OBLIQ-3D - A HIGH-LEVEL, FAST-TURNAROUND 3D ANIMATION SYSTEM

This paper describes Obliq-3D, a high-level, fast-turnaround system fo r building 3D animations. Obliq-3D consists of an interpreted language that is embedded into a 3D animation library. This library is based o n a few simple, yet powerful constructs that allow programmers to desc ribe three-dimensional scenes and animations of such scenes. By virtue of its interpretive nature, Obliq-3D provides a fast-turnaround envir onment. The combination of simplicity and fast turnaround allows progr ammers to construct nontrivial animations quickly and easily. The pape r is divided into three major parts. The first part introduces the bas ic concepts of Obliq-3D, using a series of graduated examples. The sec ond part shows how the system can be used to implement Cone Trees. The third part develops a complete animation of Dijkstra's shortest-path algorithm.