Folding Cloth

[erikgorka]

I'm working on a project where I need to create a parachute that unfolds and opens up. Since all cloth must be created from planar curves, I now need to fold it up to get it into its initial state. What's the best way to fold up a piece of cloth? I've tried using transform contraints and drag manipulators but have had little luck. Next I'm going to try cluster and/or wire deformers and fold it up at the vertex level.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You
-Erik

[dickagm]

hi, I have the same thing on my head
Can you tell me how you did it?

With Regards,
Nikolai Atanasov

[3dpiper]

Mesh constain the vertices on which you would like the cloth to fold to an invisible object such as a plane.
This must be a collision object so set the offset to 0. Create a transform constraint on the vertices at the edge of the cloth which are moving to a locator. Set keys for the locator(middle mouse drag in the timeline) and do a simulation. By modifying this setup you should be able fold the parachute any way that you need to. You can animate the mesh constraint to release as te chute opens.

Send me an e-mail address if you would like me to e-mail a file with this set up.

[3dpiper]

Take a look at this link and the attached file on it. :CGTalk