Volker's next Groboto-Model

[Volker Harun]

I have been exploring the newest Beta-Releases of Groboto the last days and started to model again.

This is a work in progress. Modeling some armatures for another project, I went for an adapted workflow - Groboto and TG2 do not really work hand in hand. Most times I am able to import the meshes into blender, adding the materials. Sometimes this did not work. More information on Groboto's forums.

Thanx for viewing and critiques ,-)

Volker

[cyphyr]

Looks very, err "armature-ish"
Seriously though an interesting start and a good model, I'll be watching where this one goes. The armatures do look very convincing in a scifi sort of way. I've tried Groboto models before my self with very limited success due to a combination of wont load/desperately long renders/screwed up textures/massive file sizes. I'll check out some time if I can replicate your workflow and success.

Richard

[airflamesred]

What no landscape! I really like this

[pfrancke]

Volker,   excellent and really cool.  Wish we could raytrace and bump...  I know TG2 is not a general purpose rendering tool (but it damn well should be).

How big is the object???  Your answer will determine if I buy the program (for about what it takes to fill up a tank of gas).   It looks like it could be a very handy tool -- looks like you are have great fun with it. 

[Volker Harun]

Thanks for the comments

In fact you really need the time to watch the few tutorials to get a hang to Groboto. But now it is fun ... my imagination is faster than my drawing, modelling capabilities, though ,-)

I do not recall oversized files. The attached image shows the raw-model which is 75K on the hard-drive. The exported mesh was approx. 20K Polygons.
Well, I tuned it in my 30day trial of Mudbox which sized the mesh of the above rendered model to 750k Polys - triangulated it in Blender and gave it some materials. Size of the detailed model is 95 MB. Mudbox is responsible for the ridges along the edges of the armatures.

@Piet: The tiny bumps on the mesh are displacements of a Powerfractal inside TG2.

P.S.: The general idea of this armature is inspired by the works of Philip Drawbridge from 2004. Yet this model is just to get myself inspired how to join parts together in a useful way ...

[inkydigit]

I like the surfacing, was this procedural?

[Volker Harun]

I like the surfacing, was this procedural?

Yes, I used the same set of my standard PFs for the colour function, the reflectivity function and displacement function. Reflectivity was set to 1, Refraction index is 3. Displacement was set to 0.03.

The model has 5 different materials, but for laziness I used the same default shader for all of them ,-)

[inkydigit]

thanks Volker...I am even more impressed!!#

[Volker Harun]

Thanks Inky ,-)

@Richard + Piet:
Right now I come to a point where posing the model is a hazard ... the Botty is breaking up.
Well Groboto is a Beta ... still it is a bit disappointing.

I will continue building up the model - unposed - and hope for a bugfix from Braidart.

Have fun, Volker

[Volker Harun]

Well, for the above posted bug, there is a workaround ... and Braidart is going to release a fix within the next days

For this render ... just another concept ... only shoulders, arms and neck ... no head, torso no hands, legs ...

I have the final scene in mind and I am going for it ... the lighting in the render comes very close to my imagination

Thanks for viewing and critiques,
salam Volker Harun

[pfrancke]

Volker,  your work with this is inspirational!! 

I've had really bad luck.  I bought the thing yesterday.  I bought the Apple version by mistake but it only cost 40.  Then I had to pay 70 to get the Window version.  I left one post, but the admins have not approved it.  The post was me whining that I didn't have the privilege to see the jpg attachments on the site (which also hadn't been fixed).  I'm hoping this is all an indication that they are busy working hard on the next release! 

I did play with the primitives and tried to make an arm similar to what you've got.  Using it for that by itself is pretty cool, but I wish it had tighter controls - I guess I haven't learned how to keep them centered as I add the next piece (I try to move them into place manually).  I'm assuming I have to learn to "grow" the next piece on centered and then slide it up or whatever.  Anyway, strangely, I am now better at blender than what I was before because I tried to do the same stuff using that software.

Anyway, did not mean to steal your thread here, these mechanical arms of yours in the mist look really, really cool!!!

[pfrancke]

with Inky's brass!  I added pieces one at a time and then right clicked and made them "go home", and then I moved them up and down the Y axis to maintain symmetry.  Volker, How do keep pieces so tightly centered in relation to each other (since you can't specify coordinates and must move them around by hand)?  I figured out how to use blender to make mtl and different shading groups (but did not do it this time).  Am very curious how you control where you put the pieces so well.

I'm ready to shelf the software in frustration, but I know that you know something that I don't know (well, about 42 millions things actually).  Sorry to thread bust, Groboto is frustrating because of some of the easy modeling potential that it has.  It's potentially like putting together FischerTechnik pieces.   Have to figure out how to make own primitives too, that could be useful.

[Volker Harun]

Hi Piet,

do not worry about worry about posting your experiences with Groboto ... on TV, the 'next Top Model' shows have more than one model, too, don't they ,-)

What you described is just like the frustration I had half a year ago ... as I came to a point where neither inspiriation nor playing with the software gave satisfying results. But I am glad that I might be able to help you and others. In fact, I restarted GroBoto one week ago to build up nice shapes. Shapes to be modeled within sculptris. But now I am going for direct building up in Groboto ,-)

Try to build up your model as much lined up as possible. The Y-axis is the models length, the Z-axis is its depth. Anything like arms, legs tentacles should be placed along the X-axis, as you can mirror these easily. Your approach with 'Send Object Home' is most times sufficient, but I follow another way:
1. In the Object list, right click the Prim and choose from 'Place at world center' or 'Place at selection center'
2. I prefer the second one, as the new object jumps right into place where I want it.

For example, I have two parallel Cylinders ... quite long (like tubes), next to each other. And I want them to be somehow connected:
1. Drop one Cylinder at world center and scale it to your needs.
2. Shift it along the X-axis, right click it and do a 'Duplicate and mirror object'
3. Select both cylinders and place a Box-Prim into this selections center.

At this point the selections' center will be world center, but think of any situation where the pair of cylinders is way off the center ,-) Look at my model's shoulder area, how I connected the tubes in the center portion. I modeled it separately, and saved it as a Prim (Folder Primitives). Later I sent it into the scene using the 'Selection Center' thingy ,-)

What I like about Groboto to let loose from coordinates, just building up in a fluent progress. Sometimes, when building my own primes I would like to have coordinates, but. There are other ways to get perfect symmetry - but I am sometimes too lazy ,-).

By the way, I bought accidentally the windows version, while using a Mac ,-) The people at Braidart have some happy days ,-)
The admins normally react quite fast (weekdays) ... so keep on hoping! Bad thing is that you got the Mac-serial already ... you might be able to sell it on the free market, I guess.

Have fun and keep on posting ... I do not mind.
Volker

P.S.: I am going to post a small workflow later this day.

[FrankB]

Great lighting, Volker! Really well done!

And your procedural textures are outstanding!

Cheers,
Frank

[Redwolf]

gonna look at this groboto thingy now