Animation of Fish Swimming

We present a simple, two-part model of the locomotion of slender-bodied aquatic animals designed specifically for the needs of computer animation. The first part of the model is kinematic and addresses body deformations for three swimming modes: steady swimming, rapid starting, and turning. The second part of the model is dynamic and addresses the resulting propulsion of the aquatic animal. While this approach is not as general as a fully dynamic model, it provides the animator with a small set of intuitive parameters that directly control how the fish model moves and is more efficient to simulate.