Content aware texture mapping on deformable surfaces

A computer-implemented method, comprising:

• receiving, with an optimizer computing device, a 2D parameterization domain of a computer animated surface having an existing parameterization, wherein the optimizer computing device comprises a non-transitory computer readable medium with an instruction set embedded thereon, the instruction set configured to cause the optimizer computing device to perform one or more steps of the computer-implemented method;
• selecting_a region from the 2D parameterization domain of the computer animated surface;
• receiving, from a storage, rigidity data on the selected region, the rigidity data comprising a rigidity value for each of a plurality of image cells;
• determining, with the optimizer computing device, one or more clusters of image cells with as-similar-as-possible rigidity values by comparing the rigidity value for each image cell with the rigidity value for one or more adjacent image cells;
• partitioning the selected region into a mesh comprising a plurality of elements, each element comprising a cluster of image cells with as-similar-as-possible rigidity values, thereby defining a resting state mesh;
• calculating, with the optimizer computing device, a weight value for each of the plurality of elements using the rigidity data, thereby defining a weight array;
• and
• determining a deformed state mesh by using data from the weight array to adjust the resting state mesh;
• wherein the resting state mesh and the deformed state mesh are overlaid on the surface having an existing parameterization to minimize distortion of the plurality of elements when the surface deforms.