more objects, receiving a graphics object to be posed, and receiving user input that positions the graphics object to conform to at least a portion of the posing path defined by the posing template.

System and method for generating a pose of an object

A method for initiating a user-selected operation on a computer system includes sensing a user contacting the user interface device at a first position with one finger of a user, determining whether the one finger is a first finger of the user or is a second finger of the user, wherein when the one finger is the first finger, the method includes determining a first operation to be performed in response to the first finger, and performing the first operation on the computer system, and wherein when the one finger is the second finger, the method includes determining a second operation to be performed in response to the second finger, and performing the second operation on the computer system.

Method and apparatus for user inputs for three-dimensional animation

A circuit and method for estimating gradients of a target function using noise injection and correlation is provided. In one embodiment, an input signal is combined with an input noise signal and the combined signal is input to a circuit which computes the output of the target function. An amplified noise signal and output signal of the target function are input to a multiplier which performs a correlation of the inputs. The output of the multiplier is processed by a low-pass filter which generates the gradient. The circuit and method can be expanded to N-dimensions. Furthermore, in a alternate embodiment, a differentiator is coupled between the multiplier and amplifier and the multiplier and the output of the target function to differentiate the two signals prior to input to the multiplier. In other embodiments, the circuit may be used to compute gradient-like signals, wherein each component of the gradient is individually scaled by a different value. The output of the circuit can then be used in other descent algorithms. In addition, varying the scale of the noise signal over a time schedule, an annealing style of optimization can be implemented. This prevents the gradient process from stopping at local minima while descending to the global minimum of the function.

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Piedmont, CA, United States of America

Kurt Fleischer