We'll use Soft Cloths in the Cloth sub-folder of the Physics Props folder.:
1. Open a new blank project. Select the Set tab, click on the Props button.
2. Double-click on the Capsule_033 from the Capsule sub-folder of the 3D Blocks prop folder to load it into the workspace.
3. Click on the Physics Props folder in the Content Manager and load the Infinite Plane, then click on the Cloth folder within the physics folder and double-click on the Cloth_64X64 prop to load it into the workspace.
4. With the Cloth selected, input the following parameters:
Move: X=0.0, Y= -312.2, Z=125
Rotate: X=270.0, Y=0.0, 0.0
Scale: X=500, Y=500, Z=500
The following shows the setup to this point:
5. Select the capsule prop and open the Physics Setting window by clicking on the button in the top toolbar or using Shift + F9.
6. Click the Active Physics checkbox. Set the state to Kinematic and set the Bound Type to Cylinder on the X axis.
7. Select the cloth and change the Damping to 10 and the Solver Iterations to 40.
8. VERY IMPORTANT! Click on the Realtime button in the bottom toolbar to change it to By Frame or the cloth may fall through or be otherwise unstable.
9. Make sure the Rigid Body and Soft Body Simulation buttons are on.
10. Save the project and press the play button. The following image shows the result of the cloth dropped over the capsule:
We set up a simple soft cloth simulation where the cloth falls on the half capsule as the capsule is vaulted up from contact with the infinite plane. The result is a draping of the cloth over the capsule. The Damping and Solver Iterations slowed the descent of the cloth. It is recommended that you save your project and experiment heavily with these controls.
With a little imagination we can see other uses for this technique. Just as I was about to send off this chapter I saw a great use for this trick by Cricky, one of the Beta Testers and a skilled iClone veteran in his own right, who covered the ground with a soft cloth textured with the same grass texture as the terrain. When the dummy under the cloth moved it looked like something was burrowing underground as it travelled across the screen. The effect was very dynamic and eye opening for this author!
According to Bigboss, we can also attach a physics enabled prop to the head of a character and drape a soft cloth to act as a veil. There will be many uses for this unique tool.