Clothing modelling and beyond

Citation

Stylios, G.K. (2001), "Clothing modelling and beyond", International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol. 13 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijcst.2001.05813aaa.001

Clothing modelling and beyond

Clothing modelling and beyond

With the continuing increase of computer power over the last couple of years or so, cloth models have been devised, tried and tested. Most of the so-called robust, stable models, which are based on finite element, finite difference or on particle models, start to show their importance and have made commercial graphics companies, such as Alias/Wavefront, take them seriously into their portfolio of specialist tools, as in the case of Maya Cloth, for example.

We are considering, of course, those cloth models which are based in true mechanical parameters which are needed to realistically define cloth, and should claim that "what you see is what you get" in reality when you manufacture the cloth and make up the garment. This means that the simulation is as realistic as in a real cloth or in a garment. The distinction in this case with a number of "animation models" is clear: animation software is only concerned with getting cloth in a garment to look nice and smooth to fulfil the objective of the simulation. The question of how real the cloth will be is not important. This is seen clearly in arcade games that use dressed, synthetic actors.

With the possiblity of trialing such models and the ability to use PCs, the research community has been enlarged. We now have people who are trying to use those models and explore further useage possibilities, and others who continue to perfect these models. With the realisation of the potential of this area, other possibilities are becoming more short reaching than ever before. For example, cinema, TV and advertising start to think seriously about using synthetic actors or avators. Sorting out realistic cloth models may be the last part in their development. Fashion shows may not need to employ live models any longer (Figure 1), computer games can simulate real life, and virtual humans and home shopping with virtual wearer trials (Figure 2) are all areas where cloth modelling would be the key to success.

Figure 1 An example of a skinned synthetic lady

One should not underestimate, however, the challenging difficulties that cloth modelling brings to this research. Properties that define the mechanical parameters of fabrics can be measured, however the measurement techniques are specialised, difficult, time consuming and, in some cases, inconsistent. Instrumentation and testing procedures are yet to be standardised, and other cloth parameters may be needed to aid modelling and simulation which are even more difficult to be defined and measured, such as damping, Poisson's ratio and other time effects.

Figure 2 A virtual fashion show sequence

This themed issue of IJCST on drape is a collection of five papers which focus on solving the discussed problems, and make some suggestions for progressing the research.

The fifth paper is based on human reconstruction and reports on some recent research on the human body shape and how it can be captured and reconstructed remotely. The implications of this research are important if Internet bespoke tailoring and "virtual wearer trials" of garments are to be made possible.

George K. Stylios