Hi All,

Just putting it out there I use MOI as a ZBRUSH companion creating base shapes fast - fantastic workflow. One of the new features in ZbrushR7 is the array mesh where any mesh or group of meshes can be arrayed over QUANTITY - POSITION - SCALE - ROTATION and PIVOT. With this pretty easy to create amazing shapes. Such a command in MOI at a nurbs level would open MOI to further shape experimentation.

Google Images / zbrush array mesh

Here is toolset from Zbrush a simplified COMMAND SET just based on QUANTITY - POSITION - SCALE - ROTATION and PIVOT could achieve amazing results.

Hi Alex,

can you show how it works? Maybe tutorial videos..

I have put together a short video showing Zbrush Tool. In the video most of the usage is via the sliders you can also change the quantity. Once you are happy with the shape created you bake it or extract the complete arrayed shape.

I have also shown the the bell curve adjusters even though they are good 90% of the shape creation is usually completed with main sliders.

To have something like this in MOI would take it into the GROBOTO style work flow and perhaps even Boolean Operations between Array Nurb Shapes.

Google Images / Groboto

Please find Zbrush Video under list location.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BwzK5muLiElSTnVNU21KdmlsQWc&usp=sharing

Very interesting. Unfortunately there are no such functions in MoI.
At the moment we can use only MoI's array tools and vClone script.

Anyway it's a good idea. I'll think about writing this script, but I can't promise it.

Hi Alex - well it's big focus for MoI to be a streamlined and easy to use drawing tool and so a massively complex control panel with 40 something controls in it is pretty much not a very good fit for it.

Something like that would work as an optional plug-in though.

There are a few various array plug-ins already out there, check these out and see if they may be of use to you:


Scale array - apply an incremental scale factor to an array:
http://kyticka.webzdarma.cz/3d/moi/#ScaleArray

Randomize:
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=5416.5

Script array - generalized array plug-in that modifies stepping and rotation for each array instance - modify script to produce different effects:
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=5595.18

Max's vclone:
http://moi3d.com/forum/messages.php?webtag=MOI&msg=6486.1


> Google Images / zbrush array mesh

Well, I saw several super dense and heavy kind of semi chaotic organic models... Such things just in general are often not a good fit for CAD programs and can work better in polygon mesh based programs instead.

CAD programs tend to be more focused on more structured and less chaotic types of models.

- Michael

Hi Alex,

re:
> Please find Zbrush Video under list location.

It's very interesting but it's not such a great fit with CAD data where someone will often be trying to make things into a unified volume.

Having a whole lot of elements barely grazing each other and leaving lots of little tiny fragments tends to make things like booleans difficult. Not necessarily impossible, but often times such things will be not a good fit for CAD data structures.

So there's sort of a few different ways, both in the sort of UI philosophy for how MoI is structured and also in the way MoI's geometry is structured that makes something like that not really fit in very well as a main way of working with things in MoI. For a mesh based tool like ZBrush it can work better there.

- Michael

Thanks for feedback - understand in keeping the MOI environment simple as a long time Rhino User this has shifted me across to MOI more and more. I also use RhinoGold a jewellery plugin and find I am using it a lot less as I visualise and model quicker in MOI. With the Zbrush Array understand the Boolean problems as when I have boolean operations that MOI or Rhino have problems resolving I always get it done in Zbrush. Having a simplified Array tool in MOI would allow this speed visualisation to remain in MOI.

All just food for though - one issue with the MOI to Zbrush workflow is the export to OBJ. In MOI saving layers as OBJECT Groups is not an option, currently I complete model in MOI then export in RHINO so that I can save with layers as OBJECT GROUPS this allows import into Zbrush with objects as subtools for various operations in ZBRUSH.

Perhaps another comment is a having a central repository command library - linux style where all the various scripts can live in there various development stages making easier to find rather than digging through blogs or forums.

Thanks again on such a streamlined wonderful tool that MOI is.

Alex.

Hi Alex,

re:
> In MOI saving layers as OBJECT Groups is not an option, currently I complete model in MOI then
> export in RHINO so that I can save with layers as OBJECT GROUPS this allows import into Zbrush
> with objects as subtools for various operations in ZBRUSH.

There's a setting in moi.ini that probably should help with this - go to Options > General > "Edit .ini file" button. Then inside moi.ini find the section for [OBJ Export] and set WriteStylesAsGroups=y , like this:

[OBJ Export]
<....>
WriteStylesAsGroups=y


With that set, the group name for an object will come from the object's style name rather than the object name.


> Perhaps another comment is a having a central repository command library - linux style
> where all the various scripts can live in there various development stages making easier
> to find rather than digging through blogs or forums.

That's definitely something I want to add - I'd like to have an online library of scripts and some kind of browser that you can use in MoI to look through them and install them. It's just something I haven't had time to work on quite yet.

- Michael

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the tips - one more thing to add perhaps in the future centrally managed Command Library is adding a text file outlining use for the specific command as some of the commands are probably not used that often and having a readme or help outlining the usage flow could be really helpful.

regards

Alex.

Array3D v0.4 early beta
More features I will implement later. Maybe :) In fact I'm very disappointed with the overall performance of this script.
Be careful while using this script, it can cause MoI to hang.

Hi Alex,

> one more thing to add perhaps in the future centrally managed Command Library is adding
> a text file outlining use for the specific command as some of the commands are probably not
> used that often and having a readme or help outlining the usage flow could be really helpful.

Yup, I'd like to have something like that as part of the plug-in browser mechanism.

It will take a lot of work to make that work well and so I'm not sure exactly when it will happen though.

- Michael

ADN ;)

French version http://moiscript.weebly.com/scripts-de-max-smirnov.html

Hi Max,

Absolutely brilliant and in keeping with the MOI simple workflow a fantastic piece of code. For a v0.4 early beta pretty much there.

Here is a 1 minute concept to model application.

You deserve a Vodka or Beer after that effort.

Awesome! Thanks

Alex

I immediately did archi stuff with it. Right on Max!

In same order of idea you have yet Script Array and Line Array and Scale Array ... ;)
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=5595.1

v 0.5
[added] pointpicker support (click -> change target point, ctrl+click -> change base point)
[added] randomize function (double click on title "Array3D")

French version adapted! ;)
http://moiscript.weebly.com/scripts-de-max-smirnov.html

No time to use it but absolutly cool! Bravo!


I believe you must add in your help text : Click or Ctrl +Click in the "empty space" ! ;)

Great stuff Max. Thanks!!!!

Version 0.6
Performance boost ~2x

French version updated! ;)
http://moiscript.weebly.com/scripts-de-max-smirnov.html

Always fun :)