XenoDream Shapes

Mixing Metamorph Styles

The use of the "constructor" metamorph styles is not necessary to produce many very interesting images and shapes. One of my first instructional type tips given to the XD Users (on the two official eGroups) was this particular topic. It was written prior to the official release of constructor styles, strictly to show the possibilities with just a handful of basic options.

And the best way to show what may be done is through an actual example. The following assumes the User is already familiar with the various windows, tabs, buttons and options within the application.

Start XenoDream.
Open up the supplied "SPONGE SQUARE.XEP" file, found within the Geometric folder using one of these ways.

Under the FILE tab:

Use the menu selection of File | Open, or
Use the Open Folder icon button.

Under the Main form, use the New... button within the Holon controls, then select File Open...

Go to the SHAPE tab and click the Select All Holons button.
Enable the metamorphs by clicking the Metamorphs button.
Click the lefthand Style button and choose "Auger", then set it's following values:

Amount to "100".
Scale to "3".

Click the righthand Style button and choose "Cubist", then set it's following values:

Amount to "100".
Scale to "1".

Now Render the image by hitting the Render New button on the Main form.
Stop the rendering at 250 for smooth, or 1000 just to get the idea.
Apply the Lighting Preset called "Metal: Excaliber".

What should appear is an image first posted back in early November of 2001, and may be viewed within the Modified Starters gallery.

For something a little different, using the above with all holons still selected, make just one simple change, click the righthand Style button and change it to "Twist". You can make very significant modifications to this different object by clicking within the Scale for the lefthand Style of "Auger" and dragging to increase or decrease value.

When trying out the selection of various metamorph styles, to see how they affect the preview image, sometimes one of those will cause the whole image to become a mass of pixels (like a solid cloud of dots). This usually means that the Amount value is way too much in one direction (whether a negative or positive value). By bringing it farther away from it's current value, it will usually become an object again within the Preview Window.

As an example, open the "Rubics-Cube.xep" (found in my first 89 files supplied to XD Users) and then select all holons. Go to the SHAPE tab and click the lefthand Style button, then select "Spheric". The Amount shows a value of 100 and the preview is nothing but pixel dots. First change the Amount value to a 3 or 4, and you will see the cube become a more rounded object. Next try a value of a -6 or -5 to see the object do something completely different.

Usually when I try a metamorph style that completely distorts the object in the Preview Window, I drag the Amount field both ways to see what will happen. Then I do the same with the Scale value as well, for this too can cause that "cloud of pixels" when set at a value which is too much one way or the other.

Now, for something a little bit more extreme with mixing metamorphs.

This page is still being refined off site. Please return later as updates are made available to this XenoDream Tutorial.

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and
O's Fractal Art Gallery

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