CGI Wardrobe

Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 28, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.

Animating clothing realistically is one of the most difficult tasks – and doubly so in computer games, since the variations in movement take place in real time. That is why, until now, even the hardest battle in dragon-infested mud pits has been comparable with everyday office life when it comes to clothing – the hero marches out of both fresh, with smooth clothing and only minimal blood splatters.

Carsten Stoll and his colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics used software to separate clothing movement from body movement using laser scans. The software compares 2D and 3D scans and determines from the differences what is body and what is clothing – this works well with loose garments such as skirts and coats, and differences in materials are represented credibly – for example, the software distinguishes between chiffon, tweed and iron armour.

The information about the clothing and its movement can be projected and transferred onto a second model. Its movements, in turn, are freely available for control by the animation artist. The behaviour of the clothing is simulated with folds, stretching, movement speed and material inertia and adapted to the movements. There will be a major demonstration of the technology at Siggraph Asia.

Further links:

• Carsten Stoll