Xenodream 1.5 Help

XenoDream 1.
5 Help
2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC
XenoDream v1.5 Help

All rights reserved. No parts of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems - without the written permission of the publisher. Products that are referred to in this document may be either trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners. The publisher and the author make no claim to these trademarks. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of information contained in this document or from the use of programs and source code that may accompany it. In no event shall the publisher and the author be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this document. Printed: January 2005 in Xenodreamland, wherever it takes you.
Publisher XenoDream Software, LLC Managing Editor Garth Thornton Technical Editors Me ... Cover Designer Virginia Sterling Team Coordinator KAOS Production Just kind of happened
Special thanks to: You, for buying XenoDream so we can continue developing it, you, for being creative, you, for telling us how much you like using it and what you'd like to see, all our beta testers, and and and... Last and not least, we want to thank EC Software who wrote this great help tool called HELP & MANUAL which printed this document.
Contents
Table of Contents
Foreword 0
Part I Welcome to XenoDream
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1 What is XenoDream? ................................................................................................................................... 10 2 Getting help ................................................................................................................................... 10 3 What's new in this version ................................................................................................................................... 11 4 Uninstalling XenoDream ................................................................................................................................... 17 5 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................... 17
Part II Getting started
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1 Overview: Getting started ................................................................................................................................... 19 2 The XenoDream process ................................................................................................................................... 20 3 XenoDream's object modeling ................................................................................................................................... 21 4 Types of ................................................................................................................................... 24 objects 5 About 3-D ................................................................................................................................... 27 6 Tutorials ................................................................................................................................... 28
Overview: Tutorials .......................................................................................................................................................... 28 Single holon .......................................................................................................................................................... 30 Spiral shell Layered picture Kaleidoscope .......................................................................................................................................................... 33 .......................................................................................................................................................... 36 .......................................................................................................................................................... 39
Using free holons .......................................................................................................................................................... 40 Clouds .......................................................................................................................................................... 42 Creating backgrounds .......................................................................................................................................................... 44 Using picture mapping .......................................................................................................................................................... 45 Lighting effects .......................................................................................................................................................... 46 Filtered noise .......................................................................................................................................................... 49 Exclusive iteration .......................................................................................................................................................... 51 Using extended holons .......................................................................................................................................................... 52 Using displacement mapping .......................................................................................................................................................... 53 Using displacement presets .......................................................................................................................................................... 55 Exporting a mesh .......................................................................................................................................................... 56
7 Frequently Asked Questions ................................................................................................................................... 58

FAQ contents .......................................................................................................................................................... 58 Section 1. General information .......................................................................................................................................................... 59 Section 2: The Main window .......................................................................................................................................................... 60 Section 3: The Picture window .......................................................................................................................................................... 62 Section 4: Lighting .......................................................................................................................................................... 63 Section 5: Other techniques .......................................................................................................................................................... 64 Section 6: Meshes .......................................................................................................................................................... 66
Part III Main Window
68
1 Overview: the Main window ................................................................................................................................... 68 2 Numeric ................................................................................................................................... 68 controls

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XenoDream v1.5 Help 3 Main menu ................................................................................................................................... 69

File menu Options menu Help menu .......................................................................................................................................................... 69 .......................................................................................................................................................... 71 .......................................................................................................................................................... 72
4 Toolbars ................................................................................................................................... 72
Standard toolbar Render toolbar .......................................................................................................................................................... 72 .......................................................................................................................................................... 72
5 Holon window ................................................................................................................................... 73

Overview: the Holon window .......................................................................................................................................................... 73 Selecting in the Holon window .......................................................................................................................................................... 73 Dragging in the Holon window .......................................................................................................................................................... 74 Add Holon popup menu .......................................................................................................................................................... 74
6 Preview window ................................................................................................................................... 74

Overview: the Preview window .......................................................................................................................................................... 74 Preview mode .......................................................................................................................................................... 75 Preview options .......................................................................................................................................................... 75
7 Holon toolbar ................................................................................................................................... 76

Holon window zoom .......................................................................................................................................................... 76 Object size .......................................................................................................................................................... 76 Undo last drag .......................................................................................................................................................... 76 Active holon control .......................................................................................................................................................... 77 Adding and deleting holons .......................................................................................................................................................... 77 Free holons .......................................................................................................................................................... 77 Hide holons .......................................................................................................................................................... 78 Holon info list .......................................................................................................................................................... 78 Selection controls .......................................................................................................................................................... 79
8 File page................................................................................................................................... 80
File information Quick start .......................................................................................................................................................... 80 .......................................................................................................................................................... 80
9 View page ................................................................................................................................... 81

Overview: the View page .......................................................................................................................................................... 81 Dragging the view .......................................................................................................................................................... 81 Camera position and zoom .......................................................................................................................................................... 82 Clipping planes .......................................................................................................................................................... 82 Rotation controls .......................................................................................................................................................... 83 Fisheye lens .......................................................................................................................................................... 83 Stereo mode .......................................................................................................................................................... 83 View memory spots .......................................................................................................................................................... 84
10 Shape page ................................................................................................................................... 86

Overview: the Shape page .......................................................................................................................................................... 86 Holon parameters .......................................................................................................................................................... 86 Holon scale .......................................................................................................................................................... 87 Holon skew .......................................................................................................................................................... 87 Holon rotation .......................................................................................................................................................... 87 Holon position .......................................................................................................................................................... 88 Holon volume and density .......................................................................................................................................................... 88 Shape drag mode .......................................................................................................................................................... 89 Shape drag rotate mode .......................................................................................................................................................... 89 Randomizing holons .......................................................................................................................................................... 90 Constraints Align linear .......................................................................................................................................................... 90 .......................................................................................................................................................... 91 2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC
Contents
Align cyclic
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.......................................................................................................................................................... 91
Iteration control .......................................................................................................................................................... 93 Extending holons .......................................................................................................................................................... 93 Metamorphs: overview .......................................................................................................................................................... 95 Metamorph styles .......................................................................................................................................................... 95 Metamorph parameters .......................................................................................................................................................... 97 Randomizing metamorphs .......................................................................................................................................................... 97 Shape memory spots .......................................................................................................................................................... 97
11 Color page ................................................................................................................................... 99

Overview: the Color page .......................................................................................................................................................... 99 Coloring method Map to .......................................................................................................................................................... 99 .......................................................................................................................................................... 99
Edge and mix .......................................................................................................................................................... 100 Absolute color editing .......................................................................................................................................................... 100 Inherit color .......................................................................................................................................................... 100 Noise .......................................................................................................................................................... 101 Color memory spots .......................................................................................................................................................... 101 Color picker dialog .......................................................................................................................................................... 101 Holon Sequence coloring .......................................................................................................................................................... 103 Overview: Holon Sequence coloring ......................................................................................................................................................... 103 Bailout, blend and blender ......................................................................................................................................................... 104 Color perspective ......................................................................................................................................................... 104 Metamorph coloring .......................................................................................................................................................... 105 Overview: Metamorph coloring ......................................................................................................................................................... 105 Map from ......................................................................................................................................................... 106 Meta pattern ......................................................................................................................................................... 107 Meta curve ......................................................................................................................................................... 107 Cycle gradient......................................................................................................................................................... 109 Picture mapping ......................................................................................................................................................... 109 Background creation ......................................................................................................................................................... 110 Parametric gradients .......................................................................................................................................................... 111 Overview: Parametric gradients ......................................................................................................................................................... 111 Initial color and modifier ......................................................................................................................................................... 111 Global pattern ......................................................................................................................................................... 112 Randomize and clear palette ......................................................................................................................................................... 112 Gradient rotation ......................................................................................................................................................... 113 Color presets ......................................................................................................................................................... 113 Color preset window ......................................................................................................................................................... 113 Custom gradients .......................................................................................................................................................... 114 Overview: Custom gradients ......................................................................................................................................................... 114 Custom gradient editor ......................................................................................................................................................... 115 Custom gradient preset window ......................................................................................................................................................... 117 Deleting and renaming gradient presets ......................................................................................................................................................... 117 Importing and ......................................................................................................................................................... 118 exporting gradient presets
12 Rendering page ................................................................................................................................... 119

Overview: the Rendering page .......................................................................................................................................................... 119 About rendering .......................................................................................................................................................... 119 Render shadows .......................................................................................................................................................... 120 Holon opacity .......................................................................................................................................................... 122 Render size .......................................................................................................................................................... 123 Rendering method .......................................................................................................................................................... 124 Chaos render .......................................................................................................................................................... 124 Ordered render .......................................................................................................................................................... 125
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XenoDream v1.5 Help

Hybrid render .......................................................................................................................................................... 125
Resolution and bailout .......................................................................................................................................................... 126 Render batch .......................................................................................................................................................... 127
13 Regions page ................................................................................................................................... 128

