Modeling and Animating the Leather Straps

[piece-quality]

Hello ,

I'm trying to accurately recreate the leather straps of the Wassily chair, including thickness and visible stitching. My goal is to animate the leather realistically, making it flexible overall while keeping the stitched areas more rigid and less flexible.To achieve a nice result with cloth simulation or soft body dynamics

Reference image of the leather:


Effect I want to achieve with the leather:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQshLRMI5mA

I attempted a cloth simulation with belts to hold certain parts in place, but I encountered bugs, and the result wasn’t convincing. As for the stitching, would it be better to model it in 3D or use a bump map for rendering?

Do you have any advice on the best approach to achieve a realistic look and a stable simulation? Thanks in advance for your help!

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi piece-quality,

Please check out the Asset Browser for Leather materials.

To have the stitching visible is a question of where the camera goes and how large the details will be. If a close-up or extreme close-up is needed, I would try to model it. Something far away is fine with bump and texture; anything between them is displacement. As usual, it is an art direction call.

The simulation would be as simplified as possible. The leather around the chrome does not need to be similar. From my memory, sitting in the original chair from Marcel Breuer, the leather was sturdy and not easily moved, which leaves the long parts between. The stiffness might need some tweak, perhaps even some Friction to support this.

Example
CV4_2025_drs_25_SIwc_02.c4d

All the best.

[piece-quality]

I would like to create a shot where we see the leather scraps falling, and also animate the attachment.

When the person sits on the chair, there is still some friction on the attachments, making them also simulatable.

Also, maybe simulating this type of fabric would be better in Clo3D?

Thanks for your response!

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi piece-quality.

I understand the idea is to set everything into a Simulation and let it play.
I have not seen what you like to do so far. There are so many ways to think of why it would even "fall". What is the trigger that makes thick leather burst? The chair is pretty sturdy, and the leather is thick.

CV4_2025_drs_25_SIwc_02.c4d
CV4_2025_drs_25_SIwc_03.c4d

From the example above, reduce the Belt> Influence to 0% on one side and then animate the other side.

Yes, you could place a Connector there, for example.
CV4_2025_drs_25_SIwc_11.c4d

What part and how should it behave? Do you have a project file or a storyboard to see what is on your mind?

(Regarding specific Cloth apps, I currently have nothing installed here. Perhaps check with the support team for that specific app.)

I hope that helps you explore what works best for you: Simulation, a mix with animation, or even all 100% art directed with Joints.
A question of Control and how much your artistic intent is represented in the way it behaves.

Cheers