3D Modelling - Text 5
Although the construction of the surface and texture of the model is a necessary element in the construction of a 3D model, this is not what makes movement possible; it is the “skeleton”, rather, which enables this. This element is defined as a structure that is “usually built from simple primitive shapes, [and] is rather like the ball-and-socket armature that forms the framework of a traditional stop-motion puppet”.[5] It is made up of vectors representing the puppet’s limbs, joined by pivot points which make the articulation of these limbs possible. Depending on the animator’s choices, the number of desired pivots on the model can be increased, thereby making it possible to create very fine articulations, enabling micro-movements. With these points, the goal of the animator is to manipulate the model and in so doing to create the illusion of movement.
