tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39653569744278643112024-03-14T06:34:53.714+01:00SUPERFLEA MEDIASuperflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-69826695804734647782012-05-28T21:41:00.000+02:002012-05-28T21:41:15.038+02:00TUTORIAL: 3D Mesh Construction in Quartz Composer - Part 2
- Part 1
In the previous tutorial we used structures to construct a polygon mesh in the shape of a triangle. Now it’s time to add some colour to our vertices. This information needs to be presented to the Mesh Creator patch in much the same way as the vertex one. First though we will be converting our triangle to a square. In order to do this we will simply be adding Superflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-8196689344441200472012-05-27T18:50:00.000+02:002012-05-28T21:42:19.091+02:00TUTORIAL: 3D Mesh Construction in Quartz Composer - Part 1
This tutorial will outline basic use of the Mesh Creator patch and the Mesh Renderer patch in Quartz Composer, in addition to the Kineme Structure Maker patch.
The fundamental thing to understand about creating 3D meshes in QC is that the application in this regard is a basic front for common OpenGL functions. Therefore, to gain a basic understanding of how these things work Superflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-70309079667956490382012-05-07T16:44:00.000+02:002012-05-07T16:44:58.035+02:00The Future Of Quartz Composer?
When I first started using Macs, around 3-4 years ago, I poked around the installation disk, and installed a set called Developer Tools. Looking around, I found an odd program called Quartz Composer. It wasn’t clear what the program did, all you could see was an empty workspace, and you were then supposed to drag in nodes and connect them, and then produce filters and screen savers. I had no Superflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-33706777264985529162011-05-30T13:12:00.000+02:002011-05-30T13:12:33.331+02:00Quartz Composer Procedural Terrain Mesh TestThe terrain mesh is generated by creating vertex structures with iterators and feeding it to the Kineme GL Triangle Structure patch. I initially tried with the built in Mesh Creator patch, but this one seems faster and more stable.
The current method is not incredibly fast as it uses individual quads rather than long triangle strips. A 64*64 grid takes 17 seconds! I have a version Superflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-22224287881450847192011-05-13T19:20:00.004+02:002011-05-21T12:02:54.612+02:00TUTORIAL: Structures and Index Members in Quartz Composer
This tutorial will outline basic use of Structures and the Index Member patch in Quartz Composer.
A structure is simply a way of organising data. It can be thought of as a series of labeled folders containing files, like a folder with pictures of your summer vacation that contains subfolders organised by date.
Even though we might not notice it, in Quartz Composer we deal with structures inSuperflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-40403386936715192592011-05-06T14:39:00.000+02:002011-05-06T14:39:04.175+02:00Tutorial RequestsAs I'm seeing some traffic from Google searches regarding Quartz Composer tutorials, I'm interested in knowing if anyone has any specific requests for new tutorials covering QC. If you visit the blog, feel free to leave a comment on this post to suggest new content for the future and I'll be happy to cover it (provided it's within my grasp!).Superflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-75558503979039969452011-04-24T13:35:00.001+02:002011-05-21T11:59:13.506+02:00TUTORIAL: Iterators In Quartz Composer - Part 3Previous Tutorials:
- Part 1- Part 2
Following the previous two tutorials, we now have an ordered grid of square sprites in our viewer. After making our squares all look the same, we will now add some variation to them.
First of all, we add color. In order to define a list of colors to choose from, we introduce the Multiplexer Patch. This is a very useful patch that simply Superflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-52543663625767480982011-04-21T13:36:00.000+02:002011-04-21T13:36:53.745+02:00Quartz Composer Voxel Noise Visualisation
This composition employs voxel cubes iterated at either 32x32x32, 64x64x64 or 128x128x128. The Noise patch is fed different octaves of values, and determines wether the voxel is on/off.I think it’s a very basic version of what Minecraft uses, so it’ll be fun to try and add some textures to the cubes.
Rendering time is approximately 5 seconds for the 64x version. Setting it to 128x ramps it up toSuperflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-55704459888955393252011-04-17T22:41:00.002+02:002011-05-21T11:56:14.224+02:00TUTORIAL: Iterators In Quartz Composer - Part 2
In the previous tutorial on iterators I showed how to create a simple row of sprites along the X axis. Now we will take that example further, and create a full grid of squares.The way we do this is by creating multiple copies of the previous iterator macro by putting that macro patch inside another iterator. Right now in our editor we can see the previous iterator on its own (apart Superflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-85952728105168528082011-04-16T17:27:00.000+02:002011-04-16T17:27:51.784+02:00Quartz Composer Voxel Terrain Test 2I've been trying to push my voxel composition a bit further. I noticed that switching from 64bit to 32bit QC shaves 2 seconds off the rendering time. No idea why, isn't 64bit-everything supposed to be faster?
I've also been adding color to the voxels. I've been using sprites exclusively instead of cubes to save on processing time. Color is dependent on the height of the voxel. I also used a Superflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-3817270021771549892011-04-09T17:31:00.000+02:002011-04-09T17:31:55.649+02:00Outcast GDC Paper
Outcast is a PC game that came out in around 2000. While I haven’t played the game, it gets mentioned often in discussions on Voxel graphics because it used the technique for its terrain rendering. Specifically, there is a presentation the creators gave at GDC in 2000 which is supposed to be floating around the net in the form of a paper. It discussed the techniques used for the game is Superflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-8408480749667452952011-04-08T18:28:00.003+02:002011-05-21T11:55:14.211+02:00TUTORIAL: Iterators in Quartz Composer - Part 1
Quartz Composer is an ideal tool for artists because it allows one to make small visual-oriented programs, without the need to learn computer code. Instead it relies on nodes and macros patches.
Nodes are controlled by inserting the values straight in an input field in the node or by connecting the output of one node (say a math equation) to the input of another node (like the width of a Superflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965356974427864311.post-42186888322684294432011-04-06T20:42:00.003+02:002011-04-17T14:56:25.659+02:00Quartz Composer Voxel Terrain TestA small "landscape" to test performance of voxel for a terrain project. The main test field is composed of cubes that have been iterated on a grid 300 times. That adds up to 90000(!) instances. Rendering time in Quartz Composer is about 7 seconds. Switching to a simple sprite instead of 3d cubes shaves off about 2 seconds to the rendering time.
The shape of the landscape is directed by an Superflea Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709711408151423717noreply@blogger.com