Armature collisions and/or softbodies keeping their shape

Support Animation and Rigging
1

I have a fairly cartoony character with a ponytail that I would like to have automated motion. Softbodies work with the body collision and such, but the ponytail loses its shape and just becomes a flat sheet of hair. I tried using the edge springs and stuff at max, hoping they’d force the object into a more solid shape, but it didn’t seem to do much of anything.

If anybody has any ideas as to how I could have a fully softbodied object retain its shape in relation to itself and act more solid (like a clump of hair), I’m all ears. =)

I also began thinking…“Well, if i could just use a few bones and have them collide with the mesh, that’s all I’d need”, but the armature bones don’t seem to respond to softbody effects. Am I right in the assumption that bones don’t accept softbody imputs?

Anybody have any clever ideas as to how I could do it? =)
I don’t want to animate a long chain of hair down my character’s back if I don’t have to. =)

Thanks, everybody.

2

make sure the “Use goal” button is selected. This will cause the softbody to attempt to retain it’s original shape.

3

Right, the problem with that is that it stays in place, instead of falling to where it needs to go.

If I model the hair slightly backward so that it “falls” onto the shoulders and back when it gets simulated, the “use goal” will make it stick out like a spike, instead of just retaining it’s internal shape.