Driving object deformations from internal physical processes

In this paper we present a method for deforming objects for graphics applications, based on the results of internal physical simulations. As driving examples, we describe in detail methods for simulating the bending of burning matches, and the crumpling of burning paper. In these cases, the small-scale changes in a chemical process result in large-scale deformations of the given object. We propose the use of a free form deformation to model such largescale deformations. Changing object properties are mapped onto the edges of a proxy object, which is then modified by treating the edges as springs. This proxy object then serves as a control structure for defining the deformation of the underlying object. The results we present are fast, controllable, and visually plausible.