System and method for generating computer animated graphical images of an exterior patch surface layer of material stretching over an understructure

A process for generating animated graphical images of an exterior patch surface of an exterior layer of material stretching over an underlying structure comprising the steps of:

• generating and arranging a plurality of underlying patches each being in a rest position to form an underlying patch surface representing an underlying structure disposed in a rest position;
• generating and arranging a plurality of exterior patches to form an exterior patch surface superimposed over said underlying structure in said rest position, each of said exterior patches having an associated array of control points;
• transforming said control points of said exterior patches into a polygonal mesh of vertex points each being coincident with at least one of said control points, at least one pair of said vertex points being associated with a spring defining a potential force therebetween;
• establishing a binding positional relationship between each of said vertex points and an associated closest one of said underlying patches to said vertex point;
• animating said underlying structure causing a displacement in the position of at least one of said underlying patches relative to said rest positions of said underlying patches, and resulting in a deformed underlying structure;
• moving at least a portion of said vertex points based on said associated binding positional relationships and displacements in the positions of said associated closest underlying patches, said moving of said vertex points deforming at least a portion of said springs resulting in spring restoring forces being exerted on associated vertex points;
• computing and resolving said spring restoring forces to determine a relaxed position for each of said vertex points of said polygonal mesh;
• and
• generating a plurality of deformed exterior patches each having an array of control points at least some of which are coincident with relaxed positions of associated ones of said vertex points of said polygonal mesh, said reconstructed exterior patches defining a deformed exterior patch surface superimposed over said deformed underlying structure.

A machine readable storage device having stored therein encoding instructions for executing a process of generating animated graphical images of an exterior patch surface of an exterior layer of material stretching over an underlying structure, the process comprising the steps of:

• generating and arranging a plurality of underlying patches each being in a rest position to form an underlying patch surface representing an underlying structure disposed in a rest position;
• generating and arranging a plurality of exterior patches to form an exterior patch surface superimposed over said underlying structure in said rest position, each of said exterior patches having an associated array of control points;
• transforming said control points of said exterior patches into a polygonal mesh of vertex points each being coincident with at least one of said control points, at least one pair of said vertex points being associated with a spring defining a potential force therebetween;
• establishing a binding positional relationship between each of said vertex points and an associated closest one of said underlying patches to said vertex point;
• animating said underlying structure causing a displacement in the position of at least one of said underlying patches relative to said rest positions of said underlying patches, and resulting in a deformed underlying structure;
• moving at least a portion of said vertex points based on said associated binding positional relationships and displacements in the positions of said associated closest underlying patches, said moving of said vertex points deforming at least a portion of said springs resulting in spring restoring forces being exerted on associated vertex points;
• computing and resolving said spring restoring forces to determine a relaxed position for each of said vertex points of said polygonal mesh;
• and
• generating a plurality of deformed exterior patches each having an array of control points at least some of which are coincident with relaxed positions of associated ones of said vertex points of said polygonal mesh, said reconstructed exterior patches defining a deformed exterior patch surface superimposed over said deformed underlying structure.

A system for executing a process of generating animated graphical images of an exterior patch surface of an exterior layer of material stretching over an underlying structure, comprising:

• means for generating and arranging a plurality of underlying patches each being in a rest position to form an underlying patch surface representing an underlying structure disposed in a rest position;
• means for generating and arranging a plurality of exterior patches to form an exterior patch surface superimposed over said underlying structure in said rest position, each of said exterior patches having an associated array of control points;
• means for transforming said control points of said exterior patches into a polygonal mesh of vertex points each being coincident with at least one of said control points, at least one pair of said vertex points being associated with a spring defining a potential force therebetween;
• means for establishing a binding positional relationship between each of said vertex points and an associated closest one of said underlying patches to said vertex point;
• means for animating said underlying structure causing a displacement in the position of at least one of said underlying patches relative to said rest positions of said underlying patches, and resulting in a deformed underlying structure;
• means for moving at least a portion of said vertex points based on said associated binding positional relationships and displacements in the positions of said associated closest underlying patches, said moving of said vertex points deforming at least a portion of said springs resulting in spring restoring forces being exerted on associated vertex points;
• means for determining and resolving said spring restoring forces to determine a relaxed position for each of said vertex points of said polygonal mesh;
• and
• means for generating a plurality of deformed exterior patches each having an array of control points at least some of which are coincident with relaxed positions of associated ones of said vertex points of said polygonal mesh, said reconstructed exterior patches defining a deformed exterior patch surface superimposed over said deformed underlying structure.