UHF-Head WIP

[groBoto]

Hi Everyone…

Long time, no see.

I’ve been absurdly busy… thought I’d check in – especially since I know many of you have been patiently (or impatiently – good motivator for me), for the Windows Beta of GroBoto to arrive.

Well, it’s here (4th build just posted), and of course the Mac Beta has been progressing too.
GroBoto Site

Little or no time for ZBrushing – largely because I’ve been working on improvements to GroBoto’s tools, and pursuing some more serious modeling there.

But here, at least, are a couple of starts/experiments. There is a Turntable of the GroBoto model of the PyroBot (and other recent models) here:
Pyrobot (and other) Turntables.

Some really cool things are in the queue where I’m taking advantage in ZBrush of GroBoto’s true boolean modeling and new mesh export features… more to show soon.

Thanks and Best Wishes,
Darrel

GroBoto-Zbrush Synergy Thread
My CGSociety Folio
GroBoto Site

[attach=211628&thumb=1]pyroMiniZBC.jpg[/attach]

[attach=211622]PyroBot-Character-Sheet.jpg[/attach]

[attach=211623]pyroViews.jpg[/attach]

[attach=211624]pyroClose.jpg[/attach]

Attachments

[AgentSmith]

Looking awesome and yup, can’t wait!

[lucaswschmidt]

It’s great to see you back on here and to hear that things are progressing well. I might actually have some time now to jump onto this, I love the possibilities your program presents.

[groBoto]

Looking awesome and yup, can’t wait!

Hey Agent Smith – good to hear from you again.
Absolutely, give the beta a try.

It’s great to see you back on here and to hear that things are progressing well. I might actually have some time now to jump onto this, I love the possibilities your program presents.

Hi Lucas,
Thanks. Good to be back, but yes… really hoping to get some ZBrushers involved. Just no way, with my schedule, that I can give my models the attention they deserve in ZB.

Very soon, we will have some advanced masking options, along with continued mesh generation refinements… but there is great fun to be had right now.

Here is a very simple GroBoto model (just a radial spread of cones) – all of the detail comes from playing off of our SeamNet (edge loop) structure & associated masks.

Best Wishes,
Darrel
Concepts on 3DOcean
My CGSociety Folio
GroBoto Site

[attach=211713&thumb=1]spineStar2db-mini.jpg[/attach]

[attach=211714]spineStar2db.jpg[/attach]

Attachments

[Sigmund_Hentze]

Great work… maybe try it soon…

Ziggy

[kevphil]

Just saw your turntable of the PyroBot at:

http://www.groboto.com/ttable_pyrobot.html

Excellent! I love the self-cast shadows, and the DOF you managed on even this “small” character. Extremely impressive! And the link to your portfolio is definitely inspiring. It’s great that such a skilled programmer is also a talented, working artist.

Thanks for posting!

[yvan_c]

Welcome back Groboto! Will definitely try out the beta. Looking forward to the new version
Terrific models/images Darell.

[groBoto]

Hi Guys,

Thanks… and Sorry for the non-response.

Well, you can see how busy (distracted, overwhelmed, submerged) I am with GroBoto Development… many weeks have passed.

In any case, great things are happening with the Mesh Generation & Boolean Modeling Tools – a great fit with ZBrush (and I hope to show just how that all works with some quick videos soon).

…grabbed a few minutes to snap these bits, just to (once again try to) get the ball rolling. With any luck, I’ll be able to follow-up sooner. We have built-in mesh smoothing – subtle here, but a big help when working in ZB – more obvious examples to come. The general mesh improvements have also brought the variety & quality of various seam (edge loop) treatments up a notch.

Still a few awkward bits in the mesh, but we have been focused on the core components (especially seam structure)… it will continue to refine.

We would love to see what you do & get your feedback. GroBoto Betas are available on our site (and the OS X v3 release just around the corner)

BTW – There is a Turntable of this Model & Mesh here.http://www.groboto.com/v3Beta/Folios/v3turntable

Best Wishes,
Darrel
Kione 3D Jam 4
My CGSociety Folio
GroBoto Site

Attachments

[jaystein777]

Thanks Guys! This is a feature I was hoping for! Happy Holidays!

