This course will explore computational techniques for animating computer-generated characters in games, virtual worlds, movies, and other applications. The first part of the course will cover basic techniques. The second part will be devoted to reading, analyzing, and discussing recent research in character animation, with an eye towards open problems.
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
| Wednesday, April 1st | Course Overview |
| Monday, April 6th | Keyframing |
| Wednesday, April 8th | Animating Orientation |
| Monday, April 13th | - |
| Wednesday, April 15th | Kinematics |
| Wednesday, April 22nd | Motion Capture |
| Week | Class Days | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | April 1st | Introduction |
| Week 2 | April 6th and 8th | Keyframing, interpolation, re-parameterization, quaternions |
| Week 3 | April 13th and 15th | Linked structures, forward kinematics, inverse kinematics |
| Week 4 | April 20th and 22nd | Motion capture: acquisition and processing |
| Week 8 | April 27th and 29th | Current research topics |
| Week 5 | May 4th and 6th | Rigid body dynamics |
| Week 6 | May 11th and 13th | Current research topics |
| Week 9 | May 18th and 20th | Current research topics |
| Week 10 | May 27th | Current research topics |
| Week 11 | June 1st and 3rd | Guest lectures from Larry Cutler and Jason Schleifer, PDI/Dreamworks |
The course contains a small programming assignment on inverse kinematics, available from the handout list above. We are also planning an assignment on motion capture processing that will probably involve learning how to use a motion capture processing software package. There may also be in-class presentations on notable current research papers during the second half of the course. The assignment schedule is still being decided, and details will be posted here as they become available.