Master's ThesisMy Master's thesis (1997) is titled "Integrating H-Splines in Softimage|3D" and it can be downloaded in PDF format via this link (651 kb). Its is formatted for double-sided printing. Abstract:Hierarchical splines (H-Splines) are a multiresolution representation of spline surfaces with support for local refinement. They have proved to be more flexible for character animation than the surface formulations supported by modern animation systems, especially when driven by a skeleton, a technique known as enveloping. An extension to the basic hspline formulation allows cylinders to be smoothly connected to non-isoparametric lines of another h-spline surface. This allows limbs to be connected to bodies with unprecedented ease for the animator. The region of the attachment is represented with Catmull-Clark surfaces. This thesis describes how hierarchical splines have been integrated into the Softimage|3D environment, emphasizing both technical and user interface aspects, and including a complete discussion of enveloping. Arbitrary topology surface attachments are described in detail, including current limitations in Softimage that prevent their complete integration. Rendering of hsplines was not implemented in a satisfactory manner due to limitations in the host environment, and these issues will be carefully examined. |