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.