Use of multiple representations for simulating cloth shapes and motions: An overview

Cloth is relatively difficult to simulate for computer graphics, primarily because of the complexity of its shapes and motions. Because of the presence of numerous folds and wrinkles of various sizes, conventional means cannot be used to measure or recreate its shapes. This overview describes a method in which a physically based simulation technique is adapted for generating cloth shapes and motions, and presents some examples of images produced by the method. Use is made of a structure composed of multiple representations or “layers,” each of which is assigned a different role in calculation: typically, surface rendering, dynamics, collision detection, and stitching. Inclusion of the latter makes it possible to simulate the joining together of several cloth sections, thus making the method applicable to geometrically complicated tasks such as clothing design. Deformations of cloth objects can be calculated by solving associated equations of motion in a time-marching manner, thereby also producing serial data for animation.