Destructing Elements in Maya With PullDownIt: Part 1

Preview

In the first part of this tutorial series, I'll show you how to work with PullDownIt plug-in for dynamics in Maya. 

PullDownIt is a one of the best and leading plug-ins for dynamics simulation in Maya. I'll cover the different aspects of this plug-in and show you how to create destruction, demolition, breaking and wrecking of objects in Maya.

I'll show you how to download and install the PullDownIt plug-in in Maya and how to start working with the plug-in to create your very first dynamic destruction.

1. Setting Up PDI plugin

Step 1

Open a web browser and go to www.pulldownit.com.

Step 2

Click on Products menu. Download the plug-in for Maya. You may also wish to download the demo version of the plug-in from here.

Step 3

After installing the plug-in, open Maya. Go to Window > Settings/Preferences > Plug-in Manager.

Step 4

In the Plug-in Manager window, turn on Loaded and Auto Load options for pdiMaya2x.mll. Click on Close button. The plug-in is now ready to use.

2. Breaking an Object

Step 1

Create a sphere in the perspective view port as shown in the following image.

Step 2

With the sphere selected, go to PulldownIt shelf menu and click on the ShatterIt feature icon.

Step 3

In the ShatterIt feature window, set the value of Num Shards to 120 and click on Shatter It! Button.

Step 4

Within a couple of seconds, the sphere shatters into 120 parts. Check it by selecting and moving each broken part individually. 

Step 5

Open the Outliner window. You will see the different broken parts of the sphere inside the pdiShatterGroup.

Step 6

If you want to make the shattered parts react with the ground, you'll need to convert these parts into rigid bodies. 

At the time of shattering the object, turn on Create Rigid bodies from fragments option first and then click on Shatter It! button.

Step 7

When you press the Play button to see the simulation, a dialogue box appears asking for turning the grid into the ground. Click on Yes button. Now the grid acts as the ground.

Step 8

You will see a ground plane in the view port as shown in the following image.

Step 9

Press the Play button to see the simulation. The sphere hits the ground and gets broken into pieces. 

Step 10

Once you are satisfied with the simulation, click on Bake Pdi simulation icon. It opens the Bake Pdi Simulation window. 

Click on Bake Pdi Simulation button. 

Step 11

Press the Play button to see the baked simulation as shown in the following image.

3. Breaking the Ground

Step 1

Create a box in the perspective view port. It will act as the ground. Create a sphere and put it above the ground box. 

Step 2

With the box selected, go to PulldownIt shelf menu and click on the ShatterIt feature icon.

Step 3

In the ShatterIt feature window, set the values of Num Shards to 120,  Shatter Style to Local, Num Centers to 3 and click on the Edit Centers button. Place the three centers at different places on the box. Finally, click on the Shatter It! button. 

Step 4

Within a couple of seconds, the box gets shatters into 120 parts. You will notice that there are three broken centers on the box.

Step 5

With the sphere selected, click on Create Pdi Body icon. In the Create Rigid Body window, select the Type as Dynamic and then click on Update Transform.

Step 6

Press the Play button to see the simulation. The sphere hits the ground and breaks it into pieces.

Step 7

Once you are satisfied with the simulation, click on Bake Pdi simulation icon. It opens the Bake Pdi Simulation window. Click on Bake Pdi Simulation button.

Step 8

Press the Play button to see the baked simulation as shown in the following image.

Conclusion

In the next part of the tutorial, I'll show you other examples of destruction using the PDI plugin.