Synthesis of complex dynamic character motion from simple animations

TLDR

The paper presents a general method for rapid prototyping of realistic character motion. The method solves for natural motion from a simple animation, uses a constraint‑detection algorithm to identify linear and angular momentum constraints, and learns a small set of key pose parameters to enable non‑skilled animators to generate complex realistic motion with minimal effort. The approach demonstrates that enforcing a small set of linear and angular momentum constraints yields realistic motion, bypassing muscle‑force calculations, and that learning key pose parameters enables rapid creation of complex animations by non‑skilled animators.

Abstract

In this paper we present a general method for rapid prototyping of realistic character motion. We solve for the natural motion from a simple animation provided by the animator. Our framework can be used to produce relatively complex realistic motion with little user effort.We describe a novel constraint detection method that automatically determines different constraints on the character by analyzing the input motion. We show that realistic motion can be achieved by enforcing a small set of linear and angular momentum constraints. This simplified approach helps us avoid the complexities of computing muscle forces. Simpler dynamic constraints also allow us to generate animations of models with greater complexity, performing more intricate motions. Finally, we show that by learning a small set of key parameters that describe a character pose we can help a non-skilled animator rapidly create realistic character motion.