Modeling the structure of the sea anemone and the sea star using hierarchical implicit surfaces

Abstract

The paper presents a new method for modeling the structure of sea anemones and sea stars. Two specific invertebrates, the sea anemone, Stomphia coccinea and the sea star, Dermasterias imbricata were modeled using hierarchical implicit surfaces based on the BlobTree. The hierarchy provides both local refinement and global deformation. Local refinement allows the introduction of details on the base surface and global deformations change the overall shape of the model while maintaining the integrity of the surface details. Using a new implicit surface phyllotactic method, we obtain a visually pleasing arrangement of the sea anemone's tentacles. The hierarchical representation of the model provides an easy and efficient way for modeling the many different shape changes of sea anemones.