Computer Animation, 3rd Edition

Chapter 9

Modeling and Animating Human Figures

Modeling and animating an articulated figure is one of the most formidable tasks that an animator can be faced with. It is especially challenging when the figure is meant to realistically represent a human. There are several major reasons for this. First, the human figure is a very familiar form. This familiarity makes each person a critical observer. When confronted with an animated figure, a person readily recognizes when its movement does not “feel” or “look” right. Second, the human form is very complex, with more than two hundred bones and six hundred muscles. When fully modeled with linked rigid segments, the human form is endowed with approximately two hundred degrees of freedom (DOFs). The ...