SCI-Arc XLAB FINALE

This is an updated version of my Xlab final at SCI-Arc in the fall of 2007.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• XLAB
• SCI-Arc
• Animation

[AlberaParsons]

i see you are using maya but how do you manipulate the morphology so fluidly?

ik chains, particle system, modifiers?

[TheKahmrahEye]

@AlberaParsons: The process is a bit confusing but not difficult. Essentially, all geometry "cells" are converted to soft bodies and then bound within a lattice. Once the lattice is applied, springs are attached (manipulating the spring parameters will give you that difference in viscosity you see in the cells animation). Then, both geometry and lattice are attached within a dynamic field (air, turbulence, gravity).

[TheKahmrahEye]

@AlberaParsons: The overall idea/effect is that the dynamic fields manipulate the lattice, which manipulates the soft bodied cell geometry. Thanks for your interest!

[TheKahmrahEye]

@oscardequiros

Not sure if I answered your question entirely, but between the courses, programs and scripts out there, you can definitely start to transform your project from a free-floating form into something constructible, but it really is up to you to seek out these methods and decide how it will get constructed; that is part of the excitement! Thank you for your comments and interest, good luck on what you decide!

[TheKahmrahEye]

@oscardequiros

Our hardtech course also focused on taking a form whether scripted or manually generated and breaking it down into something constructible.

Other venues of form construction were used through scripts. These scripts could then be run on complicated geometric mass shapes, which then break down the surface into panels and calculated surface area. There are programs out there can do the same, the more popular one being pepakura.

[TheKahmrahEye]

@oscardequiros

All of these forms can get built, but like anything else, it really is the designer’s initiative that drives the project from point A to B.

There were a few courses during my time that did focus on construction feasibility. One example was a design development course I took second semester which had us take our final first semester studio project and make it ‘buildable’ through 2D construction documents.

[AlberaParsons]

@TheKahmrahEye Very interesting process, thank you for clarifying!

[TheKahmrahEye]

@Archieboytom:

Anyways, to answer your question: On a macro level, there was logic used in the placement of cells on the site, which means manual deployment. Every other

piece of geometry made was ran through a dynamic and field generator I created which yielded random but interesting results. One could argue that this is scripting because this what scripting essentially does, but that's for another discussion. Thanks for your interest!

[TheKahmrahEye]

@Archieboytom: The studio was heavily focused on particles and dynamics. Scripts were not the focal point of this studio; however, several of my studio mates had very successful projects utilizing scripts.

[Archieboytom]

I am doing similar stuff but using aggregation in rhinoscript. You just grow this thing manually or use any type of logic?