Complementary Dynamics

TL;DR

This paper introduces a physics-based method to add rich, high-frequency elastodynamic secondary effects to various rig animations without disrupting the original motion, enhancing realism in animation workflows.

Contribution

It proposes a novel optimization in the complementary subspace to incorporate elastodynamic effects seamlessly into existing animations, independent of rig type or physical model.

Findings

Enables rich secondary dynamics without manual segmentation.

Compatible with multiple physical simulation models.

Does not interfere with original rig animations.

Abstract

We present a novel approach to enrich arbitrary rig animations with elastodynamic secondary effects. Unlike previous methods which pit rig displacements and physical forces as adversaries against each other, we advocate that physics should complement artists intentions. We propose optimizing for elastodynamic displacements in the subspace orthogonal to displacements that can be created by the rig. This ensures that the additional dynamic motions do not undo the rig animation. The complementary space is high dimensional, algebraically constructed without manual oversight, and capable of rich high-frequency dynamics. Unlike prior tracking methods, we do not require extra painted weights, segmentation into fixed and free regions or tracking clusters. Our method is agnostic to the physical model and plugs into non-linear FEM simulations, geometric as-rigid-as-possible energies, or mass-spring models. Our method does not require a particular type of rig and adds secondary effects to skeletal animations, cage-based deformations, wire deformers, motion capture data, and rigid-body simulations.