Procedural Trail Tool
Trail effects and motion blur take time to set up and compute. This process can be sped up by combining all the necessary operations in a tool. The user can mix and map different parameters to create their own trail rather than sticking with some more conventional trail visuals. Points (particles), curves, patches and blob meshes can be generated as output. Using ramps and forces allows drastically different results which gives the user more creative freedom.
Real Time Animated Typography Tool
As video art becomes a more prominent part of nightclub entertainment, promoters are also becoming more aware of the advertising potential of video projected information. For the most part, financial assistance is not generally offered to produce sophisticated animated typographic sequences, rather it is an expected service to be provided as part of a show. Production of animated sequences takes time. The process involves creating the type, marking key frames or choosing paths for the type to follow, rendering and finally editing and outputting to a format to be displayed. By having a quick and easy tool to display logos and text on-screen the video artist is given more time to work on sequences outside the realms of unpaid corporate advertising.
The Simulation of the Aging Process and Implementing Wrinkles in Computer Animation
This report discusses the physical process of aging, including the structure of the skin and wrinkle formation. Research into different approaches using the aging process in computer graphics is documented. The report proposes a tool designed for Maya using MEL scripting that allows a user to apply wrinkles or other textures, as layered bump maps, to selected faces. Further applications and future ideas are also discussed.
Representing Breaking Waves in Computer Graphics
The animation and control over fluid simulation is an intricate and testing application of computer graphics. In this report we study the propagation and dynamics of water waves, and look at examples of how waves have been represented in computer graphics in the past. We take ideas outlined in recent papers and develop a tool of our own that generates a representation of a breaking wave surface in Maya.