Physics was a welcome addition to iClone when it was first introduced with Bullet. It was fairly simple to use and could create some nice simulations, but it was, as other physics packages were back then, rather difficult to get smooth or consistent results. This was not unusual at the time.
Now iClone uses Nvidia PhysX giving the user a lot more stability when running simulations. The results also tend to be more predictable. What some people don’t realize about physics is that it is a time saver to create animation without having to rely heavily on keyframing.
So, what are a few things physics can do?
Or in this case, float your boat and I don’t mean that in a rhetorical sense. It’s one thing to have a nice, serene scene on a body of water but another to have whatever else is on that body of water look like it's floating, instead of rigid. Nothing can kill the water vibe faster than a stationary boat or houseboat.
Now iClone uses Nvidia PhysX giving the user a lot more stability when running simulations. The results also tend to be more predictable. What some people don’t realize about physics is that it is a time saver to create animation without having to rely heavily on keyframing.
So, what are a few things physics can do?
- Make an object bounce
- Make clothing more realistic.
- Make Hair bouncy
- Drop an object.
- Knock an object over
- Destroy a building or entire city
- Make a glass object shatter
Or in this case, float your boat and I don’t mean that in a rhetorical sense. It’s one thing to have a nice, serene scene on a body of water but another to have whatever else is on that body of water look like it's floating, instead of rigid. Nothing can kill the water vibe faster than a stationary boat or houseboat.
One thing to keep in mind is you don’t have to be a genius to use physics. Anyone can learn the basics, just don’t fall into the trap of overthinking your simulation setup. In most cases, you can create a simple floating motion with one dummy above the object with the right constraint and proper placement of that constraint, attached to another dummy on the boat hull to achieve a simple rocking motion.
The houseboat in my example is from DocMikeB’s freebies here at Renderosity and as usual, I’ve tinkered around with the textures to customize it a bit. The scene is simple enough with a water plane, sky, a few props, and trees. After setting all that up I then thought about how to make the boat rock.
I didn’t want to use a lot of dummies and constraints, so I started with my usual “Keep it Simple” methodology. I chose one dummy box from the iClone prop section and enabled the physics on it, setting it to static. Before I finish, I will use the checkbox designating this box as a dummy to not be rendered.
There is also a larger physics-enabled Dynamic dummy box on the hull of the boat. This was done to get the proper collision shape as the houseboat was too complex for a self-mesh and a dummy provided the simple collision needed for this project. It also allows characters and props to be on the deck properly if they are physics enabled.
The houseboat in my example is from DocMikeB’s freebies here at Renderosity and as usual, I’ve tinkered around with the textures to customize it a bit. The scene is simple enough with a water plane, sky, a few props, and trees. After setting all that up I then thought about how to make the boat rock.
I didn’t want to use a lot of dummies and constraints, so I started with my usual “Keep it Simple” methodology. I chose one dummy box from the iClone prop section and enabled the physics on it, setting it to static. Before I finish, I will use the checkbox designating this box as a dummy to not be rendered.
There is also a larger physics-enabled Dynamic dummy box on the hull of the boat. This was done to get the proper collision shape as the houseboat was too complex for a self-mesh and a dummy provided the simple collision needed for this project. It also allows characters and props to be on the deck properly if they are physics enabled.
Between dummy boxes lies the Point-to-Point constraint that controls the motion. This constraint is attached to the bottom of the upper box, pointing down and it placement, forward or aft, on the box affects its rocking motion. If you are not sure how the other constraints work, then try to make time to experiment with them as they produce different results.
Keep in mind too that we are not really floating anything. There is no interaction between the water plane and the physics float. We are merely simulating the interaction. Why am I stating the obvious here? If you get good enough, you might just forget for a few seconds that it isn’t a water simulation but a pendulum instead.
Keep in mind too that we are not really floating anything. There is no interaction between the water plane and the physics float. We are merely simulating the interaction. Why am I stating the obvious here? If you get good enough, you might just forget for a few seconds that it isn’t a water simulation but a pendulum instead.
Don’t expect great results right away if you’ve never simulated physics. You might want to start with something simple like bouncing a ball. iClone comes with ball props in the Props->Props->Physics Props->Rigid Body folder. In most cases, you will also need a physics-enabled floor to keep the other physics props from falling. Look for a good physics tutorial to get you started as a scene like this only takes minutes to set up once you are familiar with the process.
M.D. McCallum, aka WarLord, is an international award-winning commercial graphics artist, 3D animator, published author, project director, and webmaster with a freelance career that spans over 20 years. Now retired, M.D. is currently working part-time on writing and select character development projects. You can learn more about MD on his website. 
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