[Maya] Adding noise to a curve?
Hey everyone!
I'm currently modelling something that takes a segment, uses MASH to distribute it along an axis, and then Curve Warp to bend the segments along a curve.
So far so good!
Now, I want to add some noise to the curves. How do I do that? This was relatively easy to do in Cinema 4D back when I used that. It had excellent spline editing tools. Too bad it lacked in other areas at the time, namely animation (not Mograph).
Here's an example of what I basically want to do. It doesn't have to be animatable. I might turn it into a skeletal mesh later:
- Create a curve
- "Subdivide" curve
- Generate noise to curve points
Just for context, here's the Unreal Engine scene I'm working on that uses these curves, which I want to add some noise to:
This is the best way I've found for modelling this kind of thing with the level of control that I want so far, and I'm open to suggestions for doing this in an easier way without losing control of the curve.
Replies
Do you need the curve with noise or would noise on the geometry also work?
Maybe ask on the Bifrost discord if someone made a compound.
https://maximejeanmougin.com/2020/09/08/bifrost-strands/
That's a very interesting tool. I was experimenting with the sweep mesh tool until I realized that I can't use a custom mesh, as far as I can tell. I like the modularity, but as a way of keeping creative freedom, I want to be able to use an already sculpted, textured and seamless mesh, and only add noise to the curve itself, so that whatever peaks and valleys are already sculpted for the mesh aren't contradicted by the noise introduced by the sweep mesh tool.
I'm in the process of figuring out what works best for eventual asset creation that allows a certain level of freedom and artistry, so I'm sorry if this comes off as way too meticulous. Trying to find a good middle ground between efficiency and accuracy. Maybe I will end up using that technique in the future, but for this particular scene, I'm trying out the method of repeating an already finished mesh along a curve - with noise, preferably.
It would be very simple to do this in a script.
here's one I found on highend3d - it supports curve points
https://www.highend3d.com/maya/script/randomize-points-for-maya