DownLoad JellyFish.ZIP (24K).

Copy the scene file 'Jellyfish.max' into your MAX/Scenes folder. Make sure the map file 'Seashor.jpg' is in your MAX/Maps folder, and if not, substitute a similar bitmap file.

This demonstration will show how the Follow Constraint can be used in two different ways – to control a HyperMatter object’s Global motion through the World Space, and also to locally deform the object itself. We will also see how to optimise a HyperMatter scene once we are satisfied with the animation we have made by making a record of the deformation.

To begin with, we will load in a scene file consisting of a jellyfish mesh object and a dummy helper object, which has already been animated in a jerky, upward trajectory. We’re going to make the jellyfish follow the dummy object. We first Solidify the jellyfish at Object level, setting the resolution of the HyperMatter mesh to 4, and the fit direction to X. As the scene is meant to be underwater, the effects of gravity will be reduced, so we set it to half the default, -50. The object is also a little too soft at the default value, so go to the Substance editor, and change the following values:

Set the Dimension to 100, Elasticity to 1.5, and Damping to 2.

Now to apply the Follow Constraint, we select the centre cubes from the HyperMatter mesh and make them a part named ‘Core’. We select Follow from the Constraints panel, and choose the dummy as the follow object. Choose ‘Whole Part’ as the follow option, as this will allow the jellyfish body to move around the dummy under its own momentum.

Select ‘Whole Part’ from the Follow options panel.

Now when we hit Play, the jellyfish rises upwards with the dummy, although it’s a little out of control, resembling more a puppet on a string than a conscious creature. We need to make the jellyfish look as though it is controlling it’s own movement, so the next control needs to deform the object relative to it’s local motion.

We can make the jellyfish expand and contract and stay relatively upright by using another Follow Constraint. We unhide a small circle, named RimGuide which is linked to the dummy object. It has been key-framed to change scale in waves, and is linked to the dummy object in order to follow it’s movements exactly.

We select a part around the ‘waist’ of the jellyfish, and name it ‘Rim’. Now when we apply a Follow Constraint to this part, select ‘Each Point’ as we want the part to be completely constrained in this case.

When we hit Play this time, the jellyfish swims to the surface with far more realism.

To quickly make a shoal of jellyfish, simply select the jellyfish, dummy and RimGuide, and Shift-clone them, to make about 5 or 6 copies, then arrange them in a pleasing configuration. Now select each jellyfish in turn, and rotate it in the Top View around the Z axis, so that each one has a different orientation. This will ensure that although they all follow the same motion path, their local behaviour will be slightly different. Of course, you could also edit the dummy object’s keys to dramatically change the course of each object’s swimming behaviour.

Once you are happy with the motion of each jellyfish, try making a Record object of each one, which will dramatically improve performance, as it converts your HyperMatter objects into standard MAX mesh objects. Simply select the key-frame interval you want, hit ‘Auto-Create Keys’, and HyperMatter will generate a series of morph targets from your HyperMatter animation, allowing you to apply further deformation modifiers etc to your objects.

To download an AVI of this scene (1.9 MB), click on the image above.