“Integrating shape and pattern in mammalian models” by Walter, Fournier and Menevaux

The giraffe and its patches, the leopard and its spots, the tiger and its stripes are spectacular examples of the integration of a pattern and a body shape. We present an approach that integrates a biologically-plausible pattern generation model, which can effectively deliver a variety of patterns characteristic of mammalian coats, and a body growth and animation system that uses experimental growth data to produce individual bodies and their associated patterns automatically. We use the example of the giraffe to illustrate how our approach takes us from a canonical embryo to a full adult giraffe in a continuous way, with results that are not only realistic looking, but also objectively validated. The flexibility of the approach is demonstrated by examples of big cat patterns, including an interpolation between patterns. The approach also allows a considerable amount of user control to fine-tune the results and to animate the resulting body with the pattern.

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