Sheeter Daemon

Owned by thomas (Unlicensed)
Last updated: 27 Jul, 2016
3 min read

Some of the projects of the → "Scenes Download" section contain a "Sheeter" daemon, e.g.→  "Crown Splash", → "Tendril Drop", or → "Filling A Glass".

In many simulations you can observe holes inside the fluid or a large number of small droplets. Sometimes the fluid also breaks up or has a torn and frayed look. The "Sheeter" daemon has been designed to detect these holes and fill them with particles. During simulation, the daemon constantly creates new particles. This means that the total number of particles increases, and this leads to longer simulation times. Here is the interface:

 

 

Although the "Sheeter" provides an impressive number of parameters, the daemon is easy to control. In most cases you need just one parameter – "Min Cavity Size":

  • This parameter is dimensionless and works best in a range between 0.5 and 3.0.
  • The smaller the value, the more individual strings and filaments will be created.
  • With higher settings it is possible to close holes.
  • When the particles are very fast or when the holes are very big it might happen that the hole-filling process will fail.
  • Start your simulation with deactivated "Use Velocity Alignment".

 

Min Cavity Size = 0Min Cavity Size = 0.6Min Cavity Size = 0.8Min Cavity Size = 1.0
12,977 particles28,112 particles86,022 particles241,431 particles

Breaking Up: Relative Speed

With "Use Relative Speed" it is also possible to simulate a break up process by limiting the daemon to particles within a given speed range ("Min Relative Speed" and "Max Relative Speed"):

 

 

 

Simulation with Min Cavity Size = 1.1 | Left: Use Relative Speed= No | Right: Use Relative Speed = Yes, Min Relative Speed = 0.0, Max Relative Speed = 20

Breaking Up: Age

Sometimes it is not necessary or wanted to fill holes during the entire simulation process. The easiest way to stop the daemon from working is to use the particles' age:

  • Enable "Use Age".
  • Enter an age in seconds. Particles which are older than this threshold will not be taken into account for the hole-filling process.

Since Cinema 4D's timeline uses frames, not seconds, a conversion is required. Let's say particles which are older than 67 frames should not be affected by the "Sheeter" daemon. The frame rate is 30 fps:

  • Go to the daemon's "Max Age" field and enter 67/30.
  • A value of 2.233 appears – this is the time in seconds.

 

Simulation with Min Cavity Size = 1.1 | Left: Use Age = No | Right: Use Age = Yes, Max Age = 1.0