Relative_Particle_Array

Maybe leaving the most recent release at the very top of the topic would be a good idea... :) Thanks for all your work!
 
Tip of the day: for even more effects, try also the orientation effector and the particle tag... :smile:


I will try to add some examples of the script's possibilities in the next days... hopefully others will also share their results ;)

Kind regards,
Filip
 
Last edited:
filip c said:
Relative_Particle_Array

!


EDIT: most recent script placed here ;-)


Hi Guys,

Whith a lot of help from Hiroto (wherefore I'm very gratefull), I managed to make a first script which replicates particles relatively...
http://www.cheetah3d.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6885

This was my very first scripting experience, so there is most definately lots of room for improvement. Please don't hesitate to do so ;-)

I hope this script has some potential.

Kind regards,
Filip
Click to expand...
Am I correct in assuming this is the latest up date to this script?
 
I overlooked this uniquely powerful script when it was posted in 2011. It does something great, calculating iterations that mimic many natural forms. The growth and scaling functions will be fun to experiment with. Thanks Filip and Hiroto.
 
I can only get this script to make a series of scaled objects along a default straight path. How do you arrange the scaled objects along a curved spline path like the picture in the first post above? I want a cross between a Particle Spline and a Sweep that tapers the particles from one end of the curved spline to the other end. Unlike the Particle Spline there is no provision for dropping a spline path into the Properties panel. I tried adding a spline path as a child of the script but it just multiplies the spline.

Thanks.
 
From my experience there´s no spline involved; just the "Relative Particle Array.js" script and its parameters:
Relative Particle Array.png
 
Thanks again for the prompt response. I had tried the Relative Particle Array script seven years ago and I had a faint memory of it this week when I was searching for a way to make a tapered sequence of balls. After using it again I realized it was not intended for a geometrically precise design which would require a spline path with a Ring modifier. I thought it would be fun to make something like this picture.

fancy torus.png
 
:mad: Experiments get some results, but not what is required here. Currently, this is just straight C3D, out of the box. There may be some Java script options which can be deployed to achieve a smooth reduction of the radii.

Screenshot 2025-06-21 at 17.09.37.png
 
* There is a Java Script, author unknown, which expands the sweep creator with a third parameter / spline. This gives you:
1 an axis,
2 a cross-section and
3 a modifying spline / curve
which tweaks the progress of the sweep along the axis. At the moment, I can not get this script to work but I do recall that the specific JS did function in some tests some time ago.

* In theory, if the 3rd parameter is a sinoidal, this JS should produce a smooth graduated solution if you synchronise the curves maxima / minima to the helical revolutions.
 
Post Scriptum: :poop: BS, I got this to work, but it does not generate anything useful. Sorry...
 
:unsure: After some more experimentation:
* Once you have generated the primary toroidal manifold the rest is almost trivial, After playing with standard torii, circular closed sweeps and guided helices I found that a simple cylinder, out of the box, can be used. Add a suitable axial twist of n°, a bend of m° plus optional tapered ends to form an annular object. This results in a torus with a rotated and scaled sweep.
* This surface then can be populated with balls / spheres of fitting diameters. If these diameters are an arithmetic or geometric series is, of course, unimportant. Some fine-tuning is needed for an optimised model. :sick: There are some misfits / glitches in my example. Sections, radii, etc must be precisely synchronisd to give a clean topology. Note that all objects and modifiers are "out of the box". You can animate any of these parameters to simulate some biological (?) growth process. Editing particle order and the sequence of the spherical particles obviously alters the topology of the particle mesh.
* What must be added to my suggestion: The density of the mesh (controlling the placements of the particles of the PM) must be somehow editable. A hand-knitted cylinder, extruded from a custom circle with points inserted where required (probably at logarithmic angular intervals), should solve this.

;) BTW: Thanks for the question! This was good fun and finding a solution (well, partial) was an interesting challenge.

Screenshot 2025-06-22 at 16.53.37.png
 
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