SHAPE

Restore

 

The Shape->Restore command in the Motion module "restores" an object's parameters, such as volume, face angles, edge lengths, or surface area, to their original settings with a minimal distortion of vertex positions. Restore can be used, for example, to aid in the animation of a cloth by automatically restoring the edge lengths of a polygon mesh to their original values at each frame.

 

Procedure

  1. Create a model and duplicate it to create an identical model.
  2. Choose the Shape->Restore command.

    The Restore dialogue box is displayed:

  3. Set the parameters as desired.
  4. Follow the prompts to select the source object and the target object.

 

Parameters

 

Importance of Different Restorables

As a general rule, the greater the number, the more important the restorable option. If Edge lengths is 50 and Face angles is 10, the effect prioritizes Edge lengths 5:1 over Face angles. However, if Volume is the only restorable you need, give it a value of 1 and give everything else a value of 0.

Note:

For the stability of the algorithm, make sure to give at least a slight importance to Edge lengths.

Source Object Animated

Lets you select if the source object is animated. Restore uses the source model to decide to what it should restore the target model (such as target model edge lengths should be restored to source model edge lengths). If the source is animated, those values may change from frame to frame, and this significantly increases calculation time. For this reason, you may not want to select this option.

Don't Move Tagged Vertices

If the object has tagged vertices that you don't want to move, select this option.

Iterations

Indicates the number of computations. The greater the number, the better the effect, but the more time it takes.

Note:

The different parameters available to restore correspond roughly to different categories of physical materials. For example, restoring Edge lengths gives the appearance of a cloth-like object. Restoring Surface area corresponds more to a metallic object deforming, while Volume restoration corresponds more to liquid matter.

You may want to use Restore in conjunction with collision detection, such as when draping a cloth over an object. For this type of effect, see the Effects->Limit effect.

Next, Previous, Delete, Key, and Frame

For the animated effects, Next advances to the next keyframe, Previous goes back to the previous keyframe, Delete removes a keyframe, and Key sets a keyframe at the frame you specify in the Frame text box. These controls can be accessed only after you have set the initial parameters in the dialogue box and clicked Ok. To return to the dialogue box and edit keyframes for the effects, select the effect icon and choose the Effects->Edit Parameters command in the Motion module.

 

Last updated 02-apr-1998