Avar (animation variable)
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An Avar or Animation Variable is a variable controlling the position of part of an animated object, such as a character. The character "Woody" in Pixar's movie Toy Story uses 700 avars (with 100 in the face alone [link]). Successive sets of Avars control all movement of the character from frame to frame. In development they are used to define the junctions of a Stick model. Later they are incorporated into a full Wire frame model or a model built of polygons. Finally surfaces are added, requiring a lengthy process of Rendering to produce the final scene.
There are several ways of generating the Avar values. Motion capture uses lights or markers on a real person acting out the part, tracked by a video camera. Toy Story uses no motion capture, probably because manual control by a skilled animator can produce effects not easily acted out by a real person.
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