When animating characters in 3d with the intention of compositing onto real life footage, ‘proxy’ surfaces are required. These surfaces exist in 3d and are used to locate the character at the correct point in space, allowing the character to interact realistically with their environment when added to live action plate. These proxy surfaces also help to generate shadows and reflections that add to the success of the final composite.

The problem in question is that of a character interacting with a breaking wave surface. An existing breaking wave would need to be studied, and a representation of that wave surface generated in 3d. The resultant wave existing as an animated surface in Maya. The ideal surface being NURBS for this particular application, due to its speed when dealing with real time animation and also its ease of integration with motion paths.

With this research we wish to create a tool for animators that allows them to study footage of a breaking wave and then accurately simulate that wave in Maya. Through a series of GUI windows complete control over the shape and timing of the wave should be available to the user.

It must be said that we are dealing with a relatively unexplored application of computer graphics, dealing with a natural process that has many levels of detail associated with it.

‘One of the most complex natural phenomena in the world of liquids is that of the breaking wave,...the multiple scales of dynamics, ranging from the fine scale of the spray and the foam, passing through the small/intermediate scale of the ripples on the wave surface, and ending with the larger wavelength of the wave that overturns and breaks’ [1]

There are many parts to the simulation of a breaking wave that we are not concerned with in this report. Rendering the wave is not an issue so elements such as foam and spray do not have to be considered. Also the finer details of a wave such as the ripples across its surface are not required and can be ignored when dealing with the shape of the wave.