Computer Graphics 266

Lab 2:

Implement a system to generate the motion of an articulated figure. The figure should consist minimally of a torso and two legs. The motion generated should be a simple walking motion along a trajectory defined by control points.

Description:

To give this character even a minimal amount of weight, I had to implement a timeline, a system for keying the six degrees of freedom and rotate order of each joint, a system for specifying linear, spline, and broken tangents for the curves, and a grouping hierarchy that supports an arbitrary number of levels. The heart body is actually grouped with itself in order to accomodate a pivot centered at the pelvis.

Even so, setting the keys was like trying to draw with pencil and paper while wearing boxing gloves. Or working in Maya, but only using MEL and never touching the Graph Editor. The forward kinematic legs were another major hassle, but FK was easier to implement than IK.