GVU Technical Report Number:
GIT-GVU-98-02
Title:
Animating Sand, Mud, and Snow
Authors:
Robert W. Sumner
James F. O'Brien
Jessica K. Hodgins
Abstract:
Computer animations often lack the subtle environmental changes that should
occur due to the actions of the characters. Squealing car tires usually leave
no skid marks, airplanes rarely leave jet trails in the sky, and most runners
leave no footprints. In this paper, we describe a simulation model of ground
surfaces that can be deformed by the impact of rigid body models of animated
characters. To demonstrate the algorithms, we show footprints made by a
simulated runner in sand, mud, and snow as well as bicycle tire tracks, a
bicycle crash, and a falling runner. The shapes of the footprints in the
three surfaces are quite different, but the effects were controlled through
six essentially orthogonal parameters. To assess the realism of the resulting
motion, we compare the simulated footprints to video footage of human
footprints in sand.
Keywords:
Animation, physical simulation, ground interaction
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