MoGraph Cloner Intermediate Techniques

In this advanced MoGraph tutorial, Az Productions demonstrates how to create a visually stunning honeycomb ripple

animation using the Cloner and sophisticated Field modifiers.

The project starts with a simple Cylinder:

Dimensions: Radius of 5 and height of 50.
Shape: Rotation segments are set to 6 to create a perfect hexagon.
Detail: To make it more aesthetically pleasing, a small fillet (radius 0.2) is added to the edges.

To arrange the hexagons, a Cloner is used with the following settings:

Mode: Set to Honeycomb Array to create the interlocking pattern.
Orientation: Changed to XZ so the hexagons lay flat.
Layout: The count is set high (approximately 50 by 75) to cover a large area, adjusted using the top view to ensure the gaps between clones are perfectly aligned.

The animation is driven by a Plane Effector combined with specific fields:

Parameters: The Y-position of the effector is set to 25 to create the vertical movement of the ripple.
Torus Field: A Taurus Field is added to the effector’s Field list. As the radius of the torus is animated, it creates a circular wave that travels through the honeycomb grid.
Delay Field: To create the bouncy, elastic “ripple” feel, a Delay Field is added with the mode set to Spring.
Decay Field: This is used to smooth out and slow down the motion, preventing the animation from looking too chaotic.

The tutorial uses a clever way to link the animation to the material colors:

Color Remapping: Inside the Torus Field settings, the color mode is set to a Gradient. This ensures that the color of each hexagon changes based on its position within the ripple.
Reflectance: The material uses two GGX layers. One is set to a metallic gold with 40% roughness, and the second layer is kept much sharper (5% roughness) for highlights.
Mograph Color Shader: By applying a MoGraph Color Shader to the material’s layer mask, the gradient from the Torus Field directly controls which parts of the hexagons appear gold as the ripple passes through them.

This tutorial showcases how combining fields and MoGraph shaders can produce complex, high-end motion graphics with relatively simple geometry.