Free-form deformations with lattices of arbitrary topology

Abstract

A new free-form deformation technique is presented that generalizes previous methods by allowing 3-dimensional deformation lattices of arbitrary topology. The technique uses an extension of the Catmull-Clark subdivision methodology that successively refines a 3-dimensional lattice into a sequence of lattices that converge uniformly to a region of 3-dimensional space. Deformation of the lattice then implicitly defines a deformation of the space. An underlying model can be deformed by establishing positions of the points of the model within the converging sequence of lattices and then tracking the new positions of these points within the deformed sequence of lattices. This technique allows a greater variety of deformable regions to be defined, and thus a broader range of shape deformations can be generated.