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Bodies
There are two general classes of rigid bodies in Physics Illustrator for Tablet PC: polygons and ellipses.

l Polygons are contiguous shapes with at least one straight side.

l Ellipses are closed-curve shapes, drawn in one motion, with nearby beginning and end points.

Bodies can exist in a variety of physical states, and have material properties that you can edit. The
following topics show you how to create and edit bodies in Physics Illustrator for Tablet PC:

Drawing Ellipses

Drawing Polygons

Editing Bodies

Body States

Material Properties

Drawing Ellipses
Ellipses are closed-curve shapes, drawn in one motion, with nearby beginning and end points.

To draw an ellipse or a circle:

l Draw a continuous curved line that ends near the same point that it began.

l If the curve is nearly circular (aspect ratio < ~1.15) it will be interpreted as a circle.

Draw this:

Drawn ellipse

To make this:

Recognized ellipse

See also:

Drawing Polygons

Editing Bodies

Body States

Material Properties

Drawing Polygons
Polygons are contiguous shapes with at least one straight side.

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To draw a polygon:

l Draw any closed shape that is not an ellipse. Any closed stroke that is not recognized as an ellipse
will be interpreted as a polygon.

Draw this:

Drawn polygon

To make this:

Recognized polygon

See also:

Drawing Ellipses

Editing Bodies

Body States

Material Properties

Editing Bodies
You can clone, delete, straighten, move, and resize individual selected bodies. You can only move and
resize selected groups of bodies.

To select a single body:

l Tap the Pen tool (if not in Pen tool mode), and then tap the body to select it.
- OR -

l Tap the Selection Lasso , and then tap the body to select it.

To clone a selected body:

1. Tap the Edit shortcut menu button.

2. On the shortcut menu, tap Clone.

To delete selected bodies:

1. Tap the Edit shortcut menu button.

2. On the shortcut menu, tap Delete.

To straighten a selected body:

1. Tap the Edit shortcut menu button.

2. On the shortcut menu, tap Straighten.

l Repeat step 2 to apply additional straighten commands.

To edit a selected body's material properties:

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1. Tap the Edit shortcut menu button.

2. On the shortcut menu, tap Properties.

Editing Multiple Selected Bodies

To select multiple bodies:

1. Tap the Selection Lasso .

2. Encircle the bodies you want to select.

To move selected bodies:

l Tap and drag the selected bodies to a new location.

To resize selected bodies:

l Tap and drag one of the blue sizing handles in the direction you want to resize the selected
bodies.

See also:

Material Properties

Body States

Body States
Stationary Bodies
Stationary bodies are fixed to the background, and do not respond to forces or collisions.

To make a body stationary:

l Make a checkmark with the pen on the surface of the body.

Note:

l The checkmark must be contained within the boundaries of the body.

l Stationary bodies have a brick-patterned background.

l If the checkmark is drawn on an area overlapping two or more bodies, it may be misinterpreted as
a rope (see below).

To release a stationary body:

l Make a checkmark with the pen on the surface of the body.

Draw this:

Body with stationary ink checkmark

To make this:

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Recognized stationary body

Free Bodies
Free bodies respond to any applied forces or connectors. For example, in the presence of gravity, free
bodies fall.

Overlapping Bodies
If a free body is drawn (or repositioned) such that it overlaps a stationary body, it will “stick” to the
stationary body until another body collides with it. If two or more free bodies overlap, the simulator will
attempt to separate them, before starting animation, within the constraints of the environment.

See also:

Drawing Ellipses

Drawing Polygons

Editing Bodies

Material Properties

Material Properties
Bodies are endowed with the following material properties in Physics Illustrator for Tablet PC:

l Density - The ratio of the mass of a body to its volume.

l Elasticity - A quality that tends to return objects to their original size and shape after being
stretched, compressed, etc.

l Friction - The resistance to motion when moving surfaces make contact.

To edit a material's properties:

1. Tap the body to select it.

2. Tap the Edit icon.

3. On the menu, tap Properties.

l Move the sliders to change a material's density, elasticity, or friction properties,

- OR -

l Tap one of the entries under Predefined materials to accept a set of predefined properties

4. Tap the Color box to select a default color or create a custom color.

5. Tap OK.

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Note:

1. The default settings for new bodies is:

l Density = 1

l Elasticity = .75

l Friction = 1

2. Each predefined material has a different default color.

See also:

Drawing Ellipses

Drawing Polygons

Body States

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