groBoto...a unique 3D model/rendering program

[Welles]

I just 'discovered' this 3D rendering and modeling app. It has discreet limited capacities but within those it is great fun. Free trial is available.

http://www.groboto.com/About.html

You can export OBJ files. Here's a quick image with one of the sample OBJs called "Sculpture" which is included in the extra files with the Free Trial. So 'sculpture' was exported from groBoto as an OBJ, rendered in Vue5 Infinite and then I changed the sky in Photoshop.

[img width=675 height=507]http://homepage.mac.com/wellesgoodrich/groBoto.jpg[/img]

[Gare]

I think Groboto is an absolute, hoot, Welles! Thank you for sharing the link!

Groboto is a little pricey for what it does ($80), but increasingly I’m getting into abstract digital art as therapy  .

I use KnotPlot

for the Macintosh
for Windows & flavors of Unix 

occasionally to generate “sculptures”, and QuaSL. QuaSL is good therapy, too; it’s only $35 and can export to OBJ file format. The only drawback is that it’s almost entirely closed to interactive experimenting—you have to sit there and click until you generate something interesting (or learn fractal math to type some code in).

All of these guys that do the organic modeling and rendering are using fractal math, which I’m baffled by, as I am with metaphysics. But I did a little reading, and here’s the non-definitive scoop on fractal math:

Ed Musgrave, who was big early on in fractals to generate pseudo terrains made this analogy: if a plane can be described as 2-space and a cube exists in 3-space, geometry generated by fractal math exist between the integers 2 and 3. One of the more noticeable properties of fractal designs is self-similarity as you divide the geometry; it branches down almost infinitely, replicating the original pattern with minor variations. Fractal was coined by Mandelbrot, a derivation from the Latin “fractured”. So when we’re creating this stuff for modeling, in a way we’re creating 4 dimensional geometry, the added dimension of depth tipped in. Mind-blowing stuff worth exploring, I think. One of the earliest “explorers” for the “4D fractals” was (and is) 4D Frax, one of the KPT modules in version 5; and early KPT plug-ins had Mandelbrot and Julia 2D fractal explorers.

But fractals are not unnatural, although they look abstract. Broccoli and nautilus shells exhibit fractal repitition, subdivision and repeats.

It’s all just math. Have fun exploring, Welles! Your image looks moody, a little unsetting, and terrific!

My Best,

Gare

[Rick]

I tried one, this is and object file from Groboto, imported into Bryce 5 and retuched in Photoshop

Kind of a space scene the Starship is a 3d Max file imported into Bryce as well.

[Gare]

Nice one, Rick!

Do you use 3DS a lot, or is that a 3DS model you imported that someone else built?

Groboto has fair trial version, but not an excellent one. I would have had it fully functional, capable of exports, with a 14 day timeout.

I was, however, successful in getting rid of those hexagonal bases that came fused to the sample OBJ files; trueSpace, my former love, is really good at decompositing aggregate scenes

But aside from wasting my time, I'm probably going to buy the program, and I thank Welles again for listing the link. Groboto does stuff way more advanced than the two apps I mentioned (but KnotPlot and QuaSL are still fun).

My Best,

Gare

[Welles]

Spaced Out, Rick!

I received an email alert from GroBoto about a maintenance update (good show, I like bug fixes even if I haven't run into them). In the email was a bit of a tease about development of greater export options and a couple of tips. I quote...

"OBJ Export Notes
We are working to refine our OBJ output. We have added one option to this version -- more to come. Although our current OBJ is to Wavefronts specifications, there are features and options we are adding that will provide greater cooperation when importing into various applications. For now, here are some tips:

1. If you plan to subdivide the meshes in Cinema 4D, uncheck the "Include Normals" box in the Output Panel.

2. Before subdividing in any application, use that applications "weld" function. This is usually available at the time you import and/or as an option after importing."

Those tips are probably coals to Newcastle for you, Gare, but I thought I'd add them anyway. One that I've run into is the need to specify the polygon subdivisions for particular elements in the export dialog. The defaults are uniformly too low for any curved elements of the resulting OBJ file.

[Gare]

Hi, Welles--

Back in high school, my chemistry teacher used to call wild approximations "Bucket Chemistry". I think that applies to rendering, as well. Depending on the lighting, the camera angle and the materials you apply to one of Groboto's sample obj files, you might not need adaptive subdivision. Some modelers offer crease angles before importing, others offer triangulation and smooth quad subdivision, and can employ a NURBs subdivision scheme that sometimes smooths the polygons and other times ruins the model (cmd+Z!).

I took the "sculpture model completely apart and there were over 1,000 discrete objects, a tad too much to play with, but a straight import in C4D yielded 109 objects, and to Grobot's credit, they were all neatly tagged so attributing different materials was a no-brainer (something I'm qualified to refer to).

I gotta buy it; playing with other people's models is like acting instead of directing.

My Best,

Gare

[Gare]

Very gracious and spirited on you, Welles!



Folks, at the list price of $80, Groboto might be a tad rich for your tastes, but at half-price, it's a steal. I paid list because I'm a modeling weenie, but i know a little more about the program now and here's some of the features beyond the obvious ones (it makes alien and sea creature sculptures with only a few drag and drops):

•You have two modes in which to work, Auto and Draw. Draw mode is the most fun, because you can pepper a 3D scene with objects just like you do in Painter with the Image Hose.

•I don't see a way to import objects from other modeling programs (but why would you want to), but the exports to Maya OBJ format import to other 3D apps very nicely and subobjects are all clearly labeled in your 3D app after import.

•The rendering engine is just fine for a program of its price and the texture collection is good, too. But you'll certainly get better renders out of your favorite modeling program such as Poser of Vue D'Esprit, and in these programs, you have access to more exotic textures.

•I'm not sure, but i think you can define any primitive in the the default collection as a "bot". Here's the paradigm: "bots" are geometric primitives such as spheres and cubes to which you apply "patterns" (they don't call them patterns, but bear with me here). So you start with a seed shape and then grow a latticework from the seed "bot"..."Grow-bot", get it?

•On a slower machine, you might want to watch the object count in your scene. Although the "bots" are relatively small primitive shapes with few polygons, they can quickly add up. I did a scene and was really getting into it until I realized I had 40 billion objects or some such in the scene. so look at the right panel for the object count if you experience a creativity slowdown.

•In addition to full-quality renders, you can also use other display modes, some of which look very pleasant and artisitc, such as outline with flat color.

If it were a content for my disposable income this Holiday Season and wanted to gift myself, I'd choose Groboto over PlayStation 3 or Microsoft's Zune player! Groboto is a lot of fun, and good therapy! Go frow some bots!

-g-