← ArchivePaper2021
Reinventing a Character Creation Pipeline Using Landmarking, Simulation, and Shared Character Data
Ferris Webby, Todd Hill, Brian Anderson, Chris Pagoria, Christian Haniszewski, Daniel Lima
Blue Sky Studios' Universal Mesh-centered pipeline integrating automated rig landmark placement, geometry-driven rigging tools, and stylized simulation-based deformation.
Abstract
Reinventing the humanoid character build pipeline at Blue Sky Studios presented several opportunities to create synergy between different processes, all centering around the concept of creating and maintaining a standardized Universal Mesh. The automation of rig argument placement, the building of rigging tools that use aspects of character geometry as inputs, the separation of character data from assets, and the creation of a stylized simulation-based approach to deform animated characters were all influenced by this base Universal Mesh. Ultimately, this approach offered new ways to get the most out of our character pipeline.
How to read this
- Category
- Production talk / character pipeline redesign
- Contributions
- Centers the humanoid character build pipeline on a standardized Universal Mesh to create synergy across processes
- Automates rig argument (landmark) placement and builds rigging tools that take character geometry as inputs
- Separates character data from assets and introduces a stylized simulation-based approach to deform animated characters
- Context
- Continues Blue Sky Studios' rigging-pipeline work on achieving and maintaining real-time rigs (Hallac et al.), reorganizing it around a shared base mesh and geometry-driven tooling.Builds on: Achieving and Maintaining Real-Time Rigs
- Correctness
- Studio practice, not peer-reviewed; the Universal Mesh approach is production-proven at Blue Sky on stylized characters, so its fit for other studios or non-stylized, topology-varying characters should not be assumed.
- Clarity
- Accessible to technical-artist and pipeline readers; one read conveys the Universal-Mesh organizing idea and how landmarking, rigging, and simulation hang off it.
- How to read it
- Read once for the Universal-Mesh-as-shared-source concept and the data-versus-asset separation; revisit the landmarking and geometry-driven rigging sections if you are restructuring a character build pipeline.
Builds on
Built upon by
Nothing yet.
Related work
- Delta Mush: Smoothing Deformations While Preserving Detail 2014 / DigiPro
- Patch-based Surface Relaxation 2018 / SIGGRAPH
- Flesh, Flab, and Fascia Simulation on Zootopia 2016 / SIGGRAPH
- Mobilizing Mocap, Motion Blending, and Mayhem: Rig Interoperability for Crowd Simulation on Incredibles 2 2018 / SIGGRAPH
Keywords
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