Dynamic Flexable mesh

[westiemad]

i will (and have done) use maya hair for anything because its cool, and this is one thing, u can create it as a curve, extrude up it and woo hoo, or u can use it in a spline IK. Turn on interative playback to watch it react.

nifty.

[GrimPixel]

For your specific needs I think westiemad is right, Maya Hair is the perfect tool. One of the really nice things about it is that you can easily setup a skeleton and use the hair as a spline IK to control the joints. This will give you the dynamic simulation and "automatic" secondary action you are looking for in the antennae. In the past, however, when I have set up similar things; ropes, braids of hair, vines etc... I use a FKIK switch so that I can blend and finesse the dynamic simulation stuff into specifically what I was looking for.

Grim

[FibreOptix]

Thanks guys.

[_vine_]

A simple jiggle deformer looks great for stuff like antennas too. Especially if you find yourself in a situation where you can't use the Maya hair plugin.

[FibreOptix]

i will (and have done) use maya hair for anything because its cool, and this is one thing, u can create it as a curve, extrude up it and woo hoo, or u can use it in a spline IK. Turn on interative playback to watch it react.

nifty.

can you expand on that a bit more, please?

Do I have the right idea?

- Create a curve
- make the curve a hair?

But how do I attach it to my poly antenae?

[GrimPixel]

can you expand on that a bit more, please?

Do I have the right idea?

- Create a curve
- make the curve a hair?

But how do I attach it to my poly antenae?

Really quick and brief. You need to setup a skeleton for the antennae as you normally would if you were going to animate the antennae by hand. Then create a curve with a CV at each joint. Make that curve into a hair. Then use the hair as an SplineIK on the skeleton. Thats the very simplified version of it. Look in the Maya docs under the Hair section and they have chapter on how to use Hair to drive SplineIK. Its under Dynamics > Hair > Techniques.

I usually go one more step and setup an FKIK switch for things like this. Just like a standard arm or leg IKFK switch. This allows you to use the dynamics of the hair driven SplineIK, and also blend in some hand keyed posed if you need them. If you want a step by step break down let me know and I will post one.

Grim

[FibreOptix]

thanks Grim,

that clears thing up. thanks alot.

So your thinking of making a IK/FK switch tutorial? If you do, Don't do it on my behalf but for the Maya community.

thanks again.

[FibreOptix]

it works great!

But I'm having a new problem. I have the following in my scene...

a cube, a tall cylinder (like an atenea), bones, a curve made into hair and an Spline IK attached to the bones and curve.

The Bones are smooth binded to the cylinder, the cylinder is grouped to the Cube. So when I move the cube.. the cylinder with the rig is suppose to move around like a rubber antena.

The rubber effect comes through with out a hitch. It looks too good.

BUT when I move the cube, the the other elements move, but not with the cube.
Example. lets say I move the cube 200 pixels on the Y axis. the cylider moves on the Y but only 50 pixels and the IK rig moves on the y but only 20 pixes.

it's like a Conga line of my model and rig breaking apart, but yet still animating.

I hope I made that clear.

[westiemad]

sounds like a double transform prob, or at least thats the prob i had, best way to solve it is in the spline IK options uncheck everything u can, then take the follical group and parent that to the parent of the base of the IK spline, eg where the IK spline starts parent it to the joint before, that should work, although I haven't explained it very well.

[Robken]

the easiest way is just to parent the "baseCurve" ,maya ceated when you made the curve a hair, to the thing you want the hair to influence. for instance the first parent bone that isn't part of your hair Rig.

[FibreOptix]

Parenting?

Crap I grouped them in outliner.

is there a difference in doing it in outliner and (p) parenting them?

This might make me look stupid but I have to ask.

[FibreOptix]

the easiest way is just to parent the "baseCurve" ,maya ceated when you made the curve a hair, to the thing you want the hair to influence. for instance the first parent bone that isn't part of your hair Rig.

Parenting the Curve and the hair system to the base cube worked. Everything now moves together.
But when I parent the FOCILE to the cube that is when it all falls apart.

If this was an actual rigged model would'nt the FOCILE need to be parented to the model instead of staying at 0,0,0, or does it need to be at 0, 0, 0?

[nottoshabi]

Parenting the Curve and the hair system to the base cube worked. Everything now moves together.
But when I parent the FOCILE to the cube that is when it all falls apart.

If this was an actual rigged model would'nt the FOCILE need to be parented to the model instead of staying at 0,0,0, or does it need to be at 0, 0, 0?


Have you tried grouping it to its self? Then parenting it?

[Robken]

you don't have to parent the hairsystem at all, that's just a node maya uses to see HOW your hair should move...it really can be anywhere in your hierarchy, doesn't matter :)

you CANNOT, parent the basecurve AND your follicle to the nearest parent, that causes a double transformation :) . so, parent EITHER the basecurve OR the follicle.

I prefer parenting the basecurve since that allows you to put your follicle node wherever you want, for easier access when you want to edit an attribute.

you can parent it by just selecting the baseCurve, then the nearest parent, and hitting P.
or in the outliner, you can just click + drag the baseCurve onto the nearest parent, which does exactly the same thing ;)

Parenting the Curve and the hair system to the base cube worked. Everything now moves together.
But when I parent the FOCILE to the cube that is when it all falls apart.

If this was an actual rigged model would'nt the FOCILE need to be parented to the model instead of staying at 0,0,0, or does it need to be at 0, 0, 0?

it doesn't matter where it is as long as you parent the baseCurve under the nearest parent :). for ease of use, I keep it at 0 0 0

[FibreOptix]

you don't have to parent the hairsystem at all, that's just a node maya uses to see HOW your hair should move...it really can be anywhere in your hierarchy, doesn't matter :)

you CANNOT, parent the basecurve AND your follicle to the nearest parent, that causes a double transformation :) . so, parent EITHER the basecurve OR the follicle.

I prefer parenting the basecurve since that allows you to put your follicle node wherever you want, for easier access when you want to edit an attribute.

you can parent it by just selecting the baseCurve, then the nearest parent, and hitting P.
or in the outliner, you can just click + drag the baseCurve onto the nearest parent, which does exactly the same thing ;)

it doesn't matter where it is as long as you parent the baseCurve under the nearest parent :). for ease of use, I keep it at 0 0 0

thnaks Robken,

It's hard for a n00b like me to know if these nodes are allowed to sit outside of my heirachy.

Thanks for pointing that out.

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