Sansation

Several years ago I stumbled across Rick Berry and Darrel Anderson’s website Braid Media Arts where I also saw this amazing 3D program called GroBoto™.  
At the time I came across GroBoto it was only developed for the Mac and only under OS 9 which I never really cared much for and I did not have a Mac so all I could do was just dream of trying this program. I did eventually get more familiar with the Mac on the job as a graphic designer but not until OS X was developed which I am much happier with so I have become a convert but GroBoto still only ran under OS 9.
All that changed last November when after a lot of anticipation GroBoto 2 was finished for both Mac OS X and Windows and I think I was probably one of the first people in line to buy the latest version.

Anyone who enjoys fast, fluid 3D imaging and animation will love GroBoto.  I find it to be ideal for 3D abstract imagery and it is an easy to use program that even a 10 year old could master.
I have seen some beautiful animations created with Groboto but I personally am much more interested in in static abstract and organic artwork which this program excels at and is a great tool for my toolbox.
Here is a list of GroBoto’s features.

• Intelligent, algorithmic drawing tools called ‘Bots’ that create unique geometric forms ranging from organic, to abstract, to architectural. Bot behaviors, drawing shapes, and textures are adjustable in real-time. The user can create and save unlimited Bot variations.
• Kinetic Morphing animation system that produces sophisticated, complex, fluid motion automatically (in record time), based on just a few Bot keyframes.
• Real time, intuitive, relational editing of objects with perfect antialiasing, textures, fog, and cast shadows from multiple light sources. Objects can be grouped, reshaped, aligned to the surfaces of other objects – all in real time at full render quality with cast shadows.
• Perfectly rendered smooth shapes and surfaces at any scale. Except for export, there are no polygons in GroBoto, freeing the user from the demands of polygonal systems.
• Proprietary conformal texture mapping technology creating stunning, artifact free textures with no distortion. Seamless, pattern-less, tiled textures are built from any TIFF file with no need to define UV mapping or projection schemes.
• OBJ export with options for grouping and tessellation. GroBoto’s geometry is procedural, so it can be exported with any desired polygon resolution.
• Optional rendering modes including alpha (RGB + alpha), depth (Z) alpha (unmultiplied RGB + Z) and depth composite alpha (multiplied RGB + Z) to TIFF for both still and sequential image output. Output to TIFF, JPEG, BMP (PC), AVI (PC) and QuickTime (Mac).

You can find more about the program at Groboto.com and check out the gallery to see what you can do with this amazing  program.

But wait there’s more! Since the the release of GroBoto last November the users of this program have been providing feedback to the developers who have been very receptive to their customers and there are some very exciting developments coming up for the next release in version 2.1 that I can share with you. One of the new features in particular I think will be of interest for many widget fans. Here is what I am told is coming.

• Background options (Simple gradients, Stars)
• ‘Natural’ density & height based Fog
  
• Two Glowing Object Options… Self-Illumination & ‘Heat’
• New Texture alignment controls.
• Object Sequences for Auto & Draw Bots (allowing a single Bot to use many different primitive shapes as it ‘grows’ — see attached image)

And one of the most exciting new feature I see is a desktop API to bring GroBoto geometry to life on your desktop – 3D widgets if you like but *real* 3D like you’ve never seen. They could be made to be simple utilities, gadgets, or games.
Here is a link to an example video of a clock desktop widget.

Rick and Darrel have been creating great artwork for quite some time and I have seen their work in movies such as Johnny Mnemonic and at Siggraph as well as books such as “Spectrum The best in contemporary fantastic art”  www.underwoodbooks.com/index.html which I have collected for the past 13 years.
Their work has been an inspiration to me for a long time now and I hope you enjoy their latest development as much as I do.

Here are a couple images I have created with GroBoto 2 and Photoshop.

If your a fan of Corel® Painter then you probably have seen the latest version released this month and for those who have not heard of Painter X this is for you.
Painter X is the latest version Corel has released since acquiring the program from the purchase of MetaCreations a few years ago.
After taking the reigns of the program I was afraid as I’m sure others were also that the development might die much as Bryce did for awhile but to my surprise Corel did continue to develop a program that is still considered by professionals as the number one natural painting program on the market.

I have been a fan Painter since John Derry released version 1.2 which I found a demo of out in the wild wild web back in its early days.
The first version I purchased for the PC and fondly remember was version 2.0 in the famous paint can which I still have with the original posters and stickers as you can see. I would love to have the latest can that you get when you buy the full version ten.
They had a great catch phrase for version two which was “So Hot So Cool” which at the time really summed up what painter was all about. I thought it was one of the coolest paint programs available and it still is today.

I have personally beta tested a couple versions in the past but I have not been a part of the beta test team for this latest version so I have only recently and briefly tried this latest update so here is what’s being touted in version 10.

Painter X has added some nice new features, tools and a RealBristleâ„¢ painting system that models traditional brushes right down to the individual bristles on the brush! The new RealBristle brushes take Painter to a new level, delivering an experience that is even more natural looking than before.

I like the addition of the new composition tools using the Divine Proportion tool and the Rule of Thirds which will be a help for many artists in creating better compositions.

There is a new Workspace Manager that allows you to customize and back up your workspaces as well as export and share them with your friends. I believe quite a few artists that use Painter regularly have been wishing for this feature which will streamline your workflow.

They have updated the Auto-Painting Palette which transforms a photograph into a painting by applying brushstrokes while intelligently changing stroke size and direction using new Smart Strokeâ„¢ technology.
I think this has been a great addition especially for photographers who would like to offer portraits with a painted look which in the past took quite a bit of time to accomplish by hand and now you can utilize this tool and just tweak the final painting to your liking saving time to get the results you want. Check out the video in Painter’s new feature section to see this in action. Painter X features

I have created this piece from a photo of a brown bear I took at the Chicago zoo many years ago to give you an idea of the results from the Auto-Painting feature. I did tweak the results in Painter and made some adjustments in Photoshop to the color as well as created an edge effect which was not necessary but I did anyway.

Full sized

You may want to check out Fay Sirkis Fay’s Art Studio and Bruce Dorn iDC Photography for anyone who wants to take their photographs to the next level. Fay uses Painter to create very nice traditional painted portraits and Bruce Dorn is a Painter Master who creates some stunning portraits with Painter. Check out Bruce’s Photo Impressionism® gallery.

There are a few more features and tools added which enhance the already feature rich program. You can find more about at the Corel Painter website and also check out the Painter X Studio site where you can find what the pros are doing with Painter.

I use Nikon camera equipment, which works for me the best. I’ve used Canon a couple of years ago and it just doesn’t fit me. Back in the days of film I shot with a Pentax LX. It was the top line 35mm Pentax camera back then.

Very soon, I will be purchasing a set of three Nikon SpeedLights to use with my D80. The SpeedLights have wireless iTTL metering and will make ‘intelligent’ lights for a portable studio setup. Throughout the next couple of weeks/months, I will be posting pictures that I take as I learn the Nikon Creative Lighting System.

I bought the DVD “The Speed of Light” to tell me more about the CLS. The DVD takes you through several real-life scenarios using the CLS to light the scenes. The photographer also explains what he is doing and why. Photo diagrams are shown to show basic lighting setup for each shot. For a photographer, its great inspiration and education.