Cmsc 425: Lecture 10 Skeletal Animation and Skinning

Recap: Last time we introduced the principal elements of skeletal models and discussed forward kinematics. Recall that a skeletal model consists of a collection of joints, which have been joined into a rooted tree structure. Each joint of the skeleton is associated with a coordinate frame which specifies its position and orientation in space. Each joint can be rotated (subject to sum constraints). The assignment of rotation angles (or generally rotation transformations) to the individual joints defines the skeleton’s pose, that is, its geometrical configuration in space. Joint rotations are defined relative to a default pose, called the bind pose (or reference pose).