Monday, October 19, 2026
From academia to Hollywood: Blazing a trail for computer-animated hair
Yale Engineering | News: Kim’s 2023 research paper, “Lifted Curls: A Model for Tightly Coiled Hair Simulation,” plays a big role in why Blaze’s hair looks and moves the way it should. Blaze is a Black-Armenian girl with tightly coiled locks - that is, the type of hair that computer animators have long struggled to depict successfully. In computer animation, most of the tools for portraying hair have been for the straight or wavy styles that are most common to white characters.
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I really respect the creators behind Toy Story 5, and Pixar in general, for working to accurately portray black hair and create a new method that is more inclusive overall. I never would have expected animated hair to require the laws of physics or intense calculations, which is why Professor Kim’s work was so impressive to me. Different hair types behave differently, and it does make sense that a kinkier curl involves more torsion than a straight strand. I would be interested in learning how the animators took the makeup of a single strand and applied it to a constantly moving, full head of hair. The different layers that go into animation have always fascinated me. I am disappointed that it took decades of innovation in animation to get here, but never the less am eager to see other film companies use these principles and incorporate them into their own work.
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