Maya and jiggle modifier to affect the joints ?

Zodd

Hello, i was doing some personal project and tried to add jiggle modifier to a character ( for jiggly belly movement ) but then i encountered this issue:
Can you attach jiggle movement directly to a joint ?
I've tried the following:
- Apply directly via Create Deformers > Jiggle Deformer, and got "Error: No deformable object selected."
- Apply deformer to the IK handle ( effects were rougly like dividing by zero )
- Apply to a control curve ( circle in this case ) and then parented the curve to joint up in the hierarchy and it works, but now i can't use jiggle movement of the curve and make joint move like it has jiggle deformer applied to it.

The reason i need joint to have that complex jiggle movement is so that i can bake out keys and use it in unity ( which doesn't support vertex animation atm )

So for anyone more experienced, or anyone that might have some idea how would one go about solving this problem, is there a way to do what i am attempting to do ? I've done google searches but it just keeps giving me tutorials on how to apply jiggle deformer to vertex ( I'm guessing it's for production or some engine that handles vertex animations ) but nothing on joints/bones in particular.

Here is an image, i hope it clarifies a bit what i was going on about in the rant above.

antweiler

You cannot apply geometry deformers to joints. But you can try to drive the joints secondary motion with geometry like softbodies, or ncloth. Have a look at the free Bonus tools from AD, there is a script, that can make joints dynamic

antweiler

Ah, i should read your post before replying... so you already have a jiggle on a curve. Use a polygon instead, attach hair follicle to that (which follows the deforming geometry) and parent constrain your joint to the follicle

Zodd

Thanks a bunch, works like a charm and in every aspect i need, i can animate without imitating gravity and latter bake out "jiggly" keys later when animations are done.

One would think this would be easier but dealing with maya for some years I've understood that everything can be done, just not in the way you would expect ( thinking outside the box )

Need to start learning MEL, i have a feeling this can be done with it much more elegantly but for now this is perfect

Thank you again, very much appreciated