Just wondering how/if this could be done. I'm trying to make a quick promo animation where an object (a word, in this case) starts behind a pane of glass, then shoots through the glass toward the camera, shattering it in the process. I really wanted a realistic look, with shards flying toward the camera and the glass breaking at the point of impact.

All attempts so far are feeble enough to make me think this may not be possible. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Message edited on: 11/15/2005 18:26

This may not be helpful to you, but if you have Adobe AfterEffects, there's an effect called Shatter that is used for exactly what you're talking about. Otherwise, I'd suggest trying to build your individual pieces of glass in one of the modelers (maybe the spline would be easiest for fitting the pieces precisely together). Then, place the glass peices together horizontally. Position your camera below the glass looking up, and use a directional force to break the pieces apart, flying toward the camera. (You'd have to enable physics.) I hope this is helpful. - Dex

I had the same thoughts as Dex, and I have a few more ideas to add: First, I'd create a solid piece of glass which is visible just until the point of impact. Once the word hits the glass, I'd make that solid pane invisible and reveal the shattered (but initially flat) glass, ready to go. I also imagine that there should be small shards at the points of impact, and larger ones further out on the surface of the glass. The simplest way to make all these little pieces might be to draw them out in a program like Illustrator, and then import them and extrude them a bit to add thickness. If you use physics for the motion, you might consider adding a flow force (something I have never really used) to impart some extra spin to the shards. Plain old gravity won't be convincing. Finally, consider adding some depth cueing to the scene, so the pieces blur as they fly toward the camera. This might increase the sense of drama. - Joe