Applications of particle systems combined with other computer methods to produce simulations of hair from an artist's perspective

Abstract

With the increasing popularity of computer generated imagery and animation as an artistic medium, the need for the ability to create a satisfactory icon for human hair has become more pressing. Most of the solutions to date have involved making texture maps of hair and applying them to polygonal models shaped like the hair. This technique is only satisfactory for limited hairstyles-i.e. short, close to the head styles. The most common experiments into other techniques have centered around recreating each hair as a 3D model and giving them the properties of hair. This method's problems center around the enormous file size (computer memory requirements) and the fact that the properties vary a great deal within every head of hair-properties such as length, curliness, direction of curliness, and movement. The hairs need to be separated into groups and each group needs its own set of properties applied. Setting up this file is very labor-intensive and requires that one has the storage capacity for such a large file. The solution this thesis proposes is to use particle systems to create an icon for hair that can be easily customized to suit an individual artist's perception of hair and unlimited hair styles, and, additionally, use little more computer memory than the texture-mapped hair.