How to setup a physics based rigging system (not just softclothing) request for tails

Support Animation and Rigging
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(Sorry this could be a tldr moment but I am having issues with this so if you have the time Id appreciate some advice.)

Hello all I’m looking to build a rig that is more physics based but then helped by the animator to fine tune the motion when it gets out of hand, I built a basic design I had a idea for ( it isn’t done up correctly yet its just eye candy), the rings are to act as zones which when the tail enters they start to add a slowing effect to the tail and gradually have it return to its flopped down position. The reason for this is that I need to build one that will allow me to “forget about” the motion of the tail whilst I work on the rest of the body. It also would have it set up so that when its placed on the floor it will “flatten out/relax” and rest on it.
Ive been hoping that something like this already existed but I haven’t found anything similar that I can use in blender 2.5 (I found out about pyppet recently for 2.49 which looked very similar to how I was planning on building mine)
I understand that this is a complex rig but I figure it could also be very useful for everyone looking to give a natural flow to the animation whilst not having to spend hours fine tuning the movement by hand. I hope to use this to create more rigs that could be used to control twists in arms, thighs even possibly breasts.
One issue i think some people will say is that you will have to use softbody, however I cant seem to get the motion without deforming the mesh quite a bit in some cases. I know I have holes in my animation skills so if anyone knows where I can get the right (up to date!) information on building something like this I would be very grateful.

To summarize:
I need the knowledge to build a tail that can do 3 things.
1: Rest in a down position but also move when the hips or body turns automatically.
2: Go into a rest position when the character sits down or crawls on the ground, but still capable of wiggling about when the character moves in a bent or crawl position.
3: Return from a rested mode back to a flopped down version when the character stands up and has the tail off the ground.

Thank you all who read all this till the end :slight_smile:

Attachments

Test tail rig.blend (663 KB)

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Problems been solved found the right tutorial on youtube.

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Can you post a link to the youtube video?

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The reason I found this the best solution is that even though the setup if still using softbody it is not placed on the characters skin but the controller that moves it, which I can then add extra handles and controls so that it doesn’t go out of control. Plus then it will also react to the issues I had such as the character bending down, kneeling and the tail dropping to the floor.
As a added note I have noticed that you can use this also for things like feathers and wing setups, also pigtails for character hair, even chains/ropes to a extent.

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Thanks for posting the video. This is a pretty cool setup. Cheers.