Swirling-sweepers: constant-volume modeling

Abstract

Swirling-sweepers is a new method for modeling shapes while preserving volume. The artist describes a deformation by dragging a point along a path. The method is independent of the geometric representation of the shape. It preserves volume and avoids self-intersections, both local and global. It is capable of unlimited stretching and the deformation can be constrained to affect only apart of the model. We argue that all of these properties are necessary for interactive modeling if the user is to have the impression that he or she is shaping a real material. Our method is the first to implement all five.