Xplode and the Matrix object
MoGraph, Xplode – by: base80
March 11th, 2010
A client asked me to generate a regularly distributed Voronoi shattering on a Facade of a building, yes this used to be very fashionable in architects and designers’ wet dreams…
Follow up:
So I took a cube in the same proportions as the building, I opened Xplode hit Preview and hit Shatter, Eew, that is not a regularly distributed Voronoi shattering, it is just random.
So I hit Preview again and check the distribution of the red ticks, and again and again.
Xplode will use another random-seed for every new Preview.
So I spent the day hitting preview and I almost never got the result I wanted. Grrrr!
Well lets solve this.
Go to the Mograph menu and chose a Matrix object (first time I use this thing) put the matrix at the centre of the cube you want to cut and set the Matrix object to make a regular number of ticks in the cube equal to the number of parts you need.
Set the Matrix object to generate Thinking Particles. Open the Thinking particles Settings and open the “All” group, under this group there is a red group called XplodeGroup (you need to have activated the xplode plugin at least one for this group to exist)
Drag this group to the Matrix objects.
Set the Matrix Particle Priority to “After Effectors” (This is crucial)
If you shatter the cube with this Matrix distribution it will create cubes, yes just plain ordinary cubes.
So we have to randomize the Matrix particles.
With the Matrix object selected go to the Mograph menu and choose the Random Effector. Set the random to move the particles slightly in the xyz directions. If you random to little the parts will still be square like, if you random to much, well the distribution becomes as random as it would without this setup. So be precise here.
Now hit Shatter to check if it creates a voronoi like you expect. Play around with the random to get the right results.
Now to create a facade it comes down to modeling work. I select only the polygons of the outside of the cube and delete all others faces. Then I inner extrude (with mixed results) and then I extrude with caps. I will not get into this modeling part as it is not really the point here.
Another thing you can try with the Matrix object is to clone on another object. Try to clone on a Sphere or a tube, this can be exactly what you’re looking for.