Curve deform without deforming mesh?

Support Modeling
1

I have and object which is bent and twisted by multiple curve deforms (it is supposed to a DNA strand) and I then animate the motion of the DNA by moving the curves. I want another object (an enzyme) to remain stuck to a fixed position on the DNA as it moves. Applying the same curve deforms to the enzyme that I used to bend the DNA puts it in the right position, but its mesh is then distorted, which I don’t want. Is there some way to tell a curve deform to only impact the center position and rotation of an object without distorting the mesh, or some other deform/constraint that is equivalent?

I tried playing around with tracking and transform constraints, but I can’t get anything to do what I need. Transform constraints seem to act on the origin of the target, which doesn’t follow the curve deforms, and tracking the enzyme to the curve only seems to work for a single curve, while my DNA path is defined by multiple curve deforms.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

2

I think I may have found the solution to my own problem. I spent all day and evening trying to think of and search for an answer, and a few hours after posting I found something. I’m sure this is not unique…

Anyhow, I believe the best way to achieve what I want is to vertex parent the object I don’t want deformed (the enzyme) to a set of 3 vertices near the spot on the DNA I want it to follow. If someone has a better idea, I’d definitely be interested, but this seems to work quite well.

3

Care to share your solution so that future users can see how to fix their own problems?