[konjo_kothar_vignar]

i just bought groboto for my mac mini- I hope it gets along with my macs lightwave… My PC’s zbrush gets along with its maya partner very well. I bet my pc will also be excited to see groboto join the partay.

[groBoto]

Thanks Guys! This is a feature I was hoping for! Happy Holidays!

Hey Jay, Thanks… Happy New Year to you – should be a creative one.

i just bought groboto for my mac mini- I hope it gets along with my macs lightwave… My PC’s zbrush gets along with its maya partner very well. I bet my pc will also be excited to see groboto join the partay.

Hi Konjo,
I’m sure there will be lots of great synergy between those apps.
BTW, Be sure to snag the latest Mac Beta (New build will be uploaded no later than tomorrow, 28 December… many important bug fixes).

Best Wishes,
Darrel

[konjo_kothar_vignar]

I started messing around with version 2, then i saw how the character rigs are made in version 3 so now i am downloading the mac beta 3.0. the first quarter in class is going to be all hard surface modeling in lightwave… I think this program is seriously going to save my butt. I have spent the last month making robots and spaceships in maya… this seems to be a major solution, and seems to be almost no learning curve. considering i know rigging / grouping in maya… this seems really easy. I can only think of it as ‘super nurbs’ lol i also used to model with nurbs a long time ago, but this is really like a whole program that focus’s on exactly what zsphere 2 strives for. anyway, thanks for turning me onto this genius tool.

ivan
http://konjosworld.wordpress.com/buildings/

[groBoto]

Hey ivan,

Thanks – yes, it’s getting close to the toolset we want it to be… years in the making at this point.

As I mentioned, some refinement and expansion of scope are needed (and in the works). Don’t hesitate to contact me (PM or through the standard GroBoto address [email protected]) with any questions or problems. Still beta, but if you know a just a few things to avoid, it should work well for you.

I’ll probably be posting some more hard surface tests & roughs here over the next few days.

Also, there are some (possibly useful) breakdowns regarding our exported masking UVs in post #187 of this thread. (around page 13 if your posts-per page are set to the defaults).

Best Wishes,
Darrel

[groBoto]

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick note/progress update. As Mentioned before, some refinements are in the development pipeline, but we are seeing great interaction between GroBoto’s latest Boolean Based Meshes.

…lots more I’d like to say & explain, but got to get back to the code. More soon, including some how-to-videos. Be sure to stop by our site (link below).

GroBoto Setup
A few simple primitives define the form.
Trimming Boolean surfaces may be used to carve out the form or embed patches & create surface edge loops.
All fully editable & mutable • changes in basic topology are easily handled by the auto generated mesh (matter of seconds for a simple model like this).
Mesh can be smoothed to desired degree at time of generation.

Best Wishes,
Darrel
Kione 3D Jam 4
My CGSociety Folio
GroBoto Site

Attachments

[kevphil]

Recently purchased v2; embarrassed to say I haven’t worked with it very much, however.

The work you’ve posted looks really great; the Booleans are pretty amazing, the best auto-generated I’ve seen. Please DO post videos! I would hope you could include a workflow “from scratch” that includes the entire process indicated with the last example.

Best of Luck!

[moonlitmaverick]

Looks Impressive. But do post a short video to demo what you have posted here. This shows a lot of promise specially for hard surface modeling. I visited the site a while back but couldn’t ,in the short time i had, grasp how stuff there was really made from scratch.

[kevphil]

Just to add something:

When v3 is fully ready, I wish that you might also include the new features in the PDF documentation.

Thanks!

[Clintus_Maximus]

Interesting… i’ll keep watching to see a video on exactly how this process happens.

[michalis]

And this was my present for the new year.
Are you santa groboto? :lol:
Some great sculpture in your thread also. Talented artist builds great app.

[groBoto]

And this was my present for the new year.
Are you santa groboto? :lol:
Some great sculpture in your thread also. Talented artist builds great app.

Hello michalis,

Thanks. We are chasing some pretty big ideas, and they appear to be coalescing.

I love the work you have posted here – beyond the technical execution (which is superb), you bring real substance and depth to your characters – whether they are serious or whimsical.

I hope you get a chance to work with GroBoto. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Best Wishes,
Darrel