This plug-in is a scripted operator that constrains an object’s position and (optionally) rotation to the surface of a polygonal mesh. I’ve seen it requested a few times on the forums, and I thought I should take a stab at it.
Here it is in action:
Please note that it doesn’t work with live subdivided surfaces. Meaning that if the constraining geometry is subdivided using the Plus key on the keypad, the constrained object will continue to follow the hull, and not the subdivided geometry.
The workaround in this case is to pre-subdivide the mesh (using Create → Poly. Mesh → Subdivision) before applying the operator.
New in Version 1.2
Some people asked for adding a blend weight option, which would blend the position of the constrained object between the position on the surface and the position before applying the constraint. After some experimenting, I’ve concluded that this can’t work, at least not in any reliable or predictable way.
So I managed to add the next best thing I could think of: The blended geometry constraint. Here it is in action:
Here’s the download link:
Tested on Autodesk Softimage 7.5 and 2010. Should also work with 7.0.
Version history:
- v1.2 (10/2/2009)
- Added a Blended Geometry Constraint.
- v1.1 (9/30/2009)
- Added on/off switch through the “Active” boolean parameter.
- v1.0 (9/29/2009)
- Initial release.