Overview: the Regions page .......................................................................................................................................................... 128 Holon step region .......................................................................................................................................................... 128 method Gradients region method .......................................................................................................................................................... 128 Per holon region method .......................................................................................................................................................... 129
Part IV Picture Window
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1 Overview: the Picture window ................................................................................................................................... 131 2 Pictures and layers ................................................................................................................................... 131 3 File menu ................................................................................................................................... 132 4 Saving pictures ................................................................................................................................... 133 5 Saving depth maps ................................................................................................................................... 134 6 Opening pictures ................................................................................................................................... 134 7 Opening depth maps ................................................................................................................................... 135 8 Edit menu ................................................................................................................................... 135 9 View menu ................................................................................................................................... 136 10 Effects menu ................................................................................................................................... 136 11 Rendering progress ................................................................................................................................... 137 12 Selecting layers ................................................................................................................................... 138 13 Background mask ................................................................................................................................... 139 14 Alphablend ................................................................................................................................... 139 15 Layer opacity ................................................................................................................................... 140 16 Merge mode ................................................................................................................................... 140 17 Copy or................................................................................................................................... 140 merge layers 18 Navigation ................................................................................................................................... 141
Part V Lighting Window
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1 Overview: the Lighting window ................................................................................................................................... 143 2 Lighting preview ................................................................................................................................... 143 3 Apply lighting ................................................................................................................................... 144 4 Lighting options ................................................................................................................................... 145 5 Copy lit ................................................................................................................................... 145 to unlit 6 Light sources ................................................................................................................................... 146 7 Shadows ................................................................................................................................... 147 8 Surface ................................................................................................................................... 148 properties 9 Depth effects ................................................................................................................................... 149 10 Surface ................................................................................................................................... 150 cleaning 11 Color effects ................................................................................................................................... 152 12 Iridescence ................................................................................................................................... 152
Contents
13 Reflection and refraction ................................................................................................................................... 153 14 Glow effects ................................................................................................................................... 154 15 Haze ................................................................................................................................... 154 16 Background ................................................................................................................................... 155 17 Locking................................................................................................................................... 156 controls 18 Shadow................................................................................................................................... 156 angles 19 Randomizing lighting ................................................................................................................................... 156 20 Lighting memory spots ................................................................................................................................... 157 21 Lighting presets ................................................................................................................................... 157 22 Lighting regions ................................................................................................................................... 158 23 Transparent effects ................................................................................................................................... 159
Part VI Lighting Preset Window
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1 Overview: the Lighting Preset window ................................................................................................................................... 161 2 Deleting and renaming presets ................................................................................................................................... 162 3 Importing and exporting presets ................................................................................................................................... 162
Part VII Depth Window
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1 Overview: the Depth window ................................................................................................................................... 165 2 Depth source ................................................................................................................................... 165 3 Add to original ................................................................................................................................... 166 4 Mask background ................................................................................................................................... 166 5 Conversion parameters ................................................................................................................................... 167
Part VIII Mesh Export Window
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1 Overview: the Mesh Export window ................................................................................................................................... 169 2 Mesh export options ................................................................................................................................... 170 3 Mesh export rendering ................................................................................................................................... 170 4 Triangulating ................................................................................................................................... 172 5 Simplifying ................................................................................................................................... 172 6 Saving meshes ................................................................................................................................... 173
Part IX Metamorph reference
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1 (None) ................................................................................................................................... 176 2 .Balled ................................................................................................................................... 176 3 .Boxed ................................................................................................................................... 176 4 .Cone ................................................................................................................................... 176 5 .Crystal................................................................................................................................... 176 6 .Cube ................................................................................................................................... 176 7 .Cylibal ................................................................................................................................... 177 8 .Framez................................................................................................................................... 177
VI
XenoDream v1.5 Help 9 .Planex ................................................................................................................................... 177 10 .Planey ................................................................................................................................... 177 11 .Planez ................................................................................................................................... 177 12 .Prism ................................................................................................................................... 177 13 .Sphere................................................................................................................................... 178 14 .Torus ................................................................................................................................... 178 15 Auger ................................................................................................................................... 178 16 Cacti ................................................................................................................................... 178 17 Clampbb ................................................................................................................................... 178 18 Clipbb ................................................................................................................................... 178 19 Cosmo ................................................................................................................................... 179 20 Crinkle ................................................................................................................................... 179 21 Cubist ................................................................................................................................... 179 22 Giblet ................................................................................................................................... 179 23 Gimble ................................................................................................................................... 179 24 Gimper ................................................................................................................................... 179 25 Gnarl ................................................................................................................................... 179 26 Gnarl3 ................................................................................................................................... 180 27 Gridcub................................................................................................................................... 180 28 Gridpol ................................................................................................................................... 180 29 Gumper................................................................................................................................... 180 30 Gyre ................................................................................................................................... 180 31 Horshu ................................................................................................................................... 180 32 Mirage ................................................................................................................................... 180 33 Mirball ................................................................................................................................... 180 34 Mirecho ................................................................................................................................... 181 35 Mirkali ................................................................................................................................... 181 36 Mirmaze ................................................................................................................................... 181 37 Mirrors ................................................................................................................................... 181 38 Mirtile ................................................................................................................................... 181 39 Mirwarp ................................................................................................................................... 181 40 Mome ................................................................................................................................... 181 41 Moom ................................................................................................................................... 182 42 Nubble ................................................................................................................................... 182 43 Ogre ................................................................................................................................... 182 44 Popcorn ................................................................................................................................... 182 45 Project ................................................................................................................................... 182 46 Pyro ................................................................................................................................... 182 47 Ribble ................................................................................................................................... 182
Contents
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48 Ribblet ................................................................................................................................... 182 49 Ringoz ................................................................................................................................... 183 50 Ripple ................................................................................................................................... 183 51 Ripplet ................................................................................................................................... 183 52 Rosette ................................................................................................................................... 183 53 Shell 54 Sine ................................................................................................................................... 183 ................................................................................................................................... 183
55 Slithy ................................................................................................................................... 183 56 Spheric................................................................................................................................... 184 57 Sphynx ................................................................................................................................... 184 58 Spikes ................................................................................................................................... 184 59 Spinz 61 Spiro 62 Styro ................................................................................................................................... 184 ................................................................................................................................... 184 ................................................................................................................................... 184 60 Spirals ................................................................................................................................... 184
63 Swirlx ................................................................................................................................... 185 64 Swirly ................................................................................................................................... 185 65 Swirlz ................................................................................................................................... 185 66 Tilexy ................................................................................................................................... 185 67 Tilexyd ................................................................................................................................... 185 68 Toppy ................................................................................................................................... 185 69 Toroidz ................................................................................................................................... 186 70 Toves ................................................................................................................................... 186 71 Tubers ................................................................................................................................... 186 72 Tubey ................................................................................................................................... 186 73 Twirl 74 Twist ................................................................................................................................... 186 ................................................................................................................................... 186
75 Twistx ................................................................................................................................... 186 76 Twisty ................................................................................................................................... 187 77 Twistz ................................................................................................................................... 187 78 Vortex ................................................................................................................................... 187 79 Wabe ................................................................................................................................... 187 80 Warble ................................................................................................................................... 187 81 Warp ................................................................................................................................... 187 82 Waver ................................................................................................................................... 187 83 Wheel ................................................................................................................................... 188 84 Whirl ................................................................................................................................... 188 85 Whorl ................................................................................................................................... 188 86 Woob ................................................................................................................................... 188
VII
VIII
XenoDream v1.5 Help 87 Wrap ................................................................................................................................... 188
88 Zagzigz................................................................................................................................... 188 89 Zigzagz................................................................................................................................... 188 90 Zinzan ................................................................................................................................... 189 91 Zypes ................................................................................................................................... 189
Index
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XenoDream Software - transcend your imagination today
Part
I
Welcome to XenoDream
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XenoDream v1.5 Help
1.1 What is XenoDream?

XenoDream is a 3-D graphics program that could be described as an artist's workshop, adventure playground, tool or toy. It is a flexible environment incorporating 3-D object creation, 3-D lighting and filters, 2-D layering and various other operations. XenoDream's object modeling is unique and very powerful, combining smooth shapes and 3-D IFS fractal methods. This allows it to cover vast possibilities, from constructing the simplest objects to exploring wild shapescapes. There are no formulas or programming to learn; it is entirely interactive. There are many ways to use it, and it will continue to evolve. Explore infinite realms of strange and beautiful shapes of every type, familiar or abstract, solid or nebulous, simple or intricate. Explore at random, morph interactively or make precise adjustments, in any order you choose, and all with continuous previews. Apply 3-D lighting and other combined filters interactively for diverse lighting, material and artistic effects. Hundreds of presets are provided. Merge pictures with layering options. Load other pictures and use XenoDream's unique filtering to process them. Export objects as 3-D meshes.
XenoDream requires Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2K/XP, with minimum screen resolution 800x600 small fonts or 1024x768 large fonts, and at least 16 bit color (65k colors). See Getting Help XenoDream.
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for information about support, user groups, FAQ and several ways to use help within
See What's new in this version See Getting Started

19
11
for a summary of changes since version 1.2.
to learn about XenoDream and start playing with tutorials.
Visit http://xenodream.com for the latest information. 2000-2004 XenoDream Software, LLC. All rights reserved.
1.2 Getting help

Website The XenoDream website is at http://xenodream.com for information, galleries, updates and purchasing the program. Contacting us You can reach us at ceo@xenodream.com, support@xenodream.com and feedback@xenodream.com. For general help with using the program, we recommend the user groups as other users have a wealth of experience and useful tips to share. We welcome any bug reports or suggestions, either directly or through the user groups. User groups Join the xenodreamers mailing list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xenodreamers for general support and discussion.
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Join the xenodreampix mailing list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xenodreampix to share pictures and parameter files. Note: these are likely to change at some time. If these groups are no longer active, details will be found there or at our website. Getting Started For an introduction to XenoDream we recommend that you read the Getting Started help, and do the tutorials that are included. Frequently Asked Questions Check the FAQ 58 for more answers, including some useful techniques. Updated versions of the FAQ may be posted in the user groups or on our website between program releases. Help Contents You can open this help file from the XenoDream Help icon in the programs menu, or from within XenoDream. In the Main window, click the Help menu and select Help Contents. In the Lighting window, click the Help Contents button . Specific Help To get specific help for any control (except preview windows), right-click on the control and select the "What's This?" menu that appears. You can also press the F1 key to get help on the control or menu item that currently has the focus. Metamorph Styles To get popup help about any metamorph style, right-click on the style name in the Style List. Mouse-over Hints XenoDream controls may have two levels of mouse-over hints. Short hints show the name of controls that aren't otherwise fully labeled. Full hints show more information about the control. To switch between short and full hints, check or uncheck the Full Hints option in the Main window Options menu. Not all controls have hints in this version.
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section of this
1.3 What's new in this version

Version 1.5 contains a few major features (3-D mesh export, custom color gradients, automated stereograms) and many minor improvements. This list is only a summary, and some trivial items have been omitted. For full details refer to the relevant Help topics. The list is organized in sections, with bug fixes last in each section. General Replaced the Windows color dialog with a custom design. It offers a choice of color modes, standard and custom color squares, an eyedropper that works over the whole screen, and live update of the program while the color dialog is open. Screensavers are now disabled while rendering, to prevent display problems that can occur with OpenGL screensavers under NT, 2K and XP at least. Numeric controls no longer beep when pressing the spacebar to set them to zero, or pressing the Enter
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XenoDream v1.5 Help
key. Changed the color of memory spots to cream for empty and blue for full. Improved scaling behaviour for font settings other than 'small fonts'. Fixed a bug where the Confirm Render New preference was not being saved. Fixed a bug with some memory spots where clicking did not always choose the closest memory spot.
The Main window - general Toolbars can now be moved within their control band. Added a File menu item and toolbar button for Save, with automatic incrementing suffix if the parameter file exists. Added a File menu item for Save Holon, to save only the active holon in an xep file. The File Open dialog now remembers the last position on screen instead of moving to a fixed position. File Append now has its own remembered location instead of sharing with Save and Open. File Append no longer adds the file to the recently used list. Moved the Show Full Hints option from the toolbar to the Options menu. Now you can select and drag holons in a single action in the Holon window. The Holon window now has a popup menu to add a holon where you click. The menu includes a standard holon and 25 constructor shapes. In the Preview, picture mapping now has bilinear interpolation for the same quality as rendering. Dragging in the Preview window now adjusts camera angle instead of camera position, so appearance is preserved. Fixed a bug where Undo Last Drag button was not always disabled after opening a new file. Fixed a bug where the palette preview would get shaded preview superimposed after the window was covered if shaded preview was enabled. Fixed a bug in the shaded preview that caused objects to appear flatter than they should. Fixed a bug where clicking or releasing the Free Holon button did not rebalance holon density/probabilities. Fixed a bug where opening files with small values of camera zoom or object size caused invalid floating point errors. Fixed a bug where selecting all holons and clicking the Delete button caused an access violation. Fixed a bug where File New followed by opening files with certain shadow combinations could cause an access violation error.
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The Main window - File page The Random Parameter File button can now select files in the base folder instead of always going up one level if any subfolders exist. When opening files, the full path is now shown at the bottom of the File page. In any field, pressing the Enter key opens the Save As dialog.
The Main window - View page The state of the View Drag Mode and Rotate By controls are now remembered. Added buttons to set Clip Front to the closest point, and set Clip Back to the furthest point, for convenience when adjusting clipping planes. Added angle controls for display and direct adjustment of object angles. Added a Stereogram button, with Stereo Depth and Distance controls, for automatic and interactive creation of stereograms for cross-eyed viewing. Increased the number of View memory spots to 20.
The Main window - Shape page The Align Cyclic dialog is more powerful and easier to use, with new Range and Center controls, randomize buttons, and dynamic variation of the number of holons. It has a button to recall the last values used. Removed the New Geometric Layout button. Increased the number of Shape Memory Spots to 20. Shape memory spots now include fisheye and clipping parameters when the View is recalled. The state of the Include View and Include Color checkboxes are now remembered. Changed preference options for Shape Drag and Drag Rotate modes to remember or not. Added a Max Iteration control for each holon, for limiting consecutive iterations. Added Exclusive iteration controls, for limiting iterations in some circumstances. Added two new metamorph styles; a Prism constructor for a wide range of prism shapes, and Warble for sharp radial spikes. For metamorphs, Reposition is now checked by default. Added Extend Holon controls to allow use of another holon for extra metamorphing or displacement mapping. Moved the Holon Info List button to the Holon toolbar. In the Holon Info list, changed the Free indicator from = to f, and changed the Hidden indicator from * to h.
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XenoDream v1.5 Help
Fixed a minor bug in randomizing the first metamorph, where Sync did not always apply to Amount for constructors. Fixed a bug with the .Sphere metamorph having a tiny hole in the top and bottom.
The Main window - Color page Reorganized the Color page for more logical flow and less clutter. Previous gradient controls have been moved to a new Parametric Gradient window. Implemented powerful custom gradients for ease and flexibility in designing gradients. They have their own editor and preset windows. Added a Map To dropdown list to choose between Parametric Gradient, Custom Gradient or Background Picture (Metamorph coloring only) for each holon. The default is now Custom Gradient. Added a gradient strip to show the active holon's gradient. An Edit Gradient button opens the appropriate gradient editor window to edit the current gradient. The Open Preset button opens the appropriate preset window depending on the Map To control. In the Preview window in Palette mode, drag and drop between holons supports both parametric and custom gradients. Renamed Skip Color to Inherit Color. Increased the number of Color Memory Spots to 20.
For Metamorph Coloring mode: Moved the Use Style control to below the Coloring Method selector and renamed it to Map From, and renamed the options to be more explanatory. The first Meta Pattern now defaults to 3.0 Added a new Map From option for Flame coloring. Added five new options to the Curve controls.
Fixed a bug where opening files with Metamorph coloring could set Cycle to 200 for holon 1 if it wasn't the active holon. Fixed a bug in Metamorph coloring causing erratic Meta pattern behavior when using Other holon with popcorn, gnarl, gnarl3, sphynx or spinz styles. Fixed a bug that could cause floating point overflow errors in some cases with Metamorph coloring and any Curve parameter set to Tanh.
The Main window - Rendering page
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The Shadow ball appearance is improved with more antialiased drawing. The prompt to keep or close the alpha channel when rendering with 100% opacity is no longer followed by a confirmation to close the alpha channel. Fixed bugs in Hybrid and Ordered methods where shadows were not rendered or could cause errors. Fixed a bug in Hybrid render with Metamorph coloring where Use Style set to Skip All produced random noise in many cases. Fixed a bug in Hybrid render where regions with Per Holon method could cause access violations. Fixed a bug where a shadow at position 0,0 could cause floating point errors in lighting. Fixed a bug where deleting a shadow did not update the Horz and Vert controls for the active shadow.
The Main window - Regions page The default Region Method is now Per Holon. Added a button for the Per Holon method to assign each holon to its own region. Added an option to the Per Holon method for the holon to inherit regions from other holons. Fixed a bug where rendering with regions then changing the number of regions (other than to 1 or from 1) then doing Render New would not update the number of regions available for lighting. Fixed a bug where changing Region Method to Per Holon did not update the Number of Regions value.
The Picture window The Picture window toolbars are now movable within the control band. The File menu now has a single item for Open Picture. After you select a file, a dialog opens for choosing the destination. The Lit picture is now also an option. The File menu now has a Reopen Picture choice with a submenu of recently used pictures. After choosing a file, the destination dialog opens. The Edit menu now has a Clear option. It clears the active picture by filling it with the background color. Saving pictures in JPG format now automatically combines layers, so what you see is what will be saved, and there is no longer a warning to copy/merge before saving. Saving and opening Depth maps now have their own remembered location, instead of sharing with the Picture location. Added a Render More button and changed the Render button to Render New without a menu. Note: if this causes problems with old habits, you may want to set the Confirmation for Render New option in Preferences. There is still a popup menu in the picture area that works as before. Fixed a bug in repainting the background of the Picture window when the picture window is smaller than the window.
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XenoDream v1.5 Help
Fixed a bug where viewing the Background picture while rendering left the Unlit pic button up although rendering was shown, and hovering the mouse so that hints covered the picture would cause flashing between the background and rendering pictures.
The Lighting window Changed the default lighting parameters to a more useful effect. Dragging in the Lighting Preview now refreshes better. Pressing the Enter key now clicks the Apply button. The Lighting ball appearance is improved with more antialiased drawing. Increased the number of Lighting Memory Spots to 20. Added 10 Region Lighting Memory Spots, and changed the layout of region controls. These memory spots store lighting for all regions and the global parameters. Fixed a bug where deleting a light other than the highest did not update the parameters. Fixed a bug where applying lighting with Glow 0 then changing Glow (directly or by opening presets etc) before lighting had finished would cause an access violation. Fixed a bug where enabling or adding a shadow when no rendered shadows were available would cause the light to jump to an unrendered shadow's position if one existed. Fixed a bug where stopping lighting before it finished left the mouse cursor in the hourglass state. Fixed a bug with lighting preview scrollbars getting stuck or messed up when the preview scrollbars are the first thing you touch after choosing a lighting preset or working in the Depth window, while those windows remain open.
The Lighting Preset window There are now separate panes for categories and presets. Removed the 'all' and 'none' category options. Any presets that had no category are given category '0'. The preset listbox now adjusts to fit the width of the window as well as the height when the window is resized. Exporting is now restricted to one category at a time. You can drag and drop presets to a different category in the category list. The category is rememembered from last time the window was opened. Pressing the Enter key now clicks the OK button in the Lighting preset window. Fixed a bug where renaming a lighting preset would cause an access violation if you had not previously added a lighting preset in this session. Fixed a bug where Import caused an invalid floating point error for locations with decimal separators set to comma.
The Depth window Add to Original is now correctly scaled for uniformity.
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The Mesh Export window Implemented 3D mesh export with a range of generation options. Meshes can be saved in OBJ, PLY and POVRay INC formats.
1.4 Uninstalling XenoDream

If you want to remove XenoDream from your computer, follow these steps (exact details may vary between Windows versions): 1. 2. 3. In the Control Panel, start 'Add/Remove Programs'. Locate XenoDream in the list of installed programs and select it. Click the 'Change/Remove' button, then confirm removing it from your computer.
The XenoDream folder will still exist in Program Files\Sterling Thornton, or wherever you elected to install it, along with any data or picture files you saved there. You may delete or keep these as you wish.
1.5 Acknowledgments
Our sincere thanks go to: Anne du Bois, Bryan A. Smith, Christina Bartsch, Dennis Ginley, Eleny, Fawn, George Phillips, Joseph Presley, Juliette Gribnau, Lein, Linda McCarthy, Paul N. Lee, Sharon Shultz, Skydancer, Stan Hood, Zelda K. All our beta testers, and everyone who has given us feedback. Most bitmap management was based on Gordy's Fastlib graphics library (not recently available). Mesh export uses an isosurface extraction method and volume filling method by Dave Eberly (www.wildmagic.com). The mesh simplification was partly based on the Polychop demo by Stan Melax. This documentation was produced with Help & Manual (http://www.helpandmanual.com). The installer for v1.5 is built with Inno Setup.
Part
II
Getting started
Getting started
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Getting started
2.1 Overview: Getting started

This section introduces you to XenoDream: how you work with it, how the shapes are constructed and some of the kinds of shapes you can make. We describe what may be familiar and what is different from other programs. Most importantly, you get to start playing. The XenoDream process 20 describes how the program is organized and typical workflows. Two aspects that may be new to you are: 2-D fractal programs set the colors directly or with gradients. 3-D programs such as XenoDream calculate final colors from the interaction of object colors, material properties and lighting. In both 3-D and fractal programs, rendering usually produces a finished picture. In XenoDream, rendering generates the essential data and 3-D lighting is added afterwards. This is necessary because of the way the shapes are generated, and also has some advantages (experimenting with lighting is much faster than having to render each time, and it also allows complex sequential effects.) However, any shadows must be calculated during the render. XenoDream's object modeling Types of objects About 3-D Tutorials
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explains the unique method of constructing shapes.
illustrate some categories of objects that you can create.
reviews the ideas of 3-D modeling, and what XenoDream does.
present 15 exercises that guide you through the basics and beyond.
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Frequently Asked Questions See also Getting Help

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provides some answers and techniques.
Note: You may need to resize some of the windows when they first open, especially if your screen resolution is set to use large fonts or a custom font size. The size and position of most windows are remembered between sessions. About the sample files... There are two types of parameter files included with XenoDream: 1. In the File menu, Starter Shapes... provides a list of generic shapes as a convenient way to start, without any color or lighting. 2. The regular File Open method lets you browse various folders and open files with the full range of parameters. We have provided a small number of starters and 270 sample parameter files, sorted into categories. They were selected mainly to demonstrate a variety of shapes, styles and purposes, and the included lighting varies from good to non-existent. We encourage you to use these files in whatever way you choose, whether it's learning about their construction, as starting points for your own creations, or using them as is. You can very quickly modify a shape beyond recognition, and you'll soon see how infinite the variations are. Morphing or metamorphing existing shapes is also a great way to spark creativity if you find yourself otherwise stuck for ideas.
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2.2 The XenoDream process

The usual process is to create or edit 3-D objects, render them, apply 3-D lighting and save the result. There are other possibilities, such as combining picture layers, applying multiple lighting, processing other pictures or exporting 3-D meshes. The following diagram shows how the program is organized.
The Main window You use the Main window to work with 3-D objects. You design the shape and coloring of the object. As it is 3-D, you can set the camera to view it from any direction, distance and zoom. You can set lower opacities for some transparency. You can set regions of the object that can have different lighting or material properties. Rendering The rendering process calculates 3-D points in random or other sequences, but cannot calculate them in pixel order for reasons explained in the next topic. It generates a very large number of points that are accreted into a more or less solid 3-D object. We have to calculate all the points to know the shape of the object in detail, so we can't calculate how the surface will respond to lighting until afterwards. Rendering calculates the distance from the camera to each pixel (the Depth Map), the inherent color of each pixel (the Unlit Picture), shadow maps for each light that can cast a shadow, and if required, the opacity of each pixel (the Alpha Channel). The Picture window You monitor the rendering progress in the Picture window, which always shows the Unlit picture while rendering. This is where you work with picture layers and 2-D filters. One of the layers, the Lit picture, is created when you apply 3-D lighting. The Lit picture is usually the one you want, either directly or with additional layering or effects. You save the pictures from this window, and you can also save the depth map for importing into other 3-D applications as a terrain, and open depth maps saved in XenoDream or other applications. The Lighting window This is where the Unlit picture, depth map, shadow maps and alpha channel are combined with 3-D lighting to create the result, which is stored as the Lit picture. You can preview lighting while you are still rendering, and the quality will improve as the render approaches completion. You need to stop rendering to apply lighting. You can resume rendering for better detail if necessary (if using the default "chaos" method.) Because lighting does not change any of the source data, you can apply different lighting
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without needing to undo first. However there are some options such as reflection that can create interactions between successive lighting, requiring more care. The Depth window You can create or modify the depth map according to the colors in any one of the pictures. This allows you to apply 3-D lighting effects to any picture that you open in the Picture window, or to add bump mapping effects to an object. This is not necessary for lighting a rendered object, because rendering produces the correct depth map for the object. Saving Pictures are saved to file from the Picture window. You can also save depth maps. You can save the current settings as a XenoDream parameter file (.xep) at any time. The .xep files are very small, typically one or two kilobytes, and contain all the shape, color, view and lighting parameters. They do not currently include any details of bitmaps, layers or previously used lighting or object parameters. Parameter files are saved from the Main window, and you are also prompted to save the parameter file after saving a picture if you haven't already. Exporting a 3-D mesh is a separate process in the Mesh Export window. The Mesh Export window You can export the object in the Main window by opening the Mesh Export window. There you can render the object for export, triangulate it into a mesh, simplify the mesh to reduce the polygon count and file size, and save it in OBJ or POV format.
2.3 XenoDream's object modeling

Most 3-D programs work by assembling independent objects, which may be standard shapes such as spheres, cylinders, cubes etc (sometimes called primitives), or various kinds of meshes. XenoDream's model uses building blocks that are often interdependent, inheriting each other's shapes. To distinguish them from ordinary objects we have called them holons. Hungarian philosopher Arthur Koestler coined the word "holon" to describe something that is both a whole and an identifiable part of a larger whole. Just a few holons can produce a huge variety of shapes with rich detail. We will refer to the overall shape as the object. To see how holons work, we will need to combine several concepts: constructors, transformation, inheritance and iteration. Constructors Constructors are standard shapes that can be assigned to holons. XenoDream has a selection of standard shapes (cube, cone, cylinder, sphere, crystal, torus, plane, frame) and each has variations. Here are some of the variations of the two cube constructors.
Figure 1.
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The shape of constructor holons is not affected by other holons. Transformation Transformation means modifying an existing shape. The simplest kind is called linear because any straight line is mapped to another straight line. Linear transformations can change scales, orientation, position, and also skew. (Skew is a rotation of one direction relative to others, and at 180 degrees it produces a reflection.) These are essential for specifying objects in 3-D. Every holon has a linear transformation. If we draw the holons as cubes, their sizes, orientations and positions are different as a result of those transformations. Any other transformation is non-linear. We have called them metamorphs. Each holon can have up to two metamorphs, selected from a list. At present they are pre-programmed, and each has three parameters to adjust the effects. Here are some examples of metamorphs applied to a cube.
Figure 2. The result of a metamorph depends on the shape it is applied to. (However, we have actually implemented constructors as a special type of metamorph that creates a specific shape regardless of the input shape.) Inheritance and iteration So far, holons seem fairly simple, though some metamorphs can get a bit wild. Where does the complexity come in? It comes from inheritance. Holons need to have something to transform. So they inherit the shapes of ALL holons (including themselves) and transform those shapes, to get the holon's own shape. The shape of each holon therefore depends on all the holons. (Constructors break this dependence by overriding the shapes they inherit). If holons can depend on themselves and each other, how do they know what shape to be? To understand the answer, we can start by looking at the kind of shapes that result. The first example has two holons. One is a cube constructor, rotated slightly for effect, shown in yellow. The other is a simple holon that reduces size to 93% and rotates 30 degrees counterclockwise. You can think of this holon as having two parts. One part inherits the other holon (the yellow cube), shrinks it and rotates it, to make the largest gray cube in the spiral. The other part inherits itself, which has the effect of iterating that gray cube into a complete spiral. Holons that are not constructors will generally create iterated structures.
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Figure 3. The next example uses the same holons, but neither is a constructor. Each holon inherits and iterates the other and itself. The large holon iterates in a spiral shape. The small holon iterates by shrinking to 36% and moving to the right. The combined result is spirals of spirals of spirals etc.
Figure 4. Shapes with some kind of self-similarity (variations of the same shape are repeated at different scales) are called fractals. There are many types of fractals, and this particular type is a 3-D Iterated Function System (IFS). If you have encountered these before, the "holons" were probably called transforms or functions. We wanted a name that is less overloaded, so you can play with these strange building blocks without being distracted by mathematics or other word meanings. The IFS method (as explained below) is used to generate all objects in XenoDream, even though constructors allow you to make shapes that may not have any fractal characteristics.
How is the shape actually made from the holons? We have shown how holons produce iterated shapes. Iteration is also the process used to generate the shapes. One point is calculated at each step. Starting with any point in the shape, each holon inherits that point and transforms it to a new point. Two holons produce two new points. Repeating this process with those two points produces four more points. Repeating enough times would produce millions of points, each with a different sequence of holon inheritance. The number of points necessary to fill in the shape depends on the size of the picture, and on the density of the shape, which depends on the scale factors of each holon. Longer sequences would not produce any new points. There are several methods of calculating the sequences of points. Some of them go through all the sequences in order; but that has some major disadvantages, depending on which order is used. The other method chooses them at random, and for this reason we call it the chaos method. At each step a holon is chosen at random, and it inherits and transforms the previous point, creating one long random
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sequence. This works because a sufficiently long random sequence contains all the different short combinations. One advantage of this method is that by filling in the shape randomly, the whole shape is visible quite quickly, though the fine details take longer to accumulate. Therefore we use it for previews as well as the default method for the full size picture. How does the program find a starting point that is in the shape? It just starts with a point that is probably not in the shape, and with each iteration the point converges towards the shape. This happens because holons are not allowed to have scales that expand. The shape is sometimes called the attractor for the set of holons. So XenoDream ignores the first thousand points in the random sequence to be fairly sure that the points are in the shape before it starts plotting them.
2.4 Types of objects

Holons and metamorphs are so versatile that categorization is difficult. Some general types of objects can be described, labeled by either the holon characteristics or the resulting shapes. Single holon A single holon must be a constructor to produce a shape (though there are some rare exceptions). It can be modified by a second metamorph. The resulting shape is usually relatively smooth. It is not a fractal. The chaos method must be used to render it. These two examples use the Sphere constructor modified by Spikes, and the Cube constructor modified by Gridpol. See Figures 1 and 2 in XenoDream's object modeling 21 for more examples.
Two or more holons, all constructors All holons are independent; essentially a collection of single holons. This is like the conventional way of constructing objects. Two or more holons, no constructors All holons affect each other, resulting in a fractal with fine details that increase in complexity as you zoom in or render larger. With no metamorphs, or only subtle ones, the shape will be self-similar; with stronger metamorphs this can be obscured. Adjusting any holon changes the whole shape. The largest holons have most influence over the shape, while the smaller holons affect the detail. It is easy to produce junk with arbitrary assortments of this type.
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Several holons, some constructors The relative numbers and sizes of the constructors and other holons determine the balance between smooth shapes and replication. If only one holon is not a constructor, it will replicate all constructor holons. If more than one are not constructors, the structure will be more complex. Spirals One large holon acts as the anchor, controlling the spiral with its scales, rotation and position. Any metamorphs on this holon will distort or destroy the spiral. One or more smaller holons provide the detail that is iterated around the spiral. They can have constructors or other metamorphs.
Kaleidoscopes and rings Similar to a spiral but the anchor holon has all scales 100, positions 0. Because it does not shrink the scales, any rotation will iterate the other holons around a circle. If the angle of rotation is a factor of 360 or a multiple, the iterations will be evenly spaced. For example, an angle of 60 will give six copies around the circle. If the angle does not divide evenly, the iterations will be closely spaced or smeared together into a continuous ring. This can be used for vases, lampshades or other objects with rotational symmetry.
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Free holons If one or more holons are Free, they don't interact with the others (they are not inherited). They inherit the "parent shape" formed by the holons that are not free. This is useful for two purposes. One is to apply more metamorphs than the two that are available per holon. If one holon is a constructor with an additional metamorph, a free holon inherits that shape and allows two more metamorphs. The first holon can be hidden with the Hide Parent Shape button. The other purpose is to make several copies of any shape without affecting that shape. Each copy can be metamorphed. The example below has four holons making a pyramid, and four free holons that inherit the pyramid and metamorph it.
Explosions Some combinations of holons and metamorphs can diverge or explode way beyond the view. They may appear to be messy in the solid preview, but the transparent preview can reveal interesting patterns that look even better in a transparent render (opacity between 5 and 20). If the preview overflow indicator comes on you'll need to adjust the holons or metamorphs to less sensitive values. One clue to look for in the solid preview is some hint of patterns or traces in the first second of preview before chaos obliterates it.
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Modeling vs exploring To maximize control of the objects, especially if you are trying to make something specific, use all or mostly constructors. Use fewer or no constructors for more exploratory creation. Starting from scratch is easier when using constructors, but requires patience when exploring, especially with pure fractals. Interesting fractal shapes tend to cluster together in parameter space, so you can get good results by starting with an interesting shape and trying variations of holons and metamorphs. Random fractals are mostly junk, so exploring variations of junk is likely to produce more junk. By analogy, if you were exploring space looking for planets, you would look near the stars. For quick results, explore many variations of existing shapes. If you head far out into the unknown, pay attention to patterns, looking for things that improve the result one at a time, rather than random or aimless changes that can lead to frustration.
2.5 About 3-D

This topic reviews the ideas of 3-D modeling, and what XenoDream does. Objects are modeled in three dimensions. You can rotate them and view them from any distance and direction, just as you can turn a solid object in your hands to see it from any side, and move it closer or further away from your eyes. The view that you choose is projected onto a flat screen (the camera). The object is projected in perspective (this means that closer parts appear larger than more distant parts.) The colors you see depend on various factors related to light and materials. The natural (intrinsic) color at each point on the surface of the object (and internal colors if the object has some transparency). The intensity, color and type of light illuminating the object. This may include ambient light (which has no direction) and light sources, which can have any direction in 3-D and can cast shadows. The material properties of the object. These determine how light responds to the surface, for example how shiny or smooth, how it reflects or refracts different colors, or glows or iridesces. XenoDream implements many aspects of 3-D objects and lighting but also takes some shortcuts. Because it was designed to handle only one object at a time, object position is only defined relative to the camera. Light angles are defined relative to the camera rather than the object. Light sources are point sources, as if they are very distant. Spotlights are not implemented. These make it slightly simpler, but less suitable for advanced purposes such as animation.
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XenoDream blurs the distinction between materials, lights and 2-D filters, to achieve integrated postprocessing effects. As a result, "realistic" appearances depend on the combinations you choose. Some effects such as transparency, reflection and refraction are approximations because accuracy would require knowing the full shape before rendering, or storing more information than would fit in memory. The complex and unfamiliar shapes of some objects, especially pure fractals, can make it harder to find lighting that helps the eye to see the 3-D shape unambiguously.
2.6 Tutorials
2.6.1 Overview: Tutorials
These tutorials will guide you through the basic processes of creating objects and pictures. You will create most of the types of objects 24 previously described, and also explore some more powerful techniques. We recommend that you take time to play with what you learn from each tutorial before doing the next one. Most tutorials are worth repeating any number of times with different choices. If you are upgrading from a previous version you will find that some of the familiar tutorials have been revised to illustrate some of the improvements. Single Holon 30 : the simplest type of object. This tutorial includes the shape, coloring, rendering, lighting and saving the picture and parameter file. Spiral Shell 33 : this classic shape is both a spiral and a pure fractal (no constructors). The tutorial covers the shape, camera view, coloring, rendering and lighting. Layered Picture 36 : this tutorial covers layers, transparent rendering, filter effects, objects with some constructors, coloring, rendering and lighting. Kaleidoscope
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: experiment with kaleidoscope shapes.

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Using Free Holons Clouds layers.

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: examples of two uses of free holons.
: a routine for making an endless variety of clouds, rendering them transparently and combining
Creating Backgrounds 44 : the essentials of the Background Creation Mode, to quickly create smooth or complex background pictures from metamorph coloring. Using Picture Mapping 45 : how to open a picture and map it onto an object; in this example mapping it to a cube and replicating it around a spiral. Lighting Effects 46 : three advanced lighting methods. First creating a single holon object, rendering transparently and some examples of glassy lighting. Then exploring glazed surface effects, and finally multiple lighting (applying one filter after another). Filtered Noise 49 : generating noise with Background Creation Mode and applying sequences of filters for various effects. The resulting textures could be used for picture mapping or as backgrounds. Exclusive Iteration
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: a simple demonstration of these shape controls.

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Using Extended Holons
: how to get two extra metamorphs by extending a holon.
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Using Displacement Mapping 53 : how to extend a holon with displacement mapping (a kind of radial metamorphing), and also adding a background surface with shadows and using Other Holon coloring. Using Displacement Presets
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: how to append displacer holons from parameter files.
Exporting a Mesh 56 : procedures for creating a 3-D mesh file from an object in the Main window. The mesh can be imported into most 3-D modeling or rendering programs.
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2.6.2
Single holon
First, make sure you are starting from scratch. If you just started XenoDream, you're ready to begin; otherwise click the File New button First things first We will set the Creator name to be included when you save your files. 1. 2. 3. If the File page isn't already showing, click the File tab to go to the File page. (The File page is one of the tabbed pages at the bottom of the window). Edit the text in the Creator field; perhaps your name or alias. Click the Set Default button. This will be the default Creator when you start XenoDream, start a new file, or click the Get Default button. in the Standard toolbar.
Making the shape For this exercise we are using only one holon, which is already there. We don't need to change any of the basic holon parameters, only the metamorph parameters on the right side of the Shape page. There are two metamorphs and we will set the first to a crystal constructor shape and the second to a radial pattern on the crystal surface. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Click the Shape tab to go to the Shape page. Click the first (leftmost) Style button (the caption is '(None)' initially). It stays down, and the Style List opens. Select .Crystal from the Style List. Set the first metamorph's Amount to 100, to make the crystal style a pure constructor. Reduce Scale to 6.0 to set the size. Note: you can either type the numbers or drag them with the mouse. Set Special to 4.0 to set the number of faces to 6 (it is the value of Special plus 2). Click the second Style button and select Giblet from the style list. Right-click on Giblet in the style list to see popup help about it. All styles have this quick reference for what the parameters do. Set the second style's Amount to 1.0, Scale to 15 and Special to 10. Usually you will use larger values of Amount to change the shapes. Here the giblet pattern is only a bump on the crystal surface.
Setting the colors 1. 2. 3. 4. Click the Color tab to go to the Color page. The preview changes to color preview mode. In the Coloring Method dropdown box, choose Metamorph. You need to use this method for single holons. Notice the additional controls that appear below the Method control. Set the first Meta pattern parameter to 1.8 and the second to 1.0. Click the Gradient Presets button to open the Custom Gradient Preset window. Select the "Basic" category on the left, and choose the "Christmas wrap" preset. Click OK to close the window.
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Rendering the picture 1. Click the Render New button on the toolbar. The Picture window appears and the object fills in rapidly.
On the toolbar, notice the Stop Render button , the Render More button and the number that is updated every second. This is the number of new pixels plotted each second, which starts off large and reduces as the object surface is filled in. Note: the number can jump around a bit and varies with the computer speed, so numbers given in the tutorials are only suggestions. 2. Let it render until the progress indicator is down to about 600, then click the Stop Render button. Rendering stops and the button changes to the Render New button .
The object doesn't look finished, because depth and lighting haven't been incorporated yet. Applying lighting 1. 2. Click the Lighting button on the Picture window toolbar to open the Lighting window. You may need to resize it to show all the controls. Scroll the Lighting Preview until the crystal is visible. The fastest way to get started is with Lighting presets. 3. 4. 5. 6. Click the Lighting Presets button to open the Lighting Preset window. Drag the Lighting Preset window by its title bar so that it doesn't cover the Lighting Preview. You may also need to move the Lighting window to find a convenient layout. The lighting preset categories are listed on the left. Click on the "Metal" category. Click on a preset name and notice the effect in the Lighting Preview window. You can scroll the Lighting Preview window around to see how the rest of the crystal looks, while the Lighting Preset window remains open. Try out some of the metal presets and choose one that suits this object, eg "Foil detail". Click the OK button to close the Lighting Preset window. Click the Apply button in the Lighting window to apply the lighting to the object. The Picture window now shows the Lit picture.
7. 8. 9.
Saving the results First we'll save the Lit picture to a Jpeg file. 1. 2. 3. 4. In the Picture window, click the File menu and choose Save Picture... Create a folder for your pictures by clicking the button for New Folder, and name it anything you like. Open the folder you just created. Type a filename (eg Xmas wrap tut) into the Filename field and click the OK button.
Note: If you wanted to load this picture into another graphics program, instead of saving it in JPG format you would choose either Bitmap or Photoshop format, or copy it to the clipboard and paste it into the other program. Saving a picture does not save the parameters to recreate the fractal picture. Next we'll save the parameters in a XenoDream Parameter file, which has extension .xep. After saving the picture, you are prompted to save the parameters. 5. 6. 7. When prompted to save the parameter file, click Yes. In the Save dialog, open the Data folder. Create a folder for your own parameter files by clicking the New Folder button and typing a folder
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8. 9.
name. Type a name for the file in the Filename field (eg Xmas wrap tut). Click the OK button to save the parameter file.
Note: you can save the current settings as a parameter file at any time by clicking the Save As button in the Main window Standard toolbar.
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2.6.3
Spiral shell
First, make sure you are starting from scratch. If you just started XenoDream, you're ready to begin; otherwise click the File New button Making the shape 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Click the Shape tab to go to the Shape page. The holon parameter controls are in three columns headed X, Y and Z. Adjust any one of the three Scale parameters to 95. on the toolbar.
Click the Sync Scales button to make the scales equal. Adjust the Z Rotation to 30. Adjust the Z Position to 7. Click the Add Holon button in the Holon toolbar to add a new holon. A second holon appears in the Holon window and is yellow to show it is now the active holon. 7. Adjust the X Position to 100. 8. Adjust the X and Y Scales to 40, and Z Scale to 30. 9. Adjust the Y Rotation to 330 and the Z Rotation to 180. 10. Check the Optimize option, and notice that the preview fills in faster, so keep this option checked. You should now have a spiral shell in the Preview window:
Changing the view Now we want to rotate the shell to a different viewing angle. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Click the View tab to go to the View page. Set the Rotate By control to 20. Click the Roll Right button. Click the Rotate Up button. Click the Rotate Left button. Adjust the X Position to -0.10 to center the shell horizontally. Adjust the Y Position to -0.12 to center it vertically.
Note: Other ways to rotate the object are to set the View Drag Mode to Object Angle and drag in the Holon window, or to adjust the Angle controls. Coloring the shell The shell does not use constructor metamorphs so we will use Holon Sequence coloring to provide fine details, and Parametric Gradients so we can randomize both holon gradients together. 1. Click the Color tab to go to the Color page.
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2. 3. 4.
Click the Select All button in the Holon toolbar to select both holons. In the Map To dropdown box, choose Parametric Gradient. Click the Edit Gradient button to open the Parametric Gradient Editor window. Drag it to a convenient position, which will depend on your screen resolution, making sure you can see the Color Memory Spots on the Color page. In the Parametric Gradient Editor, set the Gain to 10.
5. 6.
Click the Randomize Gradients button (uppermost ) and wait a few seconds to see how the preview looks. If you don't like the colors, repeat until some acceptable colors appear. 7. To get some spiral color variation, adjust the Blend control up or down (leave Blender set to 1). 8. Click on one of the Color Memory Spots (the grid of 20 cream squares on the Color page) to temporarily save the color scheme. It turns blue to show that it's in use. 9. Repeat steps 3 to 5 until you have several color schemes saved. 10. Now click on each of the blue memory spots in turn to compare the color schemes, and choose one. Here's an example:
Rendering the shell The first step is to select which shadows you might want. 1. Click the Rendering tab to go to the Rendering page. 2. In the Shadows section on the left, set the Shadow Preset control to 5. This sets up four lights that can cast shadows. 3. To start the render, click the Render New button in the Render toolbar at the top of the Main window. 4. The Picture window appears and you should see the object taking shape. 5. Wait until the progress indicator number falls below about 600, then click the Stop Render button . The fractal doesn't look finished, because depth and lighting haven't been incorporated yet. Lighting the shell 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Click the Lighting button on the Picture window toolbar to open the Lighting window. Scroll the Lighting Preview to show and interesting part of the shell. Click the Lighting Presets button to open the Lighting Preset window. In the Category list click "1st", and in the Preset list click "Soft 1". Click the OK button to close the Lighting Preset window. Click the Apply button to apply the lighting to the whole shell.
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2.6.4
Layered picture
First we make a sky using some transparency and filtering, then we make a foreground object. Making a sky background 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. We'll use one of the parameter files provided with XenoDream to make a cloudy sky. Click the File Open button on the toolbar. Open the Data folder. (If you recently opened a sample parameter file, going up one level should take you back to the Data folder.) Open the Atmospheric folder. Select the file named "Afternoon high cloud.xep" and click OK.
The preview shows a rather solid shape. 1. 2. 3. 4. Click the Transparent Preview button in the Preview toolbar to get a better idea of how the clouds should look (though the preview shows them against a black background.) Go to the Rendering page. The Holon Opacity control is already set to 6, a suitably low value for the render. Click the Render New button on the toolbar. With such low opacity it will take a while for the clouds to appear. When the progress indicator falls to 3000, click the Stop Render button .
The clouds would look better with some blurring. First we need to merge the clouds and background color together. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Notice that the Picture window title bar caption says "Unlit picture + Back color". Click the Copy/Merge button on the toolbar. The Copy/Merge window opens, and the default destination is the Background picture, which is what we want. Click OK to merge the layers. Notice that the Picture window caption now says we're looking at the Background picture, so we're ready to apply blur. Click the Effects menu and choose Gaussian blur... Set the Width to 6, Amount to 100 and Lighten to 4. You can scroll the preview to see more of the blurred clouds. Click OK to apply the blur effect.
We can enhance the realism by blending some of the unblurred clouds back in. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click the Unlit Picture button on the toolbar to show the Unlit picture (the rendered clouds).
Click the Alphablend button on the toolbar to re-engage the alpha channel opacity. Adjust the Layer Opacity down to about 40. Click the Copy/Merge button. Click OK to merge the layers into the Background picture.
Now the sky background is done, we'll make an object for the foreground. Making a foreground object 1. 2. Click the Main button to return to the Main window. Click the File New button on the toolbar, to begin a new object. Click OK to proceed without
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3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.
saving. Release the Transparent Preview button if it is still down. Go to the Shape page. Set the X, Y and Z Scales to 96. Set the X Position to -8. Click the Add Holon button. Click the Preview Mode button to set the preview to Gray mode. This is faster for making shapes and shows what the active holon is doing. Set the X, Y and Z Scales to 40. Click the first Style button, and select .Cone from the Style List. Check Reorient. This will allow the cone to be reoriented by the holon rotation parameters. Set the first metamorph's Amount to 25, Scale to -9 and Special to 8. Release the Style button to hide the Style List. Click the Add Holon button. Set the X, Y and Z Scales to 33. Click on an empty (cream) Shape Memory Spot to store this starting shape.
Now we will experiment to find interesting shapes. Note: To select a holon, adjust the Active Holon control in the Holon toolbar. (You can also select holons by clicking in the Holon window. The nearest holon to the pointer is shown in red, to indicate which holon will become active when you click.) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Select holon 1. Change the X and Y Skews and X and Y Rotations by small amounts (between about -10 and 10). You want a combination that keeps the whole shape within the preview. Select holon 2. Change the position and rotation parameters. You can also change the position by dragging the holon in the Holon window, after making sure Drag Mode is set to Position. Select holon 3. Change the position and rotation parameters. Repeat any of the above adjustments in any order. Store promising shapes to empty Shape Memory Spots, and restore from full (blue) spots to work with them again.
When you've chosen the final shape: 1. 2. Click the Preview with Background button the preview. Adjust the Object Size for a good composition. in the Holon toolbar, to show the sky background in
Now we will assign colors, using Metamorph coloring and inheriting the pattern from the spiral cone. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Go to the Color page. Set the Coloring Method to Metamorph. Select holon 1. Set Map From to Inherit all, and check Inherit Color. Select holon 3. Set Map From to Inherit all, and check Inherit Color. Select holon 2. Click the Edit Gradient button to open the Custom Gradient Editor (because Map To is set to Custom Gradient). Click once in the middle of the gradient box to add another node.
10. Click the Randomize All Parameters button until you like the results. 11. Click OK to close the Custom Gradient Editor window.
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12. Experiment with the three Meta Pattern controls. Now to render the object. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Click the Render New button in the Render toolbar. When asked if you want to keep the old Alpha Channel, click No. When the progress indicator falls to below 300, click the Stop Render button. Click the Lighting button on the toolbar to open the Lighting window. Scroll the Lighting preview to show part of the object.
Click the Lighting Presets button . In the Category list click "1st", and in the Preset list click "Cloudy day", and click OK to close the Lighting Presets window. 8. In the Depth panel, uncheck Extra and check Fine. 9. In the Light Sources panel, select Light #1, click the Sync button, and adjust Diffuse% to 60. Set Intensity to 65. 10. In the Glow, Haze and Background panel, the Background Source button is beside the Background Color rectangle and has the caption "Color". Click it until the caption is "Back picture". 11. Set Glow to 4. 12. Click Apply to apply the lighting. Here is an example:
Getting started
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2.6.5
Kaleidoscope
A holon with maximum scale and some rotation creates rotational symmetry. When the angle divides evenly into 360 degrees you get repeating copies of the other holons. Here we will use 45 degrees for an eight way cycle. First, make sure you are starting from scratch. If you just started XenoDream, you're ready to begin; otherwise click the File New button on the toolbar.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 15.
Click the Shape tab to go to the Shape page. Set the X Scale to 100. Click the Sync Scales button to make the scales equal. Set the Z Rotation to 45. Right-click in the Holon window near the end of the red line (X axis) and choose Holon from the popup menu. This is a convenient way to position new holons. Set the X Scale to 35 and click the Sync Scales button. Right-click in the Holon window near the middle of the green line and choose Sphere from the popup menu. Set the X Scale to 25 and click the Sync Scales button. Set the Sphere metamorph's Amount to about 1.0 to make it smaller. Right-click in the Holon window half way to the top right corner and choose Cone | Shell from the popup menu. Set the X Scale to 25 and click the Sync Scales button. Set the Cone metamorph's Amount to about -2.0. Now experiment with the rotations of holon 2, and the positions of all three small holons. You can drag the holons around in the holon window after making sure the Drag Mode is set to Position. For additional experiments, add more or different constructor holons, or add second metamorphs to them.
Note: if you use Metamorph coloring for kaleidoscopes, best results usually come from setting the first holon to both Inherit Color and Map From to Inherit All, so it replicates the coloring of the smaller holons.
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2.6.6
Using free holons
First, make sure you are starting from scratch. If you just started XenoDream, you're ready to begin; otherwise click the File New button on the toolbar.
One use of Free holons is to allow extra metamorphs. (Note: with v1.5, Extended holons provide a more flexible method for this.) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Go to the Shape page. Click the first Style button, and select .Sphere from the Style List. Set the first metamorph's Amount to 100 and Scale to 13. Click the second Style button, and select Spikes from the Style List. Set the second metamorph's Amount to 60. Click the Add Holon button in the Holon toolbar. Click the Free Holon button . This holon is now a smaller copy of the first.
8. Click the Hide Parent Shape button . Now only the free holon is visible. 9. Click the first Style button, and select Zagzigz from the Style List. Release the Style button. 10. Set the first metamorph's Amount to 7 and Scale to 20.
The other use is to make independent copies of the main object, which can be further modified. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. In the File menu, choose Starter Shapes... and click OK to proceed without saving. Select "Octahedron 1" from the list. Click OK to close the dialog. Reduce Object Size (in the Holon toolbar) to 35. Click the Add Holon button. Click the Free Holon button . Set the holon's X Position to -100 and Y Position to 75. Click the Clone Holons button. The new holon is also free. Set the holon's X Position to 100. Click the Clone Holons button. Set the holon's X Position to 100 and Y Position to -75. Click the Clone Holons button. Set the holon's X Position to -100. There are now four free holons arranged around the central "Parent shape". Click the Metamorphs button to enable metamorphs. Click the first Style button, and select .Cube from the Style List. Set the first metamorph's Scale to 2.0. Any changes you make to a free holon don't affect the parent shape or other free holons. Release the Free Holon button to see what happens if this holon is part of the parent shape. , and after step 15:
The preview after step 14
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16. Click the Free Holon button again. 17. Select holon 6 (the one at the bottom of the parent shape). 18. Click the Hide Holon button . This hides the holon without removing its influence on the parent shape. The free holons inherit the parent shape accordingly. (The cube holon is a constructor so is independent of the shape it inherits.) 19. Click the Hide Parent Shape button . This is independent of hiding holons, so the free holons still have a piece missing from the octahedron. The preview after step 18, and after step 19:
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2.6.7
Clouds
First, make sure you are starting from scratch. If you just started XenoDream, you're ready to begin; otherwise click the File New button 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. on the toolbar.
Click the Add Holon button seven times, for a total of eight holons. Click the Select All button , to select all the holons. to set it to Color mode instead of Gray mode.
Click the Preview Mode button
Click the Transparent Preview button to make the preview transparent. Go to the Shape page. Set the X, Y and Z Scale parameters to about 50. Set the Drag Mode to Rotate.
8. Click the Random Sequence button to randomize the rotations. 9. Set the Drag Mode to Position. 10. Click the Random Sequence button to randomize the positions. Optionally click the Center Holons button , or adjust the holon Position parameters. 11. Repeat any of the previous four steps to make different cloud shapes. It is easiest to try out a number of random rotations, then a number of random positions, etc. 12. Experiment with higher or lower Scale parameters, either keeping the three values equal or varying them. 13. Save the best cloud shapes to Shape Memory Spots. Rendering the clouds 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Go to the Rendering page. Set Holon Opacity to between 5 and 10. Click the Picture button on the toolbar to show the Picture window. Click on the Background Color rectangle on the toolbar, and choose a suitable sky blue from the color picker dialog. Click the Render New button . .
When the clouds look thick enough, click the Stop Render button
Adding layers of clouds By making new clouds and clicking Render More , you can blend different clouds together. However, that doesn't give you any undo option if the new cloud doesn't work out. Using the Background picture is more flexible. 1. 2. 3. 4. Click the Copy/Merge button the Background picture. Return to the Main window. and click OK, to merge the Unlit picture and Background Color to
Click the Preview with Background button in the Holon toolbar. This makes it easier to arrange the clouds together. Either restore a different cloud from a Shape Memory Spot, or continue randomizing to create a different one, to find a good combination with the background. Drag in the Preview window to reposition the cloud as required.
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5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Click the Render New button on the toolbar. As soon as the new cloud has the right density, click the Stop Render button. If you don't like the new cloud, return to the Main window and repeat the preceding three steps. To merge the new cloud into the background layer, click the Copy/Merge button and click OK. Continue adding more clouds if desired.
Another option is to set the Initial Color of each cloud layer to a shade of soft gray or other color before rendering. Lighting clouds is possible, but light sources don't work well because they use surface angles, so you are mostly restricted to adjusting ambient intensity and color, glow and haze. Some Gaussian Blur can also improve the appearance.
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2.6.8
Creating backgrounds
First, make sure you are starting from scratch. If you just started XenoDream, you're ready to begin; otherwise click the File New button 1. 2. 3. on the toolbar.
Go to the Color page. In the Coloring Method dropdown box, choose Metamorph. Click the Background Creation Mode button . As long as this button is down, the preview shows a background pattern created from the active holon's parameters, and does not show the object. Set all three Meta Pattern controls to 3.
4. 5.
Click the Gradient Preset button to open the Custom Gradient Preset window. Choose the "Basic" category and the "Malachite ripple" preset, and click OK to close the preset window. 6. Go to the Shape page. 7. Set the Z Position to 30. 8. In the metamorphs area, click the left Style button and select Ripplet from the Style List. 9. Uncheck Reposition for the first metamorph (otherwise Position changes have no effect). 10. Increase Special to 10. This makes a fairly busy pattern. To create the background picture: 1. 2. Go to the Color page. Click the Create Background Picture button picture is created. . The Picture window appears and the background
To create it with antialiasing: 1. 2. 3. Return to the Main window, by clicking the Main button on the toolbar, or double-clicking the picture. Set the AA control to 2. Click the Create Background Picture button. It takes about 8 times as long to update the picture.
Now we will see how two metamorphs work together. 1. 2. 3. 4. Return to the Main window and Go to the Shape page. Click the second Style button and select Gnarl from the Style List. Set the second metamorph's Special to 2 and Amount to 8. This pattern comes entirely from the gnarl, because the first metamorph has zero Amount. Slowly increase the first metamorph's Amount, noticing how the Ripplet drives the Gnarl pattern. You would get a different (and very useful!) effect by putting the Gnarl first and driving the Ripplet pattern.
We can use the basic holon parameters to zoom in on any part of the pattern for a simpler background, and distort or rotate it. 1. 2. Decrease the X and Y Scales to zoom in. (Notice that everything works opposite from adjusting shapes.) Experiment with the other holon parameters (except for X Skew, which does not affect points on the XY plane.)
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2.6.9
Using picture mapping
In this example you will be opening a picture file, in JPG, BMP or PSD format. A photograph of similar size to the render size would be ideal. First, make sure you are starting from scratch. If you just started XenoDream, you're ready to begin; otherwise click the File New button on the toolbar.
For the shape we will use a spiral of cubes. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. In the File menu, choose Starter Shapes... and choose "Spiral 1" from the list. Go to the Shape page. Select holon 2, either with the Active Holon control or by clicking near the smaller holon in the Holon window. Click the Metamorphs button to enable metamorphs. Click the first Style button, and select .Cube. Set Scale to 2.0 and check Reposition and Reorient.
Next we will map the picture onto it. 1. 2. 3. Go to the Color page. Change the Coloring Method to Metamorph. Set the Map To option to Background Picture. The preview shows the small holon with a checkered pattern because we haven't opened a background picture yet. The picture mapping controls appear in the center of the Color page. Click the Picture Map Defaults button . This sets the picture mapping and Meta Pattern controls to suitable defaults. Click the Picture button in the Rendering toolbar, to go to the Picture window. In the File menu, choose Open Picture... and find a picture to open. In the Destination dialog, choose New Background Picture. If a dialog prompts you to change size, choose No. Return to the Main window. The preview should now show the small holon with the picture on each face of the cube. If necessary, adjust the Picture Offset controls to position the picture, and the first two Meta Pattern controls to scale it.
4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Now we want to replicate the picture mapping through the spiral. 1. 2. 3. 4. Select the large holon (holon 1). Set the Map To option to Background Picture. Set the Map From dropdown box to Inherit all. This inherits the cube mapping and Meta Pattern controls around the spiral. Check the Inherit Color option. This inherits the Picture Map and Offset controls around the spiral. Now the spiral should color each cube identically. (If you didn't change the offset controls for this example, Inherit Color won't make any difference.)
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2.6.10
Lighting effects
First we will make a suitable object and render it. We want relatively smooth surfaces for these effects. 1. 2. 3. Go to the Shape page. Click the first Style button, and select .Sphere from the Style List. Set Amount to -98. (Usually you would set it to 100 or -100 for a pure constructor, but for this demonstration we want some surface noise.) 4. Set Scale to 6 and Special to 45. 5. Click the second Style button, and select Ribblet from the Style List. 6. Set the second metamorph's Amount to -8, Scale to 16 and Special to 2. 7. Go to the View page. 8. Set Y Position to 0.7 to center the object. 9. Go to the Color page. 10. Set the Coloring Method dropdown box to Metamorph. 11. Set the first and third Meta Pattern values to 2.0. 12. Click the Gradient Preset button to open the Custom Gradient Preset window. Choose a preset, and click OK to close the preset window. 13. Go to the Rendering page. 14. Set Holon Opacity to 3. 15. Click the Render New button. 16. In the Picture window File menu, choose Open Picture... and open a picture to use as the background. Choose Background Picture as the destination. If the size is different, click No when asked if you want to change the size. 17. When the Progress Indicator gets down to about 400, click the Stop Render button Glassy lighting 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Click the Lighting button to open the Lighting window. Click the Enable Locking button . .
In the Glow, Haze and Background panel, click the Lock Background button to stop the background controls from changing whenever we load a preset or recall from a memory spot. Click the Background Source button twice to set it to Back Picture. Scroll the Lighting Preview to somewhere near the middle, where the object is visible. Click the Lighting Presets button , choose Category "1st" and Preset "Soft 1". Click OK to close the Lighting Presets window. In the Reflection and Refraction panel, click the Reflection Source and Refraction Source buttons to set them both to Back Picture. Set Reflection to 20 and Refraction to 40, and Refractive Index to 140. Notice that the background is refracted more as you increase the index, and that the glass surface appears frosted due to the rough surface. Sometimes that may be desirable, while other times you may want a more polished surface than the object has. The Pits filter can do this. Set Pits to 9, and click the Apply Pits button . Repeat this three times. Set Pits to -9, and click the Apply Pits button. Repeat this three times. In the Light Sources panel, select light #1, click the Sync button, and set Smoothing to 10. Click the Apply button to apply the lighting.
9. 10. 11. 12.
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That preset would not work for glass if the opacity was higher. Now we will try some different looks. 1. 2. Click the Lighting button to return to the Lighting window. Click the Lighting Presets button, and select Category "Gel" and Preset "Glass dark". Click OK to close the Lighting Presets window. 3. In the Depth panel, uncheck Extra. 4. In the Light Sources panel, select light #1, click the Sync button, and set Diffuse% to 15 and Shininess to 45. 5. In the Reflection and Refraction panel, check Translucent, set Refraction to 40 and Refractive Index to 130. 6. In the Glow, Haze and Background panel, uncheck Alpha Glow and set Glow to 15. 7. In the Color panel, set Contrast to 60, Iridescence to 30 and Spread to 3. 8. Click the Apply button to apply the lighting. 9. Click the Lighting button to return to the Lighting window. 10. In the Reflection and Refraction panel, click the Refraction Source button to set it to Back Picture, and reduce Refractive Index to 110. This makes a thinner glass or plastic depending on the other properties. Click Apply to apply the lighting. Glazes You can build up layers of texture by accumulating reflection and/or refraction from the Old Lit picture. Transparent rendering is not necessary for this, but can add more options. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Click the Lighting button to return to the Lighting window. Uncheck Use Alpha. Click the Lighting Presets button, and choose Category "Metal" and Preset "Brassy 2". Click OK to close the Lighting Presets window. Click the Apply button to apply the lighting. Click the Lighting button to return to the Lighting window. Click the Lighting Presets button, and choose Preset "Wet dark" from the list. Click OK to close the Lighting Presets window. Set Refraction to 25, Refractive Index to 130, and Glow to -20. Click the Apply button to apply the lighting. Click the Lighting button to return to the Lighting window.
It takes experimentation to find which kinds of presets work well together. You will need to balance the light levels, with ambient light, glow, reflection and refraction the most useful, and any of these can be negative. You may find it useful to lock the reflection and refraction settings before loading presets. Multiple lighting After applying lighting, you can copy the Lit picture to the Unlit picture, so the next lighting works with the result of the previous one. There is no undo for this operation, unless you first copy the Unlit picture to the Background picture (if it is not already in use) or save it to a file. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click the Lighting Presets button, and select Category "Detail" and Preset "Bilal". Click OK to close the Lighting Presets window. Click the Apply button to apply the lighting. Return to the Lighting window. In the Lighting window, click the Copy Lit pic to Unlit pic button . Click OK to confirm overwriting the Unlit picture. The preview changes because the Unlit picture has changed. Click the Lighting Presets button, and select Category "Gel" and Preset "Reflection". Click OK to close the Lighting Presets window. Click the Apply button to apply the lighting. Return to the Lighting window.
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6. 7. 8.
In the Lighting window, click the Copy Lit pic to Unlit pic button . Click OK to confirm overwriting the Unlit picture. The preview changes because the Unlit picture has changed. Click the Lighting Presets button, and choose Category "Earth" and Preset "Natural 2". Click OK to close the Lighting Presets window. Click the Apply button to apply the lighting.
It will generally work best to focus on colors for the first lightings and leave strong 3-D lighting and shadows until the final lighting.
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2.6.11
Filtered noise
First we will use Background Creation Mode to make simple noise. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Go to the Shape page. Click the first Style button, and select .Planez from the Style List. (Most constructors will work equally well for this.) Go to the Color page. In the Coloring Method dropdown box, choose Metamorph. Click the Background Creation Mode button monochrome noise. Click the Create Background Picture button picture is filled with noise. . The Preview window should now be filled with . The Picture window appears and the Background
Now it's time for some filtering experiments. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. In the Effects menu, choose Remove Noise... Set Iterations to 20 and Amount to 100, and click OK to apply it. In the Effects menu, choose Remove Noise... Set Iterations to 15 and Amount to -100, and click OK to apply it. In the Effects menu, choose Gaussian Blur... Set Width to 20, Amount to 20 and Lighten to 3, and click OK to apply it.
Here are samples of the original noise and the three filtering steps.
We'll start again with simple noise for some more effects. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Click the Main button to return to the Main window. Click the Create Background Picture button . In the Effects menu, choose Remove Noise... Set Iterations to 20, Amount to 50, Lighten to 6 and check Mono, and click OK to apply it. In the Effects menu, choose Gaussian Blur... Set Width to 2, Amount to -52, and click OK to apply it. In the Effects menu, choose Gaussian Blur... Set Width to 25, Amount to -76, and click OK to apply it. In the Effects menu, choose Remove Noise... Set Iterations to 15, Amount to 20, and click OK to apply it.
Here are samples of the four filtering steps.
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For more experiments try different combinations of filter settings, and also using color gradients to make the noise.
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2.6.12
Exclusive iteration
The Exclusive Iteration controls are useful for reducing clutter with objects having holons of equal or similar sizes. 1. 2. 3. 4. In the File menu choose Starter Shapes... and select "Octahedron 1" from the list. Go to the Shape page. In the Iteration box, set the Exclusive Holon control (labeled "Exc hol") to 1. Set the Exclusive Maximum ("Ex max") to each value from 1 to 6 to see the effect.
Now we will try it with a constructor. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Click the Metamorphs button to enable metamorphs. Click the first Style button, and select .Torus from the Style List. Release the Style button. Set the first metamorph's Amount to 4, and check Reposition. Set the Exclusive Maximum control to 1. Adjust the torus Scale between 0 and 10 to see the effect. Repeat step 5 for each value of Exclusive Maximum up to 5. Set the Exclusive Maximum control to 2. Try each value of the Exclusive Holon control.
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2.6.13
Using extended holons
Extending holons allows you to apply two more metamorphs to any holon. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Go to the Shape page. Click the first Style button, and select .Cube from the Style List. Set the metamorph Scale to 8. Click the second Style button, and select Gridcub from the Style List. Set the second metamorph's Amount to 50. The cube should now be a cage with thick bars. Release the Style button to hide the Style List. Click the Add Holon button in the Holon toolbar to add a new holon.
8. Click the Free Holon button and the Hide Holon button in the Holon toolbar. 9. Select holon 1. 10. In the Extend box in the Shape page, set the Holon control to 2, so that holon 1 is extended by holon 2. 11. Select holon 2. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Set the X Scale to 100, and click the Sync Scales button . Click the first Style button, and select Gridcub from the Style List. Set the metamorph Amount to 50 and Scale to 60. The cage should now be made of mesh. Click the second Style button, and select Warp from the Style List. Set the second metamorph's Amount to 100 and Scale to 60.
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2.6.14
Using displacement mapping
This tutorial explores displacement mapping on the foreground object and shows how to use Map From Other Holon for coloring on the background object. Displacement mapping is a kind of radial metamorphing that uses both the metamorph shape and meta patterns to control the distortion. First we will make the objects. 1. 2. 3. Go to the Shape page. Click the first Style button, and select .Sphere from the Style List. Release the Style button. Set the first metamorph's Amount to 100, Scale to 5 and Special to 35. Now we need to center it and invert it. 4. Check the first metamorph's Reorient option. 5. Set the holon Z Skew to 180 (Z Rotation would also work), and Y Position to -50. 6. Click the second Style button, and select Mome from the Style List. 7. Set the second metamorph's Amount to 10 and Scale to 25. 8. Click the Add Holon button in the Holon toolbar. 9. Click the first Style button, and select .Planez from the Style List. Release the Style button. 10. Set the first metamorph's Amount to 100, Scale to -12 and Special to 2.60. Next we will add a holon to do the displacement mapping of the foreground object (holon 1). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Click the Add Holon button in the Holon toolbar. Click the Free Holon button and the Hide Holon button in the Holon toolbar. Select holon 1. (In this tutorial, use the Active Holon control rather than clicking in the Holon window.) In the Extend box in the Shape page, set the Holon control to 3, so that holon 1 is extended by holon 3. In the Extend box, check the Displacement option to use displacement mapping. Also check the Color option, so the coloring will be related to the displacement pattern. Select holon 3. Now we are ready to make a displacement pattern. Click the first Style button, and select Spikes from the Style List. Set the first metamorph's Amount to 2, Scale to 60 and Special to -30. The Amount will control the displacement amount. Go to the Color page. The meta patterns for a displacer holon affect the displacement instead of coloring, so we can make further adjustments there. Set the Coloring Method to Metamorph. The coloring makes it hard to see the displacement, so we need to hide it for now. Select holon 1, set the first Meta Pattern to 0, and select holon 3 again. Set the first Curve to Tanh, which makes a cobblestone pattern. Increase the first Meta Pattern to 4 to flatten the tops. Set the other two Curves to Tanh, and the other two Meta Patterns to 4, for a more complex pattern.
Now we will add some color to holon 1. 1. 2. 3. Select holon 1. Click the Color Preset button to open the Custom Gradient presets. Choose Category "Basic" and Preset "Riverstone" and click OK.
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4.
Set the third Meta Pattern to 1.0. Some subtle coloring should now be visible.
Now we will add coloring to the background object (holon 2), using Other Holon coloring from holon 3. Often we would use a separate holon for this, but here it saves some steps and gives a pattern related to the foreground object's displacement pattern. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Select holon 2. We will start by copying the pattern from holon 3. Click the Copy Holon Properties button in the Standard toolbar. Set the From Holon control to 3, check Metamorph Coloring, and click OK. In the Map From dropdown list choose Other Holon. The Other Holon control appears beside it. Set the Other Holon to 3. (Do not click the button beside it.) A variation of the cobblestone pattern should now cover the background object. Click the Color Preset button to open the Custom Gradient presets. Choose Preset "Rolex strap" and click OK. Click the Render New button in the Render toolbar, and let it render for a few minutes. Click the Lighting button to open the Lighting window. Click Apply to apply the default lighting.
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2.6.15
Using displacement presets
The sample parameter files include some single holons used for displacement mapping, in the Data/Single/Displacers folder. This tutorial shows how to use them. We will just use a sphere for the object. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Go to the Shape page. Click the first Style button, and select .Sphere from the Style List. Release the Style button. Set the first metamorph's Amount to 100. In the File menu, choose Append... and in the File Open dialog, navigate to the Data/Single/Displacers folder. (The dialog will remember the location for future appending.) Select the file "Spinzrosette asteroid.xep" and if necessary click OK to close the dialog. Note that holon 2 is already free and hidden because it was saved for this purpose. All we have to do is extend holon 1 to use it. Select holon 1 in the Active Holon control. In the Extend box in the Shape page, set the Holon control to 2, and check the Displacement option.
The sphere should now look a bit like a small asteroid or moon. We will explore the displacement controls. Displacement takes extra calculation time so allow enough time to see the preview stabilizing after each adjustment. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Select holon 2. The last metamorph's Amount controls the amount of displacement. Increase the Rosette Amount to 10 for deeper effect. Set it to -4 for an inverse effect. Then set it back to 4. The Spinz Amount controls how much the Spinz distorts the Rosette. Decrease the Spinz Amount to 20 for a simpler pattern. Change the Spinz Special to -5 for another variation. Go to the Color page. Set the Coloring Method to Metamorph. We need to turn off holon 1's coloring for now. Select holon 1, set the first Meta Pattern to 0, and select holon 2 again. Set the second and third Meta Patterns to 0, and click the Reset Curves and Blends button Check the Wrap option. For displacement only, this allows unlimited displacement instead of bouncing the values within a range. Set the first Curve control to each of the options in turn, noticing the different results. Uncheck Wrap. Set the second Meta Pattern to 3.20. Set the first and second Curve controls to Cos. Set the first Blend control to x. Set the first and second Curve controls to Cup. Set the first and second Curve controls to Tanh. .
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2.6.16
Exporting a mesh
First, make sure you are starting from scratch. If you just started XenoDream, you're ready to begin; otherwise click the File New button First we will make a simple object. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Go to the Shape page. Click the first Style button, and select .Torus from the Style List. Set the first metamorph's Amount to 50 and Scale to 7. Click the second Style button and select Ripple from the style list. Set the second metamorph's Amount to 10 and Scale to 16. on the toolbar.
Now we will open the Mesh Export window. 1. 2. 3. 4. In the File menu choose Export Mesh... The Mesh Export window opens. All the controls are on the toolbar, except for some in the Mesh Options dialog. We will use the default settings first. Click the Render New button surface seems complete. Click the Stop Render button to start rendering for export. Wait about ten seconds, or until the . The Triangulate button is now enabled.
Click the Triangulate button . The progress indicator runs through several stages, finishing with about 64,000 triangles created, and the object is shown full size as a solid mesh. With a grid size of only 100 the curved parts are not very smooth. Click the Mesh Options button to open the Mesh Options dialog. Increase the Mesh Grid Size to 200. Click OK to close the dialog. Click the Render New button. The object renders larger this time (it actually appears twice the mesh grid size because of oversampling). Wait until it looks stable and click the Stop Render button. Click the Triangulate button. This time it creates about 260,000 triangles and the mesh is much smoother.
5. 6. 7.
We have been using the Surface rendering method so far, which works well for this example. Next we will try the Volume method instead. 1. 2. 3. Click the Mesh Options button. Change the Method to Volume and click OK. Click the Render New button. This time wait until the progress indicator is down below 5000 and click the Stop Render button. Click the Triangulate button. When the mesh first appears it is rather "voxelized", but improves after filtering. This time it creates over 500,000 triangles, because the object is hollow and the Volume method creates internal surface triangles too. Sometimes you will want that, but usually not, so we have an option to fill the volume. Click the Mesh Options button. Check the Fill Volume option and click OK. Click the Triangulate button. The number of triangles should be down to about 260,000. (If it is still above 500,000 then there were some leaks, and you will need to click Render More seconds or so, click Stop Render and click Triangulate again.) , wait 30
4. 5.
Now there is another step to reduce the triangle count as much as we want, before saving the mesh. 1. Click the Simplify button . When the progress indicator finishes counting up and down, the numeric Quality control is enabled.
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2. 3. 4. 5.
Reduce the Quality value to 60. The progress indicator shows the triangle count is down to about 96,000 but the mesh looks almost the same. Slowly reduce the Quality, noticing how the mesh looks with fewer and fewer triangles. Then set it to 25. Click the Mesh Options button, check the Export Smooth Mesh option, and click OK. This will include smoothed vertex normals and is faster than, for example, smoothing the mesh in Bryce. To save the mesh with this number of triangles, click the Save Mesh button . In the File Save dialog, navigate to a suitable location, create a folder for saving meshes, type a filename, leave the file type as "Wavefront OBJ" (unless you use POVRay) and click OK. To close the Mesh Export window, click the Close button.
6.
Notes: Sometimes you may want to save the same object with high and low mesh resolutions, for example to use as foreground or background objects. After simplifying, all you need to do is adjust the Quality control between saving each version. For the best results, use large Mesh Grid Size (500 for complex shapes unless you run into memory problems) and simplify down. The Surface method gives better results for simple or smooth objects, but has flaws for objects with convoluted structure or thin plates or spikes. The Volume method gives a correct result for all shapes and needs large Mesh Grid Size to reduce voxelization. It can be improved further with Mesh Filtering set to Full but that can degrade protruding spikes or edges too much.
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2.7 Frequently Asked Questions

2.7.1 FAQ contents
1. General information
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1.01 Is XenoDream a fractal program? 1.02 Where can I learn more about fractals? 1.03 Are there any other XD tutorials? 1.04 If I modify one of the sample parameter files, can I use it as my own? 1.05 Which has the most effect on render times, processor speed or graphics acceleration? 1.06 I have run out of inspiration and can't seem to make anything interesting; any ideas? 2. The Main window
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2.01 How can I center the object without it changing shape? 2.02 What's the difference between a starter shape and a parameter file? 2.03 How can I add other files to the Starter Shapes list? 2.04 Can I make a Free holon larger than the parent shape? 2.05 Some holons render slower; can I speed them up? 2.06 How can I get textures like marble or wood? 2.07 How can I cast shadows onto a backplane? 2.08 How can I cast shadows onto a background picture? 2.09 Can I save the shape memory spots? 2.10 Can XenoDream import parameter files from other programs? Or export them? 2.11 How can I make the 'flame fractal' type of pictures? 3. The Picture window
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3.01 Can I save progress in a large render and resume rendering in another session? 3.02 How long should I render? 3.03 How do I import a picture to apply lighting to it? 4. Lighting
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4.01 Is any lighting saved in a parameter file? 4.02 How can I save more than one lighting for use on a single picture? 4.03 Can I start lighting before rendering is finished? 4.04 How can I get rid of those black spots or rough patches that appear when I use lighting? 4.05 Why does lighting make the object too chunky, with thick edges? 4.06 Why do some lighting presets seem to distort spheres and other shapes? 4.07 What are those white spots and how can I get rid of them? 4.08 Why does the preview change after applying lighting with reflection or refraction? 5. Other Techniques
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5.01 Does XD have any antialiasing options? 5.02 How can I make stereograms? 6. Meshes
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6.01 Can I export meshes including color or regions? 6.02 Can I import meshes to use XD's simplification? 6.03 Can I use meshes as part of an object in the Main window?
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2.7.2
Section 1. General information
1.01 Is XenoDream a fractal program? The 1.0 release produced only pure fractals. From 1.1 onwards, we prefer to describe it as a modeler that includes fractal methods, though it also includes rendering and post-processing. The results can range from pure fractals to non-fractals depending on the mix of regular and constructor holons. I (Garth) first began experimenting with 2-D IFS fractals for creating shapes in 1988 on an Amiga after reading an article in Byte magazine by Michael Barnsley. My vision was to create a tool to help with SF/Fantasy illustration, and IFS fractals were a means to that end. XenoDream does not include other types of fractal because they don't fit with 3-D modeling. However you want to describe it, it's difficult to capture the variety of ways you can use it. 1.02 Where can I learn more about fractals? The Fractal Art FAQ is a good place to start, at http://fractals.iut.u-bordeaux1.fr/f-art-faq/ 1.03 Are there any other XD tutorials? Paul N. Lee has tutorials, examples of metamorphs and other useful information at http://www.nahee.com/Fractals/XenoDream/ Doug Harrington has a tutorial with screenshots at http://fractalarts.com/ASF/XDtut1.html Bryan Smith has written a number of exercises that are in the Files area of the XD Yahoo groups, and there are other sample files there. (They may be moved to a new location when we stop using Yahoo groups.) 1.04 If I modify one of the sample parameter files, can I use it as my own? Yes. Since XD works in a single continuous parameter space (more or less), you can consider all the sample and starter files as convenient starting points, and it only takes a few clicks and drags to get somewhere new. The