This example will show you how to create a tree with falling leaves using nCloth. The leaves will react to a number of forces such as wind and gravity as well as display properties such as bend.
You will begin by creating a tree using Maya’s Paint Effects tool and then transforming the leaves into nCloth objects.
To create a tree using Paint Effects
You can use the Scale Tool to make the tree bigger, however the instructions in this example are designed for the default size.
Maya creates a solver called nucleus1 and adds the leaves to it.
The leaves fall straight down from the tree to the ground.
This effect can be made more realistic with the addition of leaf bends, lift and drag.
To give the leaves more realistic physics
The leaves now bend as they fall and hit the ground. They also do not fall straight down, instead they blow about a bit on the ground. You can further adjust these settings to refine the effect.
Unlike your simulation, a tree in real life seldom sheds all its leaves at once. To simulate a real tree you must constrain the leaves to the branches until a force powerful enough to remove them affects the tree.
To constrain the leaves to the tree
The leaves stay attached to the tree.
By adjusting the Glue Strength attribute in step 4 you can modify the amount of force that must be applied to knock the leaves from the tree. You can use a variety of methods (such as wind or turbulence) to pull the leaves off. In this example wind is used.
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