This week we talk to Alejandro Garcia about how an understanding of physics can help achieve believable animation. Garcia is a professor in the Department of Physics at San Jose State University and will be presenting a course on animation physics at SIGGRAPH 2012 . Some of the diagrams Garcia refers to in the podcast are re-posted here.
Garcia has presented over 30 classes on physics as it applies to animation at the Department of Artistic Development at DreamWorks Animation SKG. His SIGGRAPH course, taking place on Sunday, 5th August from 2pm to 5pm, covers essential topics from physical mechanics to basic bio-mechanics that apply specifically to character animation.
Diagrams mentioned in the podcast
More information can be found at Alejandro Garcia’s Home Page. You can also preview Garcia’s SIGGRAPH course notes in this PDF.