Xplode and the Matrix object

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…

voronoi-building

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.

matrix-setup

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.

matrix-random

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.

matrix-result

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.


11 comments

Comment from: FFA [Visitor] · http://www.skilline.com : 2010-04-08 @ 14:21
*****
Wow
wonderful tutorials
thx
Comment from: xcut0r [Visitor] · http://www.xdzn.tk : 2010-04-16 @ 19:05
awesome tutorial ;) nice to know you'r back on tuts track ! hehehe

thx
Comment from: xcut0r [Visitor] · http://www.xdzn.tk : 2010-04-17 @ 15:30
Didn't work to me.

the question is, how can i make the Xplode to use the particles generated by the matrix object? :)
Comment from: xcut0r [Visitor] · http://www.xdzn.tk : 2010-04-21 @ 13:21
solved.
Comment from: russu iulia [Visitor] : 2010-05-11 @ 19:58
****-
you explaind very nice the process , and i managed to remake after you,and now i got in the moment of selecting the outside polygon faces, and i m not able to do it. would you please give me a clue , or send me to a tutorial link ? please
Comment from: Sergei S [Visitor] Email · http://sergeisokolov.com : 2010-07-10 @ 15:53
*****
Thanks a lot for this tutorial!
I understood the whole process.
A little stuck with the modeling part, not covered here: after Extrude Inner, resulting polygons contain artifacts: few screwed polys with normals pointing inside. Any way other than manual to heal these?
Comment from: Craig Zuckerman [Visitor] · http://www.craigzuckerman.net : 2011-01-27 @ 18:46
Hi, seems like a great plugin, but how is this different than Thrausi?-thanks-cz
Comment from: raju [Visitor] : 2011-07-06 @ 16:30
*----
जटकचकाक
Comment from: Lyle [Visitor] Email : 2011-07-08 @ 17:59
*****
Just stumbled on this site as a new C4D user. Awesome site and tutorial but I am at the point where I am to select the faces of the cube to inner extrude but cannot do it. Am I missing something? A video tutorial would be awesome. Thanks
Comment from: Rainer [Visitor] : 2011-07-12 @ 04:01
With V12 and XPlode I get a crash...
I submitted the error. Let's see...
Comment from: willyboy [Visitor] · http://wilmcdaniel.wordpress.com : 2011-11-12 @ 05:31
*****
@Rainer
make sure you have the 'object' you want the explode plug to work on selected, not the randomize or matrix object selected, before you hit shatter...Also too, select the fracture icon....

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