Over at the University of Bath, Dr Peter Hall and Chris Li have developed new algorithms that can analyze video footage of trees swaying in the wind and recreate it in 3D models suitable for movies and videogames.
Dr Hall explained: “Trees move in irregular ways and it’s very hard to achieve natural-looking movement.
“It is so expensive that traditional animation often uses static trees – except in big-budget films. In computer graphics, tree models are just as hard to produce.
Several players in the animation industry are already looking at it, so hopefully we’ll see it somewhere mainstream in the near future. See some videos of the project in action at the University of Bath website.
via BBC – Bath University makes animated trees more life-like.
