Physics
Rigid bodies that fall, collide and settle.
Give layers mass and collision shapes and let them drop, bounce and pile up. Useful precisely because the result is hard to keyframe convincingly.
Once the motion is right you can bake it to keyframes, which converts the simulation into ordinary editable animation.
When to reach for it#
- Objects falling into place.
- Collisions and pile-ups.
- Anything that should settle under gravity.
Parameters#
Heavier objects are less affected by collisions with lighter ones. Relative values are what matter.
0 is a beanbag, 1 is a superball. Real objects are usually below 0.4.
Resistance to sliding. Low friction on a slope means everything ends up in a heap at the bottom.
Scene-wide. Reduce it for a floaty, weightless feel.
Recipes#
Bake it once it looks right
- Tune the simulation until the motion reads correctly.
- Bake to keyframes.
- Adjust individual keys by hand for the shots that matter.
Baking also removes the scrubbing penalty, since the result becomes ordinary keyframe data.
See also#
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