The Simulation Editor (Updated Version)

The Current Version of the Simulation Editor

Here is the most recent version of the Simulation Editor. As you can see there are several new features that I have added to help the animators handle the effects pipeline and animate the scene.  Although there is still more work that needs to be done, I can safely say that this tool will be completed very soon.

As mentioned in my previous post about the Simulation Editor, the first set of options is made to enable and disable the dynamic elements in the scene. This allows the animators to focus on the animation and to make adjustments in their scene if needed, without the frustration of playback lag, disabling each dynamic element individually, and uncertainty of which dynamic elements were enabled or disabled. The previous version I made was not able to work with nHair and Soft Bodies, however I have fixed that problem so now the Simulation Editor is able to enable/disable all simulations in Maya.

The other options of my Simulation Editor are methods to initialize/clear initialize the states of fluid containers (which also works on Maya’s Ponds and Ocean simulations), and to ramp nParticles and/or nCloth of a scene. I have added an input box, which allows the user to put in the starting frame (though this might change so that this will update automatically). However now I have a new bug which refuses to ramp the nCloth, and nParticles which I am currently trying to fix.

The other features I have added include allowing the animators to change objects into active/passive rigid bodies, passive colliders, and to create a new nucleus for dynamics elements that can have one. The reasons for this is to make the tool have all essential functions, and to create a new nucleus so that not all dynamic elements have the same nucleus, so that if you are ramping only an nCloth, you don’t accidentally ramp anything else. It still needs a few adjustments but once it’s completed it’ll prove to be very useful for the effects in the scene.

The final feature that I have added allows users to easily bake and cache their scenes when they are ready to render it. I added this to make the tool more holistic to the animation pipeline.

There are still more bugs to squash, and codes to write but it should be done in about two weeks.

The Simulation Editor (Work in Progress)

One of the first tools I began making was a simple Simulation Editor. The purpose of this tool is to control the dynamic elements of the scene, to help animators with their workflow, and to initialize the states of most simulations. Although this tool is not finished yet, it does carry out most of its basic functions.

The first set of options on the Simulation Editor is made to enable or disable most of the simulations in your scene. When working with simulations, animators may experience a great deal of lag or slow playback when reviewing the scene. Because of this, making adjustments to a scene can be both a slow and frustrating process. The solution to this is to turn off all of the dynamic properties of the scene, allowing animators to scrub through the timeline, playback the scene, and make adjustments where needed. You can do this in Maya already but the two methods Maya provides are flawed. The first method is to select each dynamic element one at a time and disable them individually, which is not only a slow process but it becomes harder to keep track of which dynamic elements are off, and which are on. The second method is to go to the menu bar and select Modify>Evaluate Nodes and either hit Ignore All or Evaluate All, or select the dynamic elements individually. This is also flawed however because Ignore All and Evaluate All could turn on or off a node you didn’t want to touch. This also makes it hard to keep track of what elements are already on or off or what in the scene need to be turned on or off, and animators may forget to turn those nodes back on before it’s too late.

With the Simulation Editor you can instantly see if your simulations are enabled or disabled. It finds all of the dynamic elements that are in the scene and turns them off.

(Hover mouse over to "Disable" simulations)

It currently works for most simulations except nHair and Soft Bodies but the end result will definitely be able to control them as well.

The other options I added to the Simulation Editor are methods to initialize/uninitialized the states of fluid containers (it also works on ponds and ocean), and to ramp nParticles and/or nCloth of a scene.

Here is a scene where there are many dynamic elements. I used this to test out my tool. Let’s say we want to ramp the flag (which is an nCloth) so it doesn’t start off looking stiff. You can ramp it by playing the scene until you see a position you like and then select the flag.

(Hover mouse to "select" the flag)

Then by selecting the Ramp option on the Simulation Editor, it makes a temporary cache of the flag, sets the start frame at the negative value of where you selected, and adjusts the playback timeline so that the simulation starts where you set it.

There is also a Reset Ramp option on the Simulation Editor, which is added in case the animator made a mistake or wishes to start the simulation earlier or later, currently does not work exactly the way I had planned (I have a hard time deleting the cache) but hopefully once the simulation editor is finished it will look like this:

(Hover mouse to "Reset Ramp")

There is still a lot of work to do and more features I wish to add to it, but the Simulation Editor will hopefully be finished in a few weeks so the animators will have a chance to use it.

Greetings

Hello! My name is Carl Gustafson, and this is my first blog! I am currently a senior at the Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.), where I am getting my Bachelor of Science degree in Motion Picture Sciences. For my senior thesis, I am currently working as an effects technical director for two films:

1. Krathong (directed by Gina Pidej)
2. Fetch (directed by Cameron McKenzie)

My responsibilities for both films include creating tools that help with the animator's workflow, hands on technical support, and finding creative solutions to common problems that animators occasionally face.
I hope to some day work for a major studio and grow my skills as a technical director.
This blog will keep you up to date with what I am currently working on, my latest demo reel, how the films are going, and more!