Patent Document ID: 9786083
Application ID: 13269477
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A computer-implemented method for deforming a skin of a model of a computer animation character, the method comprising: accessing the model, wherein the model includes a skeleton having a plurality of bones connected at one or more joints, wherein a joint of the one or more joints is associated with a first local coordinate system; accessing a user's selection of one or more control points, wherein each control point is associated with a second local coordinate system; accessing a skin vertex, wherein the skin vertex represents a location on the skin and the skin vertex is associated with a position vector; receiving user input representing selection of a geometric function; subsequent to accessing the user's selection of the one or more control points and receiving the user input representing selection of the geometric function, using, by one or more processors, the selected geometric function to: perform an automated control point selection process that selects a smaller subset of control points from the user's selection of the one or more control points, wherein the automated control point selection process is performed by the one or more processors, and wherein the automated control point selection process comprises: determining a plurality of geometric curves, each controlled by a respective smaller subset of control points of the one or more control points, wherein each respective smaller subset of control points is different; determining which geometric curve, of the plurality of geometric curves, is closest to the location represented by the skin vertex; and selecting, as the smaller subset of control points, the respective smaller subset of control points that controls the geometric curve determined to be the closest to the location represented by the skin vertex; and determine an influence, of each control point in the smaller subset, over a new position vector of the skin vertex; determining the new position vector of the skin vertex using the selected smaller subset of control points and corresponding influence; and storing the new position vector of the skin vertex, wherein a portion of the skin of the computer animation character is displayed, during animation, at the new position vector of the skin vertex.