Softimage XSI Cloth Tutorial Level: Beginner by Raffael Dickreuter www.xsibase.com www.raffael3d.com In this tutorial you will learn how to use cloth to make a pirate flag move with the wind. You can constrain the cloth to the flag mat by simply "nail" it with clusters.
	Create The Objects First create a cylinder to create the flag mat: Get > Primitive > Polygon Mesh > Cylinder Radius: 0.3 Height: 12 Now get a grid to create the pirate flag: Get > Primitive > Polygon Mesh > Grid Rotate it on the X-axis by 90 degrees and stretch it on the x-axis to make it a bit wider.
	Add Texture and Transparency Map Swtich to the render panel (Key "3"). Now let's add the pirates flag texture: Get > Material > Lambert Now add a texture: Get > Texture > Image Under "new" choose the pirates flag texture and then add a texture projection (xz). Transparency Map in Photoshop The flag looks still like brandnew and is not believable as a dirty pirates flag. So fire up Photoshop and let's create a transparency map. Create a new file that is white. Go to "Channels" and click on the arrow on the right side, then "New Channel" to create an alpha channel. Now paint on the alpha channel using the Brush Tool the transparency map you like, so that it looks like the flag had holes becuase of bullets and the rough sea. Save the file then in a format that contains an alpha channel (e.g "Tiff"). Go back to XSI and in the render tree and add the texture as a transparency map. Don't forget to get the texture also a projection (xz). Draw a render region (key "q"). You don't see anything at the moment, you have to activate Copy Alpha to RGB in your transparency map image panel.
	Add Cloth and Natural Forces Swtich to the simluate panel (Key "4"). Select the flag and click Create > Cloth > from selection Click the "t"-key to tag points and select the two points on top of the left row and the last two at the bottom. Create Cloth > Local Cloth Cluster and activate Nail. Next add wind and gravity Get > Force > Gravity Get > Force > Wind Select then the flag and apply the forces: Mody > Environment > Apply Force Now click "play" to play the animation and see what you get. Try to play around a bit with the wind and change it's position and set keys for the amplitude. Go to an explorer, select the flag and under "Polygon Mesh" click on the ClothOperator. Under the Forces Tab set Visconsity to 0.05 and Noise to 12. Now select again the flag and set the mat as an obstacle: Mody > Envirnoment > Set Obstacle and choose the mat. Now play again the animation. The flag will move more realistacly. Try to play with the wind amplitue as well as Visconsity and noise to get the effect you want, eithe a very windy effect or a rather calm day where the flag just hangs around. Now draw a render region to check how the pirate flag looks like. Also render the animation, correct values of the wind etc so the flag is moving as you want.