Not long ago, creating 3-D images was considered tedious, technically challenging and difficult to master. Now with GroBoto, a new low-cost software application from Smith Micro, untrained users can produce 3-D images and movies in minutes.
Because most 3-D tools have been rigid and confining, new software like GroBoto is changing the production environment fast. GroBoto provides a set of 3-D modeling, imaging and animation tools that allows users to create complex, dynamic, lyrical forms and animation with ease.
Smith Micro said GroBoto provides rich visual feedback instantly, which is essential for a creative workflow. It can be used by artists and designers who want include 3-D elements in their work without the pain and long render times typically associated with digital 3-D. GroBoto’s rendering technology generates professional-quality images and animations in minutes.
GroBoto’s intelligent, algorithmic “bots” create organic, abstract and architectural forms, which are adjustable in real time. A kinetic morphing animation system automatically produces fluid motion.
Users can create textures with no distortion and build seamless, tiled textures from any TIFF file. Layered fog atmospherics are offered with color, thickness, altitude and transparency controls.
There’s also a star field generator, self illuminating objects and textures and in-line image filters including brightness, contrast, saturation and hue. The software includes 3-D polygonal object export with options for grouping and tessellation, and there are rendering modes including graphical line and outline modes.
GroBoto generates alpha or depth channels for still/sequential image or movie output, and outputs to TIFF, JPEG, BMP (PC), AVI (PC) and QuickTime (Mac).
The software is available for both Macintosh and Windows and works on fairly low-power systems.
