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    straighten a curled spline

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    leaf grow spline based blend
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    • B
      Boo Boo Chicken last edited by Dr. Sassi

      hello.

      How do I straighten a curled spline? Ideally, I'd like the spline points to all be aligned flat on the same axis.

      Thx!

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      • Dr. Sassi
        Dr. Sassi last edited by Dr. Sassi

        Hi independent-progress,

        Here is a little attempt, but it doesn't follow the point distance idea.

        CV4_2024_drs_23_MOsl_01.c4d

        No default tool or function allows for this.

        Since it has curves, the distance between two points is not the length of the spline between the two points. There would be a problem.

        Otherwise, with the shortest distance and the curve difference excluded, you can get the distance of two points and then apply it to a copy of your spline.

        Please have a look here

        CV4_2024_drs_23_MOsl_11.c4d

        Screen Shot 2023-10-04 at 3.15.33 PM.jpg

        All the best

        Dr. Sassi Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
        Senior Trainer, Maxon Master Trainer, L&D - Strategist
        Cinema 4D mentor since 2004, Member of VES, DCS.

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        • B
          Boo Boo Chicken last edited by

          Yikes that looks scary! is there a deformer I could use? I'm looking to do something like the link below but starting with the curl and unrolling it flat. kinda like a coiled snake morphing from an "S" to an "I". is it possible to use pose morph? how do I apply my spline to the XP you submitted

          THX!
          https://youtu.be/bvb6XaVdytE?si=meoGzVED2QPo180J

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          • Dr. Sassi
            Dr. Sassi last edited by

            Hi independent-progress,

            No PoseMorph option would allow for that easily. But please share your spline "Start and End" state so I know what you have in mind.

            From straight to spiral, that is easy. The other way around, if you start with a Spline in any shape, that would be the XPresso from above.

            But as usual, we are not in reality here, so we can flip the time and start with a result of something and then later show the start, which your link showed, back and forth.

            I marked the three nodes in the color of the spline example. Drag the Spline onto the nodes.

            All the best

            Dr. Sassi Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
            Senior Trainer, Maxon Master Trainer, L&D - Strategist
            Cinema 4D mentor since 2004, Member of VES, DCS.

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            • B
              Boo Boo Chicken last edited by

              here it is

              spline.c4d

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              • B
                Boo Boo Chicken last edited by

                I'd need that to be straight

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                • B
                  Boo Boo Chicken last edited by

                  the "straighten" option works but the curly end gets cut off. Here's the updated file with both one curl and the curl straightened

                  thx!

                  spline.c4d

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                  • Dr. Sassi
                    Dr. Sassi last edited by Dr. Sassi

                    Hi independet-progress.

                    I love to have files; thanks for that. It gives me something to work with, and the guessing is less.

                    Please have a look here.

                    CV4_2024_drs_23_ANlv_01.c4d

                    Screen Shot 2023-10-04 at 7.44.55 PM.jpg

                    The Splines under the Cloner are states of the change the leave has. The Cloner is set to Blend, and the Plain Effector uses the Modify Clones slider to animate this. In this way you can art direct the Leave very precisely.

                    The Blend allows only straight movements between two "clones", so I have introduced a few that provide a more organic motion and hide the fact limitation very well.

                    I have also reduced the number of Points on the Spline to give each point more power/control over the Spline. Which helps to reduce the work as well, and the smoothness is easier to achieve.

                    Enjoy

                    Dr. Sassi Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
                    Senior Trainer, Maxon Master Trainer, L&D - Strategist
                    Cinema 4D mentor since 2004, Member of VES, DCS.

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                    • B
                      Boo Boo Chicken last edited by

                      thanks, but I don't see the file.

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                      • B
                        Boo Boo Chicken last edited by

                        genius!!! thanks so much!!!

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                        • Dr. Sassi
                          Dr. Sassi last edited by

                          Thanks for your interest, independent progress, as well as for the lovely feedback!

                          Sorry, uploading the file requires me to save and edit.

                          Let me know if there is anything else.

                          My best wishes for your project

                          Dr. Sassi Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
                          Senior Trainer, Maxon Master Trainer, L&D - Strategist
                          Cinema 4D mentor since 2004, Member of VES, DCS.

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                          • B
                            Boo Boo Chicken last edited by

                            I certainly will!

                            thx!

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                            • B
                              Boo Boo Chicken last edited by

                              how did u match the exact length of the curled spline to the straight spline? I didn't know one could blend the state of a spline using a cloner!

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                              • Dr. Sassi
                                Dr. Sassi last edited by Dr. Sassi

                                Independent-progress, I did not measure it, but I used your two Splines as a Guide.
                                You can use this setup here to keep an exact size
                                https://cineversity.forums.maxon.net/topic/679/length-of-a-helix
                                To get the exact length of a Spline

                                Yes, the Cloner has some nice surprises, and that effect can be even Cloned again:
                                CV4_2024_drs_23_ANlv_02.c4d

                                Enjoy!

                                Dr. Sassi Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
                                Senior Trainer, Maxon Master Trainer, L&D - Strategist
                                Cinema 4D mentor since 2004, Member of VES, DCS.

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                                • B
                                  Boo Boo Chicken last edited by

                                  hi dr.sassi!

                                  Im trying to apply the workflow above to different splines but I don't understand how to get it working.

                                  Can you please advise?

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                                  • Dr. Sassi
                                    Dr. Sassi last edited by

                                    Hi Boo Boo Chicken,

                                    Can you share the Spline start and end so I can set it up and see the problem?

                                    Cheers

                                    Dr. Sassi Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
                                    Senior Trainer, Maxon Master Trainer, L&D - Strategist
                                    Cinema 4D mentor since 2004, Member of VES, DCS.

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                                    • B
                                      Boo Boo Chicken last edited by

                                      SHAPES 1.c4d
                                      there are 39 shapes

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                                      • Dr. Sassi
                                        Dr. Sassi last edited by

                                        Thanks for the file, Boo Boo Chicken.

                                        Those are individual Splines, not start or end shapes, because they have different sizes and colors.

                                        I'm not clear what this can tell me. What is your target animation? What I can imagine and what you like to have might differ widely.

                                        Please consider always, I don't know what you don't communicate about your project.

                                        Straighten and animate all 39? From flat to the shape they are in? Then, you need to create 39 times the setup from above.

                                        OR we find a new method; I have no idea right now about this; you need to share a storyboard or something.

                                        Dr. Sassi Sassmannshausen Ph.D.
                                        Senior Trainer, Maxon Master Trainer, L&D - Strategist
                                        Cinema 4D mentor since 2004, Member of VES, DCS.

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                                        • B
                                          Boo Boo Chicken last edited by

                                          ah yes...some context would help, sorry.

                                          What I need is to do is apply the workflow solution you shared using the cloner and plain effector, to all of these shapes. I can get the length of the curved spline by hitting Mode < Project Info, then I can create a spline of equal length that's flat that represents the second flat state. so all I need is a way to apply ur workflow to all my shapes so I can make them flat. I can see that u used custom color fields in your example but I'm not sure how to apply your solution to all my splines. sorry if that doesn't make sense...my wife tells me that I'm a bad communicator...hahaha
                                          upspline shapesc4d.c4d

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                                          • B
                                            Boo Boo Chicken last edited by

                                            so I guess all I need is a template or to understand how to modify your solution so I can apply that workflow to all my splines

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