Chance, Franklin S., IV (2003-05). Hands as characters: designing for a large scale pipeline using limited characteristics. Master's Thesis. Thesis uri icon

abstract

  • This thesis concentrates on hands and their production as concerns a larger-scale
    pipeline with multiple secondary or tertiary characters. It establishes a platform from
    which many unique hands can be produced from a single, rigged hand. Emphasis is
    given to automating a large amount of the rigging and sculpting processes through
    use of high and low-level user interfaces so users of varying skill can use this thesis
    effectively. Systems for sculpting the hand and animating the hand are created for
    their own specific purposes and linked together through the interface to create a tool
    for modeling a new hand from an existing mesh, having the new hand automatically
    rigged for animation and ready to use with only minor adjustments by the user.
    A system is developed conclusively that allows for the efficient mass production
    of tertiary character assets. Unique hands are quickly and correctly created with the
    ability to connect them to digital characters. This method can be applied not only
    to hands, but other parts of characters as well. Eventually full secondary or tertiary
    characters can be created using this method of production.

publication date

  • May 2003