Maya Tutorial- Real-time tension mapping

Small trick for Maya Lovers (who’s suffering with rhino & grasshopper)

Real-time compression/tension(stretch) and curvature mapping for early form finding and optimization.

This node from SOuP probably has been used for character modeling with rigged mesh, which are Skeleton or SkinCluster, you can find a lot of tutorial online. But, here we will use nonlinear deform and nCloth as examples easier applied to architecture design and fake some structural optimization.

1^st. Install SOuP for Maya

Download line is here http://www.soup-dev.com/tools.htm

Please follow official readme.txt to install, super easy steps. If you cannot find some folders in windows 8, mine is @ C:\Users\damon\Documents\maya\2015-x64\prefs

2^nd. Basic Principle

This node works with rest shape and modified shape, which means by comparing the original shape and the shape after deform, this node outputs color mapping result to the geometry. (Any kinds of changing, like nCloth physics, nonlinear deform, rigged, or blendshapes… so on n so 4)

Here we setup a bending mesh using nonlinear deform as first simple example.

Here, in the shading group, you only have to focus on only those highlighted, no need to care other complex connections (which are preset already by software itself)

Insert the Tension Map SOuP node. And connect them as

[origMesh].worldMesh -> [tensionMap].restGeometry

[blend1].outputGeometry (or outputMesh in ncloth) -> [tensionMap].inGeometry

[tensionMap].outGeometry -> [finalMeshShape].inMesh

Turn on Display Colors and see the result! (As always red is compression blue is tension, green is default)

Example 2 we have two twisted box one is show curvature map and one is showing stretch. (Same setting from last one )

 

(You can click in hypershade to find tension map’s attribute and change settings)

Example for nCloth

(from left to right, curvature mapping, compression/tension mapping, with structure)

hypershade

The tricky part is we use positive Z direction gravity (0,0,1) to find the vault shape in the begining, but when we simulate the shape back to reality (where the gravity is negative Z) tension become compression vise versa, therefore here we switch color from GRB to GBR.

nCloth Example 2 (This geometry is inspired by ZHA code group.)

By changing different attribute to optimize the better shape (here is gravity).

Enjoy!

Until next time.

D.