Hi all, I’m totally new to blender and animation in general and am looking for some help.
I am currently attempting to model an inflatable capture mechanism used to secure an uncontrolled body. The mechanism is composed of a series of arms spanned by fabric. I’ve got the structure modeled in its deployed state and have spanned the arms with a simulated cloth. Currently the cloth is pinned to the edges of the arms but I think that may need to change.
Here’s a picture:
So far so good, I can drop objects in and they behave the way I want them to. What I need to do now is model the structure so that it can ‘grab’ the object. The primary mechanism by which the mechanism does this is by ‘pursing’ the net. There is a drawstring around the circumference of the aperture that is able to be pulled closed, pulling the arms and the net in and capturing the object. Most of my efforts this far have been in trying to animate the arms to close without much luck.
My latest effort was to try and follow this tutorial: http://www.blender.org/api/htmlI/x7891.html and trying to copy the example of the flexible hydraulic tube. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get it working.
Here’s a picture of my attempt:
If anyone could help me out that would be greatly appreciated. I’m looking for what people think is the best way to implement what I want to do and some direction about how to do it. If anyone wants to volunteer to help out that would be awesome, please contact me. I expect it wouldn’t take very much time at all for someone who knows what there doing. Keep in mind I am pretty much as green as can be when it comes to animation. Thanks!