1
$\begingroup$

I have a bunch of planes as one object I'm using to create a crowd of people on a hilly terrain. I'm looking for a way to snap all the "people" to the curvature of the terrain, without have to grab each one individually and raise or lower it. crowd following terrain

I tried the shrinkwrap modifier, but it flattens them out, rather than keeping them upright. Is there a modifier for something like this? Something like a surface deform modifier. Thanks!

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
7
  • $\begingroup$ Have you thought about using a Particle Emitter? You could Weight Paint the "hilly terrain" to control the density of the particles (people). $\endgroup$
    – Dontwalk
    Commented Aug 9, 2017 at 19:34
  • $\begingroup$ The density isn't the problem, it's making them follow the height of terrain I'm having troubles with. $\endgroup$
    – Alex Effertz
    Commented Aug 9, 2017 at 19:50
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ You can use a Particle System. $\endgroup$
    – Dontwalk
    Commented Aug 9, 2017 at 19:53
  • $\begingroup$ I don't think the particle system isn't what I'm after. I'm also looking for a way to have fencing follow the terrain as well. You can see the fencing in the picture above. $\endgroup$
    – Alex Effertz
    Commented Aug 9, 2017 at 19:59
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ A shrinkwrap constraint will position the object origin and not squash the whole mesh. $\endgroup$
    – sambler
    Commented Aug 10, 2017 at 0:48

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2
$\begingroup$

You can use a Particle System. Use your terrain as the emitter and the people as either an Object or a Group (Set their Origin to the bottom).

Set the Start and End time to 1.

Under Velocity change "Normal" to zero.

enter image description here

Choose either Object or Group (You'll need to separate your planes in Edit Mode press "P" and select Loose Parts). "Object" would be choosing one plane/person as the particle. With "Group" you could choose any number of planes/people for more variety (Select the planes in Object Mode and press CTRL +"G" to Group them).

enter image description here enter image description here

Additionally you can have control over the Particle Systems density by Weight Painting and a Vertex Group. With your Emitter selected go into Weight Paint Mode and select an Add Brush (There also is a Subtract Brush).

enter image description here

enter image description here

Preform your Weight Painting. Blue represents the most density and red the least. Colors in between vary the density. This creates a Vertex Group with the default name "Group".

enter image description here

Go back to the Particle Emitter and under Vertex Groups > Density select or enter the name "Group".

enter image description here

enter image description here

enter image description here

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
5
  • $\begingroup$ Hey, thanks so much for the help. So I set the terrain up as the emitter, but I guess I don't know where to go from here. $\endgroup$
    – Alex Effertz
    Commented Aug 9, 2017 at 20:19
  • $\begingroup$ I've edited the answer with some additional info. Ask if you need more... $\endgroup$
    – Dontwalk
    Commented Aug 9, 2017 at 20:21
  • $\begingroup$ Oh thanks, I see that now. However, that's just creating more particles rather than moving the existing ones. $\endgroup$
    – Alex Effertz
    Commented Aug 9, 2017 at 20:26
  • $\begingroup$ Yes, it's a work around... $\endgroup$
    – Dontwalk
    Commented Aug 9, 2017 at 20:28
  • $\begingroup$ Well, I appreciate the help because I will be able to use this technique in the future, however I'm looking for a way to deform the existing object at the moment. I wonder if I can't use physics and animate them falling until they just collide with the terrain? $\endgroup$
    – Alex Effertz
    Commented Aug 9, 2017 at 20:32

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .