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View Full Version : Deforming a moving head with a stationary target geometry?

TheRazorsEdge
02-04-2010, 10:02 AM
I'm having a setup problem, which I can't seem to be able to get my head around yet and would really appreciate your input, guys! :)

Say, I have a cartoon character (poly, not NURBS) who's got his head stuck in a very tight, non-uniformely/uniquely shaped vase. Now when the character holds onto the vase with his hands to keep it stationary and I move the head via the controls, I would like the head geometry to deform in a way that it follows/takes on the shapes of vase as it moves inside, filling in/responding to indentations and raises in the vase geometry etc.

I tried a wrap deformer, but that does not seem to work, or I simply am doing it wrong, since the head only follows the vase as a whole when that is moved, but remains unaffected when moved via the rig.

My next guess is trying a cloth-sim ie SyFlesh with a collider, but I was hoping someone might know of a simpler way.

Cheers!
Darksuit
02-04-2010, 07:09 PM
My first pass at doing something like this would be to use a lattice to deform the head then parent the lattice to the vase. This way the head flows into the vase and flows out of the vase as well.
TheRazorsEdge
02-04-2010, 08:15 PM
I thought about that too, but the lattice would require me to deform the lattice manually beforehand, wouldnt it? That would get kinda tedious trying to match a complex vase-shape for all sequence head-positions, I am imagining. I want the unique shape of the vase to translate onto the head and adjust with movement of the head itself, if that is at all possible and naturally, I want it to happen as automatically and accurately as possible.:D
Many thanks for your input! :)

Cheers!

PS: All the best for the B-Movie challenge!
Darksuit
02-04-2010, 11:41 PM
you select the Head then apply a lattice deformer. Then match the lattice shape to the Vase. Now also keep in mind that if you make the vase too complex you lose the believibility. Even a really ornate vase with lots of detail work on the outside is smooth on the inside. that contrast of rough and smooth is what sells the idea of a vase. The lattice is just taking the shape of the smooth.

You want some separation between the inside of the vase and the outside of the vase that sells the thickness of the vase.
TheRazorsEdge
02-06-2010, 09:44 AM
The lattice does not quite give me what I want, so I ended up trying a completely different approach using shrinkwrap to create a number of extreme blendshapes and appropriate inbetweens for the head from a slightly scaled down copy of the interior surface of the vase. It's not exactly what I had hoped for, but gets the job done fairly satisfactorily. I will probably still try out the cloth-sim option just to see where exactly that would take me.

Thanks a lot again for the instructions, David! It's much appreciated. :)

Cheers!
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02-06-2010, 09:44 AM
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