In this tutorial we will animate country flag.
1. Delete the default cube.
2. <SPACE> > "Add" > "Mesh" > "Cylinder". Set "Vertices" to 8 and "Radius" to .03 in pop-up menu and click "OK". Press <1> for front view and <TAB> to exit edit mode.
3. <SPACE> > "Add" > "Mesh" > "Plane". Select vertices of new plane with <LMB> (hold down <SHIFT> to select more vertices) or use box selection with <B>. Grab selected vertices with <G> and move your mouse while holding down <CTRL> to move them by quantized grid distances. Position vertices as in image below. With is 1.3 blender units (the size of default cube was 2 bu) and height is .7 blender units.
4. Press <7> for top view. Zoom in with mouse wheel. Select vertices on the left side of a flag with box selection and move them to the right. Press <E> to extrude and move new vertices up and left as if going around the stick.
5. Repeat the extrusion to create a circle around the stick as in image below, and press <W> > <6> to remove doubles.
6. Press <1> and select all vertices with <A> (perhaps you may need to press <A> twice). Move the flag a bit lower so the stick points out a little bit.
7. Select vertices as in image below and press <W> > <2> and input 40 for "Number of cuts" to subdivide the surface. Select all vertices with <A> and click "Set Smooth" under "Link and Materials" tab.
8.Select vertices as in image below. Press "New" button under "Link and Materials" tab, just below "Vertex Groups" label. Enter the name "fixed" where it said "Group", and click "Assign". Press <TAB> to exit edit mode.
9. Press <F7> twice to enter physics menu. Click "Soft Body" button under the tab with same name, new options will appear. Input values as in image below.
10. Click "Self Collision" under "Soft Body Collision" tab.
11. Select the flag then select the stick and press <CTRL> + <P> to parent it to the stick. Select the camera and the stick and repeat the previous step to parent the camera to the stick. Repeat the process to parent the light to the stick.
13. Select the stick and press <I> > <1> to add its current location key. Set animation frame to 300 (see the image below) and press <G> to grab the stick and move it about 15 blender units to the left. Press <I> > <1> again.
14. You may add some material to the flag and stick. My choice was to use image of South Africa flag texture on the flag. (Image texturing can be found in Plastic Juice Bottle - Blender tutorial).
15. Select the flag and Click "Bake Settings" under "Soft Body" tab and input 1 instead of 10 for "Interval". Click "BAKE" and wait for bake to complete. Press <CTRL> + <F12> to render your animation!
