GroBoto 3 gets real-time Boolean editing features
Braid Art Labs has released a new version of GroBoto, its organic art software, positioning the package more as a general-purpose modelling tool.
In addition to new modelling and transform options, real-time Boolean editing and mesh-density controls, GroBoto 3.0 also features the option to combine all the geometry created into a single, unified mesh ‘shell’, and improved OBJ export, facilitating the texturing or reworking of GroBoto content in other 3D apps.
According to the idiosyncratically capitalised news release (below), the software’s capability of creating a high-quality mesh through real-time Boolean editing is nothing short of ‘Transcendent’.
Previous versions of GroBoto were also capable of some pretty cool results. Regular Siggraph attendees will probably be most familiar with the software from Meats Meier’s artwork for the Computer Animation Festival in 2008 and 2009, which was created in Maya and GroBoto.
So far, the release is for OS X only. More details of the Windows version when we get them.
PRESS RELEASE (Excerpts)
Braid Art Labs LLP released GroBoto 3.0.0 for OS X. This version is a Major expansion of GroBoto into the areas of Modeling and Mesh Creation. Braid Art Labs continues with its focus on truly original Methods, Tools and Technologies.
“GroBoto’s new Tools and Technologies are Transcendent,” said Braid Co-Founder Darrel Anderson. “They elevate the Creative Process, freeing the artist to Design and Explore with simple, intuitive geometric primitives and Booleans — while dramatically increasing productivity by automatically generating sophisticated meshes from arbitrarily complex forms.”
For decades 3D Artists have been attracted to intuitive modeling with Simple Primitives, as well as the uniquely robust and powerful characteristics of Geometric Booleans. Unfortunately barriers remained between those systems and the ultimate goal, a High-Quality Mesh.
The results were unreliable, inelegant systems, limited in scope.
GroBoto has succeeded in building systems that combine Real-Time, True Geometry Boolean Editing with the capability of generating High Fidelity, Beautifully Structured Meshes — Automatically. These systems are both Robust and Sophisticated — Able to Automatically Mesh any Arbitrary, Complex arrangement of Primitives and Booleans and further, to Smooth and Stylize those Meshes creating sublime forms.
GroBoto 3.0 Key Features (there are many more):
- Real-Time Boolean Modeling and Editing in a Clean, Fully Rendered Workspace. True Primitives are used (not meshes), resulting in unparalleled complexity and subtlety of form.
- Flex Tools that allow broad ‘range-of-influence’ editing of complex arrangements of Primitives and Booleans.
- Intelligent, Snap, Align, Duplicate and Transform options that allow one to work naturally with the primitive forms keying on their innate properties and interrelationship.
- Fully Automatic Mesh Generation. All (or any subset) of GroBoto’s Geometry is combined into a single, unified mesh ‘shell’ . All Boolean trims and intersections are tracked with ultimate precision and converted into our ‘SeamNet’ mesh.
- Mesh Density Control – locally and globally. True, procedural geometry means that meshes can be easily and automatically regenerated at different densities.
- OBJ Mesh Export includes all the precision Seams (multi-row edge loops) as well as special UVs for selecting/masking/manipulating the elegantly structured elements of the model in other 3D apps.
All of GroBoto v2’s algorithmic creation tools are still present… transformed into much more pragmatic tools by the ability to better manipulate, and ultimately mesh and export for any 3D CG application.
Output to OBJ, TIFF, JPEG, BMP (PC), AVI (PC) and QuickTime (Mac).
Pricing and Availability
GroBoto is available now from www.groboto.com as a Universal binary for Mac OS X (10.4 or later), with a price of $100.00 (USD). A fully functional 30-day trial version is available.