Harmonic skeleton for realistic character animation

Current approaches to skeleton generation are based on topological and geometrical information only; this can be insufficient for realistic character animation, since the location of the joints does not usually match the real bone structure of the model. This paper proposes the use of anatomical information to enhance the skeleton. Using a harmonic function, this information can be recovered from the skeleton itself, which is guaranteed not to have undesired endpoints. The skeleton is computed as a Reeb graph of such a function over the surface of the model. Starting from one point selected on the head of the character, the entire process is fast, automatic and robust; it generates skeletons whose joints can be associated with the character's anatomy. Results are provided, including a quantitative validation of the generated skeletons. Categories and Subject Descriptors (according to ACM CCS): I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism: Animation

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: SCA
• Authors: Grégoire Aujay, Franck Hétroy, Francis Lazarus, Christine Depraz
• Keywords: Computer Graphics, Real Bone Structure, Realistic Character Animation, SCA 2007, Skeletons