Shirzad Bahrami, a Technical Artist at EA, recently shared an animation that quickly caught attention, with some assuming it was AI-generated or vibe-coded. But as Bahrami clarified, it’s neither: “It’s built using simple physics and math calculations to simulate undulation, with applications in both real-time and offline animation.”
Physics-based animation is basically about simulating real-world physical laws and applying them to animated objects, with the computer calculating how they should move. If you want to see how the fish animation above was made, check out the tutorial, it also includes a 3ds Max script that helps break down the process. This setup uses undulation: the wave-like movement you see in fish tails, ropes, and hair. Instead of animating every bone by hand, you can animate just the root and let the rest of the chain follow along naturally.
