TheCGBro takes a look at creating a complex motion-graphics like effect using Maya’s nCloth system and a volume field to drive the animation, and expressions to tweak the effect. TheCGBro notes that this can be done with nParticles or Maya Particles with instanced geometry, however, nCloth proved to provide a higher degree of control.
This is a really great two part look at using Maya’s nCloth system to create an effect such as an ocean of moving tiles, or creating an effect of something peeling off a surface.
Check out the tutorial for Useful Effects Using Maya and nCloth: Part – 01 and Useful Effects Using Maya and nCloth: Part 2 by TheCGBros
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TheCGBro’s write: In this session, we are going to show you how to create a complex and very cool dynamic nCloth simulation using any polygonal object. Recently, I was asked to create a couple effects, one of a layer of paint peeling off the surface of a car as it screams around a track, and another was for creating an ocean of animated tiles.
Normally, I might create these kind of effects using particles with instanced geometry, with some simple expressions controlling the transforms and other behaviours. Or instead of using standard particles, I might use nParticles because they offer a much higher level of control due to additional functionality like stickiness, lift and a host of mappable attributes, and while nParticles could take me a long way there, they are often quite unpredictable, and wouldn’t give me the type of physical behaviour that I wanted.
