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What is Lattice deformer?
This plug-in is an
effect plugin that deforms a mesh object (the 'target') with the help of
another mesh object (the 'lattice') using a regular lattice deformation
algorithm.
Usage
Select a mesh object and add
the 'LatticeDeformer' effect in the Setup Tab. The 'LatticeDeformer'
effect has two tabs which allow you to control the settings of the
effect. The tab 'LatticeDeformer Setup' tab is only
accessible in setup mode, while the 'LatticeDeformer Animate' tab is accessible
both in setup and in animate mode.
What order should I put the Lattice Deformer
in?
1. Any effect that you want to use to control
the lattice animation with, for instance Point Animation.
2. The lattice deformer.
What happens in the 'LatticeDeformer
Setup' tab?
In the 'LatticeDeformer Setup' mode you can define
the number of control points along the X/Y/Z axis. There must be a minimum
of two control points for every axis. Once you have defined the number of
points, press the 'Create LWO ...' button. Specify a file name and press
OK, this will create the lattice mesh object, a cube of dimensions 1 m x 1
m x 1 m. You may parent the lattice object to any other object you wish it
to follow, such as a 'head' bone to use it as a local displacement,
or leave it unparented to use it as a world
displacement.
Aha, I see, but what about the
'LatticeDeformer Animate' tab?
In animate mode you can now
deform the vertices of the lattice with the help of an effect, e.g a bone
deform effect or a point-level animation effect. The target mesh (the mesh
that you applied the 'LatticeDeformer' effect to) will be deformed by the
lattice. Only those parts of the target mesh that are inside the lattice
are deformed. Note that you can uses translating/rotation/scaling of the
lattice to define the region which is affected by the lattice. With the
TRS values at its default values, the lattice only affects the region of 1
m x 1 m x 1 m around the origin. If you scale up the lattice along the X
axis by 5, you will affect the region of 5 m x 1 m x 1 m around the
origin. Similarily,
you can translate or rotate the
lattice to affect other regions in space.
In the 'LatticeDeformer Animate' tab you can
control the effect during animate mode. 'Strength' controls the overall
strength. A strength of 1.0 deforms the target according to the calculated
cage weights. Lower/higher values lead to a smaller/bigger effect of the
'LatticeDeformer' effect.
'Weight' lets you choose one of messiah's
weights (e.g. metaeffectors or
procedurals) for masking the effect. The
weight can be static, dynamic or combined.
History of Changes
1.0: Public release
Code is © Christopher Lutz 2008-2009 for
useful slug licenced to pmG Worldwide LLC for distribution with
messiah
www.animationsnippets.com www.usefulslug.com www.projectmessiah.com
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