2009

Deforming Meshes (Skin)
A deforming mesh is a mesh whose vertices' behavior has been keyframed.
The skin of a skinned character, where any deformation comes from the
underlying animated character rig, could be used as a deforming mesh in
reactor.
Why use deforming meshes? Firstly,
rigid bodies on page 3909 and deformable
bodies
on page 4024 can collide with a deforming mesh as if it was another
reactor body. The deforming mesh won't be affected by the collision, but the
rigid body/deformable body will. So, for instance, you can create deformable
clothes for a deforming mesh that you can drape realistically around his body,
or you can cause environmental objects to react to the deforming mesh.
You can also attach deformable bodies to deforming meshes. This allows you,
for example, to attach physically-simulated hair, garments, or tentacles to a
keyframed character. When the character moves, its simulated elements swirl,
swing, or slither (as appropriate) along with it. This is known as secondary
motion, and is an easy way to add realism to your characters without having
to animate the behavior by hand.
4058 | Chapter 16 reactor