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Author Topic: Footsteps in gravel  (Read 2406 times)

Darwin Ceballos

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Footsteps in gravel
« on: May 14, 2015, 10:12:37 AM »
Hi. Need some tips on how to make footsteps in FP gravel preset, thanks. :) D

Paul Roberts

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Re: Footsteps in gravel
« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2015, 11:25:05 AM »
Hi Darwin,

Thanks for the interesting question. Before I take a look at this I wanted to ask if the footsteps are animated?

Many thanks,

Paul
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

Darwin Ceballos

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Re: Footsteps in gravel
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2015, 07:56:42 PM »
Hi Paul,

There's no need for animated footsteps.

Thank's
Darwin

Paul Roberts

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Re: Footsteps in gravel
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2015, 01:16:40 PM »
Hi Darwin,

There are a ways to go about this but in this case I've solved it by creating a new gravel patch that contains a footstep imprint. This patch can then be use inside another Forest object and each step placed manually using tree edit mode:





In this way we can use small individual gravel objects to get the required definition within the patch, but then place patches to avoid having to individually scatter millions and millions of pebbles to fill a large area.

Then, to fill in the remainder of the area, add a new forest object and pick a corresponding gravel preset designed to fill a large area. Open the Areas rollout and add the Footsteps Forest object shown in the screen grab above as an exclude area. Adjust the scale value to slightly overlap the two forest objects.





In the screenshot above the footsteps are shown in red/purple and the main gravel area is in green. Note how the two slightly overlap. The final result looks like this. The footstep impression is slightly exaggerated for clarity.



Because the two forests are referencing one another, the nice thing about this technique is that you can easily update the position of the footsteps and the large area of gravel will update automatically.

I hope that helps, please take a look at the attached file and let me know if you have any further questions.

Many thanks,

Paul
« Last Edit: May 15, 2015, 01:38:25 PM by Paul Roberts »
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

TL1895

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Re: Footsteps in gravel
« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2015, 02:44:13 PM »
Wow, you guys never cease to amaze

Darwin Ceballos

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Re: Footsteps in gravel
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2015, 12:25:29 AM »
That's awsome, Paul  :)
Thanks again for amazing support.
Darwin

Shawn Olson

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Re: Footsteps in gravel
« Reply #6 on: May 18, 2015, 02:10:33 AM »
Very cool.

Since Paul asked about the need for animated footsteps, I'd like to change the answer above to Yes and see Paul's answer.
Shawn Olson
Product Management Team @ Autodesk for 3ds Max
Developer of Wall Worm Tools

Paul Roberts

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Re: Footsteps in gravel
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2015, 04:31:03 PM »
Hi Shawn,

This could be done by animating the single footprint item which is then used as in the example above to place each step. The stones will follow the surface as long as Surface Updaye > Auto is active.



To control the animation after it has been scattered you could then use Forest's Frame From Map animation mode and animate a gradient ramp across the surface to control the apperance of the footprints in sequence.

As this technique us a little more complex we'd like to to give a more thorough explanation in a future tutorial.

I hope that helps.

Many thanks,

Paul
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

Shawn Olson

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Re: Footsteps in gravel
« Reply #8 on: May 20, 2015, 02:04:52 AM »
Very cool. I am going to play around with this. Thanks for sharing!
Shawn Olson
Product Management Team @ Autodesk for 3ds Max
Developer of Wall Worm Tools