Deform cage option on all voxels

[The Candy-floss Kid]

Love the new primitive options , love the pose tool too but...

I'd love ,love ,love a deform cage option on voxel components similar to the initial primitives for fast intuitive tapers ,bends,elongations etc.

This way I feel it would be more like pulling at clay in your hands with the pose tool reserved for some of the fiddlier moves and options.

Would it be possible?

[Ghostdog]

I think you're onto something here, I often flirt with the twist & bend tools hoping for a nice random result that I could just 'direct' instead with a deform cage. I've exported out of 3dCoat into Hexagon before just to use the better soft-selection tools, then taken that back into 3D Coat.

Gets my vote for sure.

Nice thinking

[spacepainter]

I vote for more precise deformation tools!

[3DArtist]

+1

[philnolan3d]

I don't think it's possible because with voxels you're manipulating the "creamy center", the "chocolaty coating" is just there for appearance. Perhaps in Surface mode, but even then a cage normally has a point for every vertex, it wouldn't make any sense to have millions of points.

[Ghostdog]

Hey Phil - I don't really understand what's behind the freeform primitives that'd explain why the have a deform mesh but other voxel forms can't?

[philnolan3d]

The freeform primitives are not voxels, it's just a polygonal proxy object, just like when you merge in a OBJ or LWO. After you hit Enter a voxel mesh is created based on that proxy.

[Ghostdog]

cheers, thought it probably was but am shying away speculation this week as bit me on the bum already

[3DArtist]

The deform cage would work just like the Pose and Move tools, which are really only surface tools that work in voxel mode also.

I have requested before the ability to create a low-poly cage in retopo room and use it as a deform cage in voxel room.

Even grabbing a primitive, position it around the sculpt, and press the "create deform cage from primitive" button.

That way we can have a simple deform cage 2x2x2 (or whatever).

[ggaliens]

I'm fairly sure there's no real LOGICAL show stopper for

DEFORMING a VOXEL dataset based on a cage manipulation.

When I think about it ... this at worst would introduce "GAPS" between

VOXELS that would have to be "FILLED IN". But that seems quite doable with

basic computing/mathematical methods. The real issues are issues of performance.

This is the kind of operation I'd expect to see a "PROGRESS BAR" metering it anyway.

Really ... does not seem that much different than 1 dimensional stretching a VOXEL object to me.

[Ghostdog]

I'd thought that if the existing twist and bend tool works so well without introducing artifacts/errors then a modifier cage is just a variation on that idea - allowing an ability to direct & steer the areas of interest.

At the end of the day is just another way to manipulate voxels using a method other than brush tools.

[ggaliens]

I really like the idea of a modifier cage(s). I think you need a before and after image for the cage ...

so parhaps saying modifier CageS is better.

[Ghostdog]

Andrew, just curious if there would there be any chance for a comment on this?