Assess Wk1 - New picture of both my Mandelboxes

Left: White, Strong and Flexible. Right: Sandstone.

Break Wk3 - Catalog DVD Render uploaded to Vimeo

In preparation for the Catalog DVD, I've finished my latest render and uploaded it to Vimeo.

Wk13 - Artist Statement

I submitted my 3 copies of my Artist Statement today.

My Artist Statement:

‘Tglad’s Formula” – Terence Craig

Tglad is the father of the ‘Mandelbox’, an exciting 3D formula-based object which eluded mathematicians and computer scientists for 30 years.

I create video that explores scale and texture.  I have been inspired by the Mandelbox.  This is also my first experience-based video installation and the first work I’ve produced which crosses from the computer into the physical world, in the form of an accompanying sculpture.

The Mandelbox is based on a 3D fractal formula.  In simple terms, a fractal is a recursive (self referencing) mathematical equation that produces shapes, built by parts that are similar with itself at an infinite scale.  Tom Lowe (Tglad) discovered this particular fractal formula in 2010.  The name Mandelbox is derived from the name of the man who developed the 2D formulas in 1979, Benoît Mandelbrot.

By changing the numbers that the formula needs, you can produce your own forms.  The aim for my work entitled, ‘Tglad’s Formula”, was to investigate this area of fractal geometry and find a form that is both visually interesting to experience as a fly-thru and is also capable of being realised in physical form using 3D printing.  Unfortunately, these two concepts are mutually exclusive.  The more interesting Mandelbox forms are far from solid, yet to produce something physical using 3D printing techniques, it needs to be in one piece.

Due to its complex nature, theoretically, the Mandelbox cannot be realised in physical form.  Balancing and compromising on form and fly-through requirements has been difficult but rewarding.  The five screens produce an immersive experience and the physical objects reinforce the scale, complexity and beauty of such fractal-based forms.

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Wk12 - Sandstone Mandelbox arrived

My Mandelbox arrived today.  I thought the plastic (White, Strong and Flexible) one was good until the Sandstone one arrived... this one has so much more detail.  The depth is more perfect and the way it catches the light and shadows, it sooo much better.

Also, the sample kit is pretty cool. :)

Wk10 - 'Accidentally' ordered Sandstone Mandelbox.

Tonight I decided to order another 3D print of my Mandelbox.

I decided to use the solid version this time and to have it in the Sandstone material.

In addition, I ordered the sample pack and a gyro toy too.

On the bright side, prices have gone down, my Mandelbox only cost $87.

Wk9 - Prototype stand for physical display

I spent the weekend trying out designs for a stand for the physical model.

It started as a design using sticky-tape and some paper clips...  I converted the idea to using wire, bent bent and twisted...  It's looking good.

Also, this is the first picture of the 3D printed model.

Break Wk1 - Physical Possible!?

So, after installing the Collada plug-in, I was able to export from Maya into the DAE format, which when zipped came down from 87MB to 19MB

I imported the model into the Shapeways website... Within 15mins, I knew that the model was viable and even had a price tag attached.  Here are my first three uploads:

10.5cm solid displaced model = $869.92

5.4cm hollow displaced model = $127.59

5cm solid constructed model = $98.48

Clearly, the volume has something to do with the cost but I found that with my 5cm model, that making it hollow, whether a cube or an identical replica within made no difference to the volume or the cost... this could be related to the 5cm size though... not sure.

The question is, should I buy it for nearly $100?

Wk7 - Physical Object Concept (Displacement)

Custom Mandelbox

Mandelbox Face

Face without Light, shadow, etc.

Displaced across cube

Displaced across Plane

Displaced over cube on each surface.

Wk6 - Fly-Thru Concept

This is my customised Mandelbox... with a view to designing one that can be produced physically.

Using a -90, -45, centre, 45 and 90 degree pass, I created a test for making a setup where the viewer can place their head inside the mandelbox.

 This is the render that I did, combined using Nuke, starting from the centre of my customised Mandelbox. This is only 1350 frames but it illustrates the concept:

Wk6 - Crit with Honours - Brilliant!

Crit with the Honours students was brilliant.

It was great that the topic came about about the renders and whether they were actually mine - I'm still not entirely sure but I'm glad some were on the same page as me - in that they are not mine, including Lucien.

One particularly interesting concept was having three components of my work:

1. Mandelbox-inspired model using particles mixed with my objects.
2. Mandelbox fly-thru where the viewer places their head so that it is like they are going through it.
3. A physical version of the same fly-thru mandelbox.

Again infinitely helpful was the clarity to what my work (including past works) has been all about:

• Scale
• Texture (surface)

It's that simple.

Wk5 - Mandelbox Render (3,800 HD frames, 24 days)

I've been rendering out a version of the Mandelbox in HD since I got Mandelbulber.

 It's been essentially rendering from 4/8 - 28/8...

Here are the 3,800 frames thus far:

Wk5 - Centre-Thru Render B&W

Just testing another idea for displacement maps...

Wk5 - Brilliant Day of Meetings

Yesterday and today have been the best days yet.

It started with the meeting with Kit regarding particles, which was great but it didn't seem too applicable considering the direction I was taking with my "mandelbox-inspired" manually constructed model BUT...

Today I met/chatted with three people which helped me immensely:

1. Martyn - This was great, he helped me see that the work was about the fly-through, about technology and the awe you get.  He also suggested I look at David Haines & Joyce Hinterding's "The Outlands" and "Neo Baroque Aesthetics & Contemporary Entertainment" by Angela Nol.
2. Jack - This chat was invaluable - he made me realise that if I combine my objects with a particle system like Kit has shown me, I may be able to somewhat-generate an environment for my fly-through.
3. Lucien - Using particle generation from an object seems to give a certain amount of order in the randomness... that combined with Displacement and using Level of Detail might just give me what I want.  Mirrors are bad. :)

I have a renewed enthusiasm today.

Wk2 - A reply from my new hero

So, it turns out that the reason I can't find a script to create a Mandelbox is because it can't be done.  Check out Duncan Brinsmead's response:

Hi Terrence,

You likely saw a presentation where I showed some mandelbox and mandelbulb renderings. I used a mel expression to create a mandelbrot texture but the 3d stuff was done by coding a custom texture for a Maya fluid node, which is not possible for users. However there is an excellent program for exploring the 3D mandelbox interactively here(source included):
http://www.ms.mff.cuni.cz/~kadlj3am/big/boxplorer/
Also www.fractalforums.com has lots of info on generating these structures.

I don’t think you will have much luck generating a mandelbox with a mel script… it is too much geometry. Not only is it too much geometry for a script, but too much to keep all in memory at once. The more typical way of doing it is through a volume render, which is what I did. I compiled in custom code in my local build of Maya, something users can’t do… and the fluid rendering does not have an open enough api to use for this currently. Basically as the ray is marching forward one evaluates the mandelbox  function at points to determine if they are in or out as well as what the color is. At no point are there any triangles.

At any rate I would post your questions on fractalforums.com. If anyone knows of good resources for this these folks will.

Duncan

Unfortunately, Boxplorer doesn't seem to work anymore but I still can't believe he even replied.  I'm soooo glad he did though.  Now I know for sure that it isn't possible in Maya.

But!  Doesn't mean I can't make something that is inspired by the Mandelbox...  Never give up, never surrender! :)

Wk2 - Wherefore art thou Mandelbox Script?

I really am having no luck in finding script for a Mandelbox... I'm kinda losing hope.  Other than a few very old programs that can generate a Mandelbox (including some that once worked), I'm coming up empty, particularly on the Maya front.

I've even joined Fractal Forums in the hopes that they might know something... it's taking ages for them to accept my registration though...

On the off chance, I've decided to send the following e-mail to Duncan Brinsmead to see if he can assist:

Hi Duncan,

My name is Terrence Craig, you don't know me.  On the off chance, I was wondering whether you might have some script for the Mandelbox or Mandelbulb for Maya that you could share with me.  For once the internet is failing me.

Just for some background, I'm a third year student doing Digital Media at the Australian National University.  A lecturer of mine (Kit Devine) showed me your Mandelbrot presentation.  I found it very inspiring, particularly when you went into the 3D world of the Mandelbulb and the Mandelbox.

I'm hoping to make such an object for my major project this semester, tweaking the code so that it becomes somewhat unique then add atmosphere, etc and do a fly-through.  I find myself very disappointed though that I cannot find any scripts on the net that will generate such an object.  I can see that there are specialised programs for Windows but I'd prefer to use Maya, on a mac, due to the power and control it would provide.

My background is in programming but my experience with Maya is quite limited to date because my art works haven't required it  I'm not scared of MEL or Python though.

If you could assist in any way, possibly even pointing me to a resource to find such a script to generate those 3D shapes, I'd be extremely appreciative.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

Regards, Terrence.