Create exploding polygon object?

[mimo8]

this is a good question, I also allready wanted to post it.
I know that in cinema4D there is a deformer called bomb-warp that does such thing, quite simple but easy to handle.

is there any similar function in maya?

[monsoon3d]

for the bullet time effect you can use this trick:

create a curve for your camera movement-path, how you would like to have your cam moving during the bullet shot.
when your satisfite with it then create on each frame (or each step you like) a duplication of your cam without input connections for freezing the position and killing the movement.
on that time when your object explodes render only this frame with every cam. this is like faking a highspeed shot. in compositing you insert these frames in your anim and you have the effect you want. this will look really nice when you render with strong 3D motion blur.
be aware to keep your maincam on track after the last camshot for a straight movement at all.

when i need to explode things i think about on which part the explosion will start and go through. depending on this i split the object in pieces (regarding the real construction) and maybe shatter some parts where the explosion will have its core.i prefer cracked shatter to avoid visible polytriangles. with adding some particle instances and maybe engine-parts of the plane you can reach good variations and details. i would animate some larger parts that just break from the base mesh before exploding by hand and the rest using dynamics.

for post i would render the sequence once without exploding effects (nothing happens) and once with everything right before action time. then blend in post and maybe paint away stuff that disturbs. i would even render different layers like highlights, reflections and stuff for tweaking the lightemission of the explosion and faking a blurred reflection of it in post.

well, hope that inspires you.

-t-

[logixcore]

Thanks for the added Matrix info! :thumbsup: However, I'm still a little new to Maya's features and was hoping you could give me a more step by step process to create the shatter/crack effect.

Before I dive into my jet fighter, I created a simple cube polygon with about 5 sub-div on each side. I use the 'Effect > Create Shatter' but I receive an error. Am I missing a step at the beginning?

I'm not looking to do anything in-depth for the shattering effect. The polygon model is very basic and does not have much detail. If I could crack or shatter my plane into 5 or 6 parts, I'd be happy. I just want the explosion to send the cracked polygons outwards and possibly bounce off one another.

Thanks again for your help. Could you provide me with a few steps?

[monsoon3d]

you have to select only one cv for defining the core of the crack.
but however...when you create a shatter in the option box you have the possibility to let maya create active rigid bodies out of the pieces.the you can let explode them by letting emitted particles push them outwards. its good if you extrude the pieces, as the collisions need the right normalfacing side of a polygon for the rigids.
if you get error messages open the script editor, it will tell you what went wrong.

this is really lot of stuff you should look into mayas reference guide.

just a small tut:

create a cylinder -> select vertice or object (depending on shattertype) -> use create Shatter option box -> set extrude sharts to a low value, set post operation to active rigids with collis off.

then create an emitter and center it inside the cylinder. emit particle with higher speed
select shard and particleshape -> particles/make collide. in realtionship editor you can connect the geoconnector (for collisioncalculation) with all shards. now you can play with settings :)

but if you´re really new to maya you should first learn how dynamics work.
good tutorials can be found on

www.learning-maya.com (http://www.learning-maya.com)

have fun.

-t-

[monsoon3d]

ooops, just forgot...you have to activate the collisions. select the shard rigid object and open attribute editor. open rigidsolver tab and turn on activate and particle collisions.

:thumbsup:

[logixcore]

Thanks for your help! I'll give it a try and post my results.

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