mbFeatherTools1.0 -Feather Simulation Tool for Softimage RELEASED
mbFeatherTools is a plugin for Autodesk Softimage (formerly Softimage|XSI) which features styling, animation and simulation of bird feathers.
Features:
* Quick setup with a single button
* Unlimited amount of styling controls
* Styling is saved per vertex (CAV map)
* Works on any polygon mesh
* Automated creation and attachment of control objects to the animated mesh
* 3 different distribution methods:Random, Per Poly, Shrinkwrap
* Shrinkwrap placement allows exact positioning of each single feather
* Realtime playback of the simulation with direct response to user's actions
* Customizable and extendible with the ICE tree
* Color can be controlled with a Texture Map
* "Goal" controls allow easy animation of folding wing feathers
What mbFeatherTools is NOT:
The toolbar allows you to easily create a feather system and inspect the operators without having to dig around in the explorer.
The simulation is based on the Verlet algorithm. This algorithm was popularized by the French physicist Loup Verlet in 1967 who used it to calculate molecular dynamics. In Verlet integration, we use a "velocity-less" representation of the particle system. Instead of storing a particle's position and velocity (Euler integration), we store it's current position and it's previous position (at the last simulation tick). The benefit of this method is a much greater stability.
This is the equation for the feather dynamics:
Where x is the position, v the velocity, a the acceleration and t the time.
Bouncing Balls video
Applying feathers to a bird video:
Order mbFeatherTools
What you get when buying mbFeatherTools 1.0:
# The mbFeatherTools Addon including mb_FeatherToolbar
# 4 private compounds
# 2 open compounds
# A thorough documentation in pdf format (13 pages).
# Free updates up to version 1.9, including new features and bugfixes.
An effort will be made to give you email-support, but please be aware that no response time can be guaranteed.
Licensing:
You may install the plugin on more than one computer, provided that the plugin is not used simultaneously on more than one computer per license. The plugin will sometimes contact the server to validate your license. No private or unnecessary information is being sent and the data is being held confidential. If the same serial number is repeatedly used on several computers at once, the plugin's functions can get permanently disabled and the serial number will be void.
Requirements:
# Softimage|XSI Version 7.0/7.01 or Autodesk Softmage 7.5 or Autodesk Softimage 2010
# Python installed
Related links:
feathertools.michael-buettner.com
vimeo.com
