The phenomenon of one element moving and progressively overlaying another is common in nature, such as waves swashing and backwashing, or eyelids moving over eyeballs while blinking. Folding Texture, which was proposed by Thorben, can simulate this texture “folding” visual effect in real-time without changing geometry.
However, to date, no tool has been developed to assist in the design and synthesis of folding textures. Applications of the technique so far are achieved through manual creation of the folding texture, which is a tedious process.
This thesis explores the problem of folding-texture design and synthesis. A novel approach is proposed for animating still images based on the folding texture technique. The approach uses a semi-automatic, user-assisted method that combines texture editing, motion profile specification, and folding texture synthesis into one seamless process, reducing the need for extensive manual work. It enables novice users to utilize the technique with a fair level of prior knowledge of folding texture.