Patent ID: 8786611

Claim:
A method for facilitating computer-generated animation, the method comprising: receiving, at one or more computer systems, information specifying an irregular mesh; receiving, at the one or more computer systems, information specifying a weight map indicative of locations associated with the irregular mesh and a value for each indicated location weighting motion at the indicated location of one or more surfaces associated with the irregular mesh; receiving, at the one or more computer systems, information specifying a direction field independent of the weight map identifying one or more directions at one or more portions of the irregular mesh at which the one or more surfaces are moved along the portions of the irregular mesh; generating, with one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, a sliding deformer for the irregular mesh based on the weight map and the direction field, the sliding deformer configured to constrain motion of the one or more surfaces relative to a predetermined shape of the irregular mesh in a manner consistent with the weight map and the direction field; and storing, in a storage device associated with the one or more computer systems, the sliding deformer in association with the irregular mesh.