Patent ID: 8139068

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for generating a soft tissue solver for a computer animation application executed by a processor, comprising: receiving a three-dimensional mesh; receiving input from a user that directly identifies one or more salient points on the three-dimensional mesh; computing, using the processor, locations of helper points on the three-dimensional mesh based on locations of the one or more salient points on the three-dimensional mesh, wherein the location of at least one helper point is defined as a percentage along a line between two salient points on the three-dimensional mesh; generating, based on the locations of the helper points on the three-dimensional mesh and the locations of the one or more salient points on the three-dimensional mesh, one or more guidelines associated with three-dimensional mesh; and automatically generating a soft tissue solver based on the one or more salient points on the three-dimensional mesh and the one or more guidelines associated with the three-dimensional mesh, wherein the soft tissue solver includes a deformation region represented by points in the three-dimensional mesh, a deformation object representing only a single weight associated with the deformation region and a displacement that is applied to the deformation region, and a deformation operator that specifies a deformation to the deformation object according to a change in a control object that is a point or curve on the three-dimensional mesh.