What maintains dForce clothing shape?

mikethe3dguy

Fairly often I have to take an article of clothing and convert it into a prop then apply a dForce modifier so I can use it as a prop (clothing item laying on the ground, draped over an arm, etc). I'm not too educated on clothing creation but I only know of two things that could help clothing keep its shape after turned into a dForce item:

• Bones, which were removed already when converting it into a prop
• dForce Modifier Weight Node, which the clothing item doesn't have yet (sometimes I've tried creating one and making sure it's all red, though this hasn't ever made a difference)

Yet sometimes the clothing keeps its shape in simulation, either completely or partially. What am I missing? How can I get clothing like this to behave properly in simulation?

barbult

The dForce surface settings can impact how much an item drape. Each surface of the item can have different dForce surface parameters. For example, a waistband is often given a Dynamic Strength of 0, which means it won't move at all. So the rest of the skirt or pants might drape completely, but will always hang down from the waistband that does not fall to the floor.

I've never heard of bones in an object having anything at all to do with dForce.

I also don't know any reason that you would have to first turn it into a prop.

mikethe3dguy

barbult said:

The dForce surface settings can impact how much an item drape. Each surface of the item can have different dForce surface parameters. For example, a waistband is often given a Dynamic Strength of 0, which means it won't move at all. So the rest of the skirt or pants might drape completely, but will always hang down from the waistband that does not fall to the floor.

Ah, that could be it. I'm working with a dForce robe but when you convert figure to prop it removes the dForce modifier, which I then re-add afterwards. I've assumed that all the original dForce Surface Simulation settings get lost in that process so you're starting from all default values. But after reading your reply I checked and see that isn't the case: some surfaces are indeed set to dynamics strength of 0.00.

I've never heard of bones in an object having anything at all to do with dForce.

I also don't know any reason that you would have to first turn it into a prop.

This is how I've always been told you convert conforming clothing (whether it starts with dForce or not) to be used as a dForce prop: change to "Fit to None", then Convert Figure to Prop, then Add dForce Modifier. Not so?

barbult

I've never had to convert a figure to a prop do dForce clothing to fall in a heap on the floor. I don't know what converting to a prop would do to help you. Maybe someone else can explain why that advice was given. I load the clothing into the scene without fitting to a character. I add a dForce Modifier Weight Node to each piece, select all, edit weightmap and set it to 100%. dForce clothing can have a dForce Modifier Weight Node, even if it doesn't show in the scene hierarchy. That is why I add it, in order to see what the hidden weights might be. I select all surfaces and set the Dynamic Strength to 1. That is usually sufficient. Sometimes it is necessary to also adjust other surface parameters, if they vary a lot from default to make fabric stiffer. Sometimes it helps to increase gravity and/or reduce air resistance in the simulation global settings. Another thing that might cause an issue is a dForce AddOn, so keep and eye out for those. They are often used to hold hems up, and that usually isn't a problem. They can also be used to keep parts of a garment from separating. So basically, after you've done everything else, if you still have trouble, be suspicious of dForce AddOns and try deleting them and see if that helps. Don't just arbitrarily delete them at the beginning, though. Something may all apart that shouldn't.

If the clothing you start with is not designed to be used with dForce, you would have to add the dForce Modifier Dynamic Surface yourself. The clothing might fall apart, have thousands of string length errors, or explode when you simulate it, though. The results will depend on how the clothing was created.

Oh, other things to watch out for are objects attached with Rigid Follow Nodes, like buttons. Those could hold your garment in place, too.

And sometimes it helps to hide some surfaces and make them not visible to simulation. Belt loops on a waistband comes to mind.

Don't forget that when those clothes are not fit to a figure, you can move them around to find a better starting height or rotation.

crosswind

The reason why we convert a clothing figure to a prop + tweaking points position is just for a better manipulation (esp. Rotate and Scale) when we have to make a proper 'initial shape' on it before simulation. But it's a better-to-have rather than a must. You don't have to do so.. Tweaking the points position on a clothing figure will be also fine.