computer animation

Stanley Osher: connecting the disconnected

Stanley Osher has won the 2014 Gauss Prize for his revolutionary impact in areas including medical imaging, sonic booms, movie animation and microchip design and
manufacture.

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Career interview: Visual effects director
Alexis Wajsbrot is a visual effects specialist who has worked on a number of high-profile films including Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, and also on some of those visually stunning commercials you see while waiting for your film to start. His speciality is anything that behaves like a fluid: water, smoke, fire, even fur or cloth. Plus went to see him to find out more.
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It's all in the detail
The computer animation used in movies and games is now so lifelike, it is very hard to believe that you are actually watching a surface built from simple shapes of triangles. Phil Dench tells Plus how he uses mathematics to help bring these models to life.
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Digital art
Computer-generated art is on the rise, and with it comes a further blurring of the boundaries between maths and art. Lewis Dartnell looks at some stunning examples.
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Matrix: Simulating the world Part II: cellular automata
Lewis Dartnell turns the universe into a matrix to model traffic, forest fires and sprawling cities.
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Maths goes to the movies
Computer generated movies and electronic games: Joan Lasenby tells us about the mathematics and engineering behind them.
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Perfect buildings: the maths of modern architecture
Plus went to see members of Norman Foster's group of architects to learn about the maths behind architecture.
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Matrix: Simulating the world Part I - Particle models
If you've ever watched a flock of birds flying at dusk, or a school of fish reacting to a predator, you'll have been amazed by their perfectly choreographed moves. Yet, complex as this behaviour may seem, it's not all that hard to model it on a computer. Lewis Dartnell presents a hands-on guide for creating your own simulations — no previous experience necessary.
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Virtually reducing the 3D load
Digital weight loss for Shrek and his virtual 3D buddies!
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Career interview: Games developer
In the real world, balls bounce and water splashes because of the laws of physics. In computer games, a physics engine ensures the virtual world behaves realistically. Mathematician and computer programmer Nick Gray tells us about playing God in a virtual world.
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