How to make a flowing ribbon…

[Chris Smith]

Generally there seem to be 2 methods:

1. If you want your ribbon to grow along a curve: Create a spline that is the complete path the ribbon should take. Then create a square spline and set it very thin. Now drop these two into a sweep nurbs object. Set the parameters to what looks good to you (rounding, the square spline’s dimensions, etc…) then you’ll see a grow parameter in the sweep nurbs. Animate this from 0 – 100% and the ribbon will grow along the curve. Of couse you can play with the twist parameter as well.

2. If you want one complete ribbon that simply travels along a curve: There are a few plug-ins out there that allow you to deform an object along a spline. Travelling across a spline is obviously just a tag but you need to use a plug-in to make it deform along the spline. Why it’s a plug-in and not a built in feature is beyond me though.

Then there are probably more complicated ways using forces, dynamics, cloth, and such, but I’d try the simple way and replicate forces first before diving into simulations.

Chris Smith
https://www.sugarfilmproduction.com

[Craig Shields]

Hey Michael,

View the last month of posts. This questions was asked and answered with a tutorial using a free plugin called Path Deformer Lite.

-Craig

[Michael Munkittrick]

SWEET!

I was very close but this makes it perfectly clear. I have been battling with this for a few days and the problem of direction control simply went over my head. I kept thinking sline path, but my organization seems to have been faulty.

Thanks a lot…

Michael Munkittrick
Managing Creative Director
Evolve Media Solutions

Forum COWmunity leader for:
Sony DV
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[Michael Munkittrick]

Thanks for the pointer. I actually read over that post, but for whatever reason, my mind wasn’t quite grasping the concept. Thanks for the reply and wish me luck…

Michael Munkittrick
Managing Creative Director
Evolve Media Solutions

Forum COWmunity leader for:
Sony DV
Magic Bullet