SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SIMULATING OBJECT WEIGHT IN ANIMATIONS

A system and method simulating object weight for computer-generated animation uses inverse kinematics for simulating object weight to generate new positions of an object being carried by an animated character. An object is assigned a weight and the object is attached to the animated character at one or more attachment points. A weight varying function is used to increase the weight when the character's foot contacts the terrain surface during a “step” and the increase is reduced between each step. A distance between the attachment point(s) and the terrain surface is reduced by a number of inches per pound when inverse kinematics is applied to generate new positions of the attachment point(s).