Topologically Consistent Leafy Tree Morphing
Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds, 2017, 28(3-4): e1761. (Best Paper Award for CASA'2017)
Yutong Wang, Luyuan Wang, Zhigang Deng and Xiaogang Jin
Figure 1. Morphing between an Eucalptus and a Staphylea pinnata by our approach.
Figure 2. Morphing between a Whitethorn acacia and an Acer japonicum.
Abstract
We present a novel morphing technique to generate pleasing visual effects between 2 topologically varying trees while preserving the topological consistency and botanical meanings of any in-between shapes as natural trees. Specifically, we first efficiently convert leafy trees into botanically inspired chain-lobe representations in an automatic way. With the aid of branching-pattern aware, one-to-many correspondences between branches and leaves, we hierarchically interpolate branches of in-between trees while maintaining their topological consistencies. Finally, we simultaneously interpolate foliage, specifically every single leaf, during the morphing process, avoiding the generation of unpleasant “floating” leaves. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by creating visually compelling tree morphing animations, even between cross-species.