Greebler Object : Stock Greebles tab

Greebles are protuberances that represent basic nondescript details on an object so as to create a sense of size or give it technical part details such as boxes, louvers, pipes, lights, and so on. Greebler has a decent set of stock greebles which will get you pretty far in detailing your objects. Each polygon is populated by 0 or more greeble objects and all greebles for an object are coalesced into a single greeble mesh (virtually, unless you Make Editable the Greebler object).

Generate Greebles

Enable or disable the generation of Stock Greebles on the input objects.

Settings

Selections (top/sides/bevels)

Polygon Selection tags will be created for the top, sides, and bevel (if beveling is greater than 0%). This allows you texture these separate areas of the greeble extrusions independently.

Add Bottom Caps

Geometry is created to close the underside of the greeble extrusion so that you won't have hollow extrusions. Bottom caps can be textured independently of other areas as described on the main Greebler Object page.

Form to Polygon Shape

When disabled, greebles are simply placed onto the polygon as is. When enabled, the polygon is mapped into a unit-square and the greebles placed onto that. When the unit-square is mapped back onto the polygon shape, the greebles are misshaped so as to follow the polygon's form.

Relax Positioning

This allows the greebles to be placed less stringently with respect to the polygon's edges, thus creating a less obvious polygon-to-polygon greebling appearance.

Sparsity

Sparsity is a percentage of how many polygons will be excluded from being populated with greebles. At 0% sparsity, all polygons are employed. At 100% sparsity, no polygons are employed (same as not generating greebles at all). Polygons are randomly selected for exclusion.

Max. Greebles Per Polygon

The maximum number of greebles that will populate any polygon. For each polygon, a random number of greebles from 0 to this maximum is created.

Align Globally / Alignment

On more unidirectional surfaces such as a Landscape object, you may want the greebles to point in the up direction despite the change in surface normals. Enabling this setting allows you to achieve just that. The Alignment vector is an HPB rotation vector that lets you change the global pointing direction of the greebles. The first image below shows the nonaligned greeble results (following the polygon normals). The second image shows the result of enabling Align Globally.

Surface Offset

Two values set the minimum and maximum distance greebles will be moved away from the polygon surface, given in real units of distance. The offset range can be positive or negative. Note that the greebles follow the path of the direction they face. If Align Globally is enabled then they will move in the same direction. If disabled, they will move along their polygon's normal direction.

Height

Two values set the minimum and maximum height to which greebles will be extruded away from the input polygon surface, given in real units of distance.

Bevel

In order to soften the extrusion edges, you can add some edge beveling (45° breaks between the top and sides). The percentage is from 0%, where there is no beveling, to 100%, where the top basically becomes a point.

Length

These two values let you specify a range for which the greeble will occupy polygon space along one direction. For instance, 100-100% will cause the greeble to be about as long as the polygon.

Width

Similar to Length, these two values specify a range for occupying space in the other, perpendicular direction.

Add Phong Tag

Adds a Phong tag to the generated Stock Greeble objects so that you can control surface smoothing while Greebler is still procedural (not Made Editable). The next two options are identical to Cinema 4D's Phong tag settings and set the added Phong tag values accordingly.

Angle Limit

Enable the use of the Phong Angle as a determination of whether or not to smooth between two neighboring polygons.

Phong Angle [0..180°]

The angle represents the difference in angle between two neighboring polygons being considered in the Phong smoothing. The greater the value, the greater the polygon-polygon angular difference included in the smoothing process.

Grouping

Shapes can be grouped into any of three types: Bars (linear array), Array (MxN array), or Circular Array. Any of the Shapes listed below can be grouped. Note that additional variation parameters for those Shapes having them are also applied when grouped.

Bitmap Buttons

The descriptive images for each grouping type are also toggle buttons which, when clicked, change whether or not the type is used.

Colored when enabled. Gray-scale when disabled.

Frequency

This allows you to control how many of the various stock shape and grouping types populate the object surface. At 100%, the particular greeble type has an equal chance as any other at 100%. At 50%, it has half the chance to be chosen as a greeble type for population. 0% is equivalent to disabling the greeble type. Basically, you can control whether or not there are more or less of a particular greeble type. If a greeble type is disabled then its Frequency value takes no part in the random decision process.

Random Surface Rotations

All greebles of this type will be rotated randomly on the surface plane. Note that this overrides Surface Rotation.

Surface Rotation

All greebles of this type will be rotated on the surface plane by the angle given.

Preserve Aspect

When enabled, the array remains square (Bars and Array) or circular (Circular Array). When disabled, it's shape can be rectangular (Bars and Array) or elliptical (Circular Array) as determined randomly by Size.

Size

If Preserve Aspect is disabled, you can alter the aspect (change the width to length ratio) of the grouping between the minimum and maximum percentages given. Size aspects are determined randomly between Min and Max.

Shape

A pull-down list which contains all of the available Stock Greebles, minus the grouping types, that can be used as the grouping element object.

Bars

Number of Bars

The minimum and maximum number of objects in the linear array (Bars).

Array

Rows / Columns

The minimum and maximum number of row and column objects in the Array.

Circular Array

Shape Scale

A relative scale value applied to each object in the Circular Array that allows you to vary the size of the objects with respect to the Circular Array size.

Count

The minimum and maximum number of objects on the circumference of the Circular Array.

Shapes

There are 13 stock greebles which can be used to populate the surfaces of your objects. Of these, 5 have additional parameters for variation (italicized in the list below). The types are, from top-left to bottom-right:

  • Cube
  • T
  • L
  • C
  • H
  • D
  • Box
  • Diamond
  • Oblong Octagon
  • Cylinder
  • Ring
  • Regular Polygon
  • Regular Polygon Ring

Select All

Convenience button which enables all Stock Greeble Shapes and Grouping types.

Deselect All

Convenience button which disables all Stock Greeble Shapes and Grouping types.

Bitmap Buttons

The descriptive images for each shape are also toggle buttons which, when clicked, change whether or not the type is used.

Colored when enabled. Gray-scale when disabled.

Frequency

This allows you to control how many of the various stock shape and grouping types populate the object surface. At 100%, the particular greeble type has an equal chance as any other at 100%. At 50%, it has half the chance to be chosen as a greeble type for population. 0% is equivalent to disabling the greeble type. Basically, you can control whether or not there are more or less of a particular greeble type. If a greeble type is disabled then its Frequency value takes no part in the random decision process.

Random Surface Rotations

All greebles of this type will be rotated randomly on the surface plane. Note that this overrides Surface Rotation.

Surface Rotation

All greebles of this type will be rotated on the surface plane by the angle given.

For those Shape types with parametric variations, these parameters are available:

Box

Inner Length / Inner Width

These settings let you control the size of the opening in the box shape. The dimensions are clamped so that the size does not cause the opening to go beyond the outer perimeter.

Inner Horiz. Location / Inner Vert. Location

These provide an offset of the opening with respect to the box's center. The values are clamped with respect to Inner Length and Inner Width so that the offset does not go beyond the outer perimeter.

Cylinder/Ring

Preserve Aspect

When enabled, Cylinders and Rings remain circular. When disabled, their shapes can be elliptical as determined randomly by Size.

Size

If Preserve Aspect is disabled, you can alter the aspect (change the width to length ratio) of the Cylinder and Ring shapes between the minimum and maximum percentages given. Size aspects are determined randomly between Min and Max.

Rotation Segments

The number of polygons around the circumference of the Cylinders and Rings. If you enable Add Phong Tag, you will be able to keep this value low and still get a smooth surface.

Inner Ring Size

The percentage of size of the inner opening with respect to the outer diameter of the Ring shape. 0% closes the opening, making it look like a Cylinder. 100% opens up to a thin ring surface.

Inner Ring Horiz. Location / Inner Ring Vert. Location

Offsets of the Ring opening with respect to the Ring's center. The values are clamped with respect to Inner Ring Size so that the offset does not go beyond the outer perimeter.

Regular Polygon

Preserve Aspect

When enabled, Regular Polygons remain 'circular'. When disabled, their shapes can be elliptical as determined randomly by Size.

Size

If Preserve Aspect is disabled, you can alter the aspect (change the width to length ratio) of the Regular Polygon shapes between the minimum and maximum percentages given. Size aspects are determined randomly between Min and Max.

Sides

The number of polygon sides around the circumference. The value can be from 3 to 10 sides.

Inner Size

The percentage of size of the inner opening with respect to the outer diameter of the Regular Polygon shape. 0% closes the opening, making it look like a Regular Polygon. 100% opens up to a thin Regular Polygon Ring surface.

Inner Horiz. Location / Inner Vert. Location

Offsets of the ring opening with respect to the Regular Polygon's center. The values are clamped with respect to Inner Size so that the offset does not go beyond the outer perimeter.