Towards an integrated view of 3-D computer animation

To automate character animation and extend it to 3-D we need to create and manipulate three-dimensional models of articulated figures as well as the worlds they will “inhabit”.Abstraction andadaptive motion are key mechanisms for dealing with thedegrees of freedom problem, which refers to the sheer volume of control information necessary for coordinating the motion of an articulated figure when the number of links is large. A three level hierarchy of control modes for animation is proposed:guiding, animator-level, andtask-level systems. Guiding is best suited for specifiying fine details but unsuited for controlling complex motion. Animatorlevel programming is powerful but difficult. Task-level systems give us facile control over complex motions and tasks by trading off explicit control over the details of motion. The integration of the three control levels is discussed.