Can Crusher Robot

[stevecullum]

After playing around with Houdini's deformable cloth settings, I got an effect I quite liked - so I decided to build a scene around it. It's totally over engineered by design...

LW for everything, except for the crush deform effect. Feel free to comment...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTvI6AI4Bng

[richdj]

Cool... Can we have the crushing with a little more audio... It sound's a little limp at the mo..

Which version of houdini are you using?

How easy was it to intergrate?

Basically, what can you tell us about the transfer?

Details, Details, Details!!!

Rich

[jeric_synergy]

Better than anything I could do........BUT!:

I don't like the way the can falls out of the claw: it looks like it's lowered rather than dropping to the surface. It should accelerate out of the claw, and stop abruptly (tension=-1).

Also: no "Lightwave" in the tags.

Great audio. Where do you get those sounds?

[stevecullum]

Thanks for your comments.

Details, Details, Details!!!

I used the latest Houdini which has an MDD exporter node, that made getting deforms out fairly eay. Also OBJ export is there, so the trip to LW was fairly seemless.

I don't like the way the can falls out of the claw: it looks like it's lowered rather than dropping to the surface. It should accelerate out of the claw, and stop abruptly (tension=-1).

I see that now, so yeah maybe less slippage would have been a bit more realistic! The sound effects I recorded on my Boss portable multi track recorder or sourced from the web and just layered them up, added effects etc.. to make them sound how I wanted them too.

[aurora]

One just has to love Houdini!
Well except for the price and Mantra. I loath rendering with Mantra.

[jeric_synergy]

Does using MDD necessitate that deformed objects have the same number of points as the original meshes??

I'm guessing "NO", but how is the discrepancy resolved? Do the original points become a sort of lattice deformer?

[PAL]

Could you do a realtime animation here first? then show this one you posted with replay on it like it is the slowmotion version... then you can do many in full speed first and then show slomo... that would have done it really exciting I think... and the angle where the robot drops the can it looks like the can is shrinking more than falling down, make that faster when it falls from the claw of the robot and down to ground or let the robot place it on the ground.

It would be like buzzz buzzz buzzz buzzz buzzz fast move one can at the time... then slowmotion in a way... he he , just an idea from me... hate it, then just do not care the post, were just the first thing I thought here really.

Very cool work I must say!

Your PAL

[jeric_synergy]

On thing I was wondering: are the mortar lines in the brick wall bump maps or what? 'Cuz they go 'WAAAyyyyy back.

[stevecullum]

When I started making this device, one of the decisions I had to make was, do I make a fast machine, that crunches the cans 60 a minute for the thrill factor or a precision engineered device, completly OTT for a fairly pointless job? I choose the later and tried to emphisize the precision with the pace of the animation. Some one else noted the can needed to fall quicker, as opposed to sliding out the pincers - which in hindsight I agree with.

Does using MDD necessitate that deformed objects have the same number of points as the original meshes??

I'm guessing "NO", but how is the discrepancy resolved? Do the original points become a sort of lattice deformer?

Yes and no. The object with the MDD has to have the same points and point order, but you can use it to drive a higher poly object using FX metalink, which is what I did here.

On thing I was wondering: are the mortar lines in the brick wall bump maps or what? 'Cuz they go 'WAAAyyyyy back.

Its a regular photo texture with a simple bump map. Is your comment meant to be a good or a bad thing!?

[jeric_synergy]

Deep bump map=good. I'm just surprised the illusion was so convincing.

I wonder how Metalink resolves the discrepancy between low-density and high-density objects. --Maybe I shouldn't wonder and should just use the darn thing.

[stevecullum]

Deep bump map=good. I'm just surprised the illusion was so convincing.

A good quality photo helps

Dunno HOW metalink does its thing, but its really useful! Try FX hard link out too - good for dangling chains etc...