This thesis presents a prototype system to develop procedural animation for the goal-directed terrestrial locomotion of tentacled digital creatures. Creating locomotion for characters with multiple highly deformable limbs is time and labor intensive. This prototype system presents an interactive real-time physically-based solution to procedurally create tentacled creatures and simulate their goal-directed movement about an environment. Artistic control over both the motion path of the creature and the localized behavior of the tentacles is maintained. This system functions as a stand-alone simulation and a tool has been created to integrate it into production software. Applications include use in visual effects and animation where generalized behavior of tentacled creatures is required.
ETD Chair
McLaughlin, Timothy Interim Dean, School of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts