Gargoyle3dDoc.tioga
Bier, January 12, 1988 11:49:56 am PST
Gargoyle3d
CEDAR 7.0 — FOR INTERNAL XEROX USE ONLY
Gargoyle3d
A Three-Dimensional Illustrator
Eric Bier
© Copyright 1987 Xerox Corporation. All rights reserved.
Abstract: Gargoyle3d is a new interactive three-dimensional illustration system built on the ashes of the Solidviews three-dimensional illustrator using reworked Gargoyle routines. Wherever possible the Gargoyle3d interface is identical to the Gargoyle interface. However, a three-dimensional model is produced rather than a two-dimensional one. Hence, Gargoyle3d scenes can be viewed from different three-dimensional vantage points, and can be lit with one or more light sources. Gargoyle3d produces interpress masters depicting hidden-line or hidden-surface renderings of polygonal approximations of the scenes and produces AIS files made by ray-tracing the scenes. Many standard Gargoyle features are not yet implemented in Gargoyle3d. The only shapes that currently work are Blocks and single-segment trajectories, known as "twigs".
Created by: Bier.pa
Maintained by: Eric Bier, Ken Pier <GargoyleImplementors^.pa>
Keywords: Gargoyle, Snap-Dragging, 3D, Three-dimensional, Illustrator, graphics, interactive
XEROX Xerox Corporation
Palo Alto Research Center
3333 Coyote Hill Road
Palo Alto, California 94304
For Internal Xerox Use Only
1. How to Get Started
Get familiar with Gargoyle. The Gargoyle3d TIP table and menus (when they exist) are very much like the Gargoyle counterparts. Read /Cedar/CedarChest7.0/Documentation/GargoyleDoc.tioga and /Cedar/CedarChest7.0/Documentation/GargoyleTutorial.tioga.
Now bringover -p /Cedar/CedarChest7.0/Top/Gargoyle3d.df. Type
gg3d
Five icons will be created. One the one that looks like a shaded cube. It will remind you of a Gargoyle viewer.
Some warm-ups: Use the Shapes menu. Create a block. Select it. Drag it around. Use the Transforms menu to rotate it. Drop an anchor. Rotate it. Scale it. Copy it. Select just one face and stretch it. Make some joints hot. Turn on some alignment lines. Snap the skitter (like the Gargoyle caret) to things. Add some line segments (SHIFT Left-Mouse as in Gargoyle, but each segment will be a separate object).
Now, you will want to change the camera position or play with the light sources or ray trace your picture. This is done as it was done in Solidviews. Oh boy. Read the relevant sections of /Cedar/CedarChest7.0/Documentation/SolidviewsManual.tioga and /Cedar/CedarChest7.0/Documentation/SolidviewsTutorial.tioga.
Gargoyle3D will add the extension ".gg3d" to your picture files if you don't provide one.
Good Luck!
1.1 Shortcomings
Don't try to play with spheres, cylinders, cones, solids of revolution, or in fact with anything but blocks and twigs. You will get Unbound Procedure faults. Yuk.
There is no way to change stroke widths. You can get 0 stroke widths by setting Color to none, or strokes of width 2.
The shaded polygon and hidden line rendering algorithms do a poor job of hidden surface removal. You may have to rotate or modify your scene to hide rendering flaws.
2. How to Get Help
Call Eric Bier at 494-4439. Things will improve.