"Rune" <run### [at] runevisioncom> wrote:
> I'm not sure I have the required skills, but I'd like to write a program in
> Java that can import a boned mesh in some format, move the bones around,
> deform the mesh according to the moved bones and then export the mesh as a
> mesh2 for example.
>
> Are there any widely used formats for boned meshes?
>
> It should contain the mesh (typically a character in some standard pose),
> the bones in the same standard pose, and data about which vertices are
> affected by which bones.
>
> However, in order to deform the mesh correctly, I'd probably also have to
> know the algorithm used for the deforming. Even with that available I might
> not have the skills, but I can always hope.
>
> I think I have to base it all on a pre-existing format for boned meshes,
> because how else would people be able to actually create those boned meshes?
> I certainly don't have the skills to create a graphical mesh and boning
> modeler/editor.

I was going to point you to the h-anim work that has been done for VRML, but
a lot of that seems to have disappeared off the web3d site. The people who
did the h-anim work have kept some of it up and available at
http://www.hanim.org
It might help, but will probably leave you more puzzled than anything.
H-anim and VRML are open formats.

A better place is a young guy's site here in Australia. He calls himself
Thyme and is very friendly and helpful. He makes his program Seamless3d
available free from his website at
http://www4.tpg.com.au/users/gperrett/seamless3d/index.html
It does animation of single-mesh avatars by moving the points in the mesh as
you were saying. He really is the best person you could talk to on this.
His work is all in VRML, but really that is similar in many ways to
POV-Ray; just that VRML is real-time and POV-Ray is raytraced and geared
more to complex, beautiful images.

If you want to see some of the examples they used to have on the h-anim site
and the web3d site email me back and I'll send them to you. Luckily I saved
them to my hard drive a while ago.

Best wishes,

- miriam (at) werple . net . au

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