Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 13, 2017. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Thanks to a 30-day trial version of the Commercial edition and a Non-Commercial version, the tissue simulation technology used in blockbusters such as “Suicide Squad” and “Fantastic Beasts” can now be tried out. Image Engine used it for the Graphorn family – more on this in the upcoming DP issue, which appears on April 21.
What Can Ziva Do?
Ziva VFX’s FEM Solver is similar to that of the Houdini software. Ziva can be used to create stable, robust simulations in which tissue volume is maintained even with strong deformations or large timesteps. The plug-in supports a broad spectrum of material types with which the stiffness and density of tissue can be imitated; including bones, tendons, muscles and skin as well as various types of physical damping.
Users can make adjustments directly via parameters. In addition, Ziva VFX offers a brush-based workflow with which material properties and mesh resolutions as well as even muscle attachment points and fibres can be painted.
It is also possible to embed arbitrary meshes in tissue simulations as well as attach elastic solids to animated triangle meshes for the automatic addition of secondary motion. The simulations can be cached in RAM or on disk to accelerate playback and iterations. Character rigs are scripted in MEL or via Python tools.
Character Continuity
When a second part featuring the same character is due, its appearance can be modified with the help of Ziva VFX while the character essentials are retained. According to the developers, Ziva VFX users therefore never have to start from scratch again once the character is finished.
Compatibility & Availability
Ziva VFX is available for Maya 2014 and higher and runs on Windows from version 7 or Linux. Available are a 30-day trial version of the Commercial variant as well as a renewable 180-day version of the Non-Commercial licence. To download them, interested parties must register on the Ziva Dynamics website. Here is the download for both versions.
About Ziva Dynamics
Ziva Dynamics was founded in 2015 and is based on CEO James Jacobs’ experience in the VFX industry; among other things, he worked as Creature Supervisor at Weta Digital and Method Studios. At Weta, Jacobs helped develop the physically based character simulation framework for tissue that received a Sci-Tech Academy Award in 2013.
