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Description: I want to push one mesh into another mesh and have it deform in the most simple way possible that is still animateable in some form (through a empty or something).

Example:

  1. Lets say I have a simple plane (in this case with solidify so you can actually see it) and a cylinder below it: Base

  2. I now move the cyclinder up a bit and it deforms the plane. This is easy to do in various ways: Moved Up

  3. Now the part I struggle with: If I now move the cylinder to the right I want the plane to keep deforming WITHOUT dragging half the mesh after it: Moved to right

Problem: I am looking for a solution to do this WITHOUT soft bodies (it is extremly finicky, unperformant and seems to be quite overblown for something this simple. I also would like to have full control over the result) or a hundred shape keys that allows me to animate it (thinking about binding the cylinder to a bone).

Another example that comes to mind would be squeezing something through a hose, like in comics.

Any solutions or do I have to do with soft bodies?

Marcus
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  • maybe check this answer: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/153177/worms-crawling-under-skin – moonboots Sep 02 '21 at 13:12
  • Oh boy, I would never have thought about this or even what to search for. That looks cool, I'll try it out, thanks. :D – Marcus Sep 02 '21 at 13:19
  • Sadly this doesn't seem to work very well in my case due to the simple fact that the object in question has multiple vertex weights because I intend to move it with an armature. – Marcus Sep 02 '21 at 13:31
  • I'm not sure why it would not work, for something spherical you can also try the Warp modifier (but you're talking about a cylinder...) – moonboots Sep 02 '21 at 13:33
  • you could also deform a plane B with a Lattice, and that plane will deform your plane A with a Surface Deform... – moonboots Sep 02 '21 at 13:54
  • The example above is just ... well, an example, the actual meshes are more complex but I thought it would be easier to describe with a more simple scene. The cylinder (or sphere or whatever) is technically not even required.

    I'll have a try with the warp modifier, I tried it with a lattice already but I can't figure out a way to make it "move" without essentially animating every single lattice vertex. Thanks for the suggestions!

    Edit: While writing that the cylinder is not even required it just occured to me that I could probably do something with a custom displacement texture.

     – Marcus Sep 02 '21 at 14:16
  • you need to move the lattice, it will make the mesh move underneath, don't move the lattice vertices, unless the shape is supposed to deform. Actually you should provide enough detail about your project so that we can provide an appropriate answer – moonboots Sep 02 '21 at 14:26
  • Just did it with a simple displacement texture controlled by an empty, seems to work well enough and is actually kinda fun to play around with. I'll give the lattice thingy another try, you made me curious, thanks! – Marcus Sep 02 '21 at 14:36
  • If you have found an answer to your own question please fill the Your Answer field so that we know ;) – moonboots Sep 02 '21 at 14:45

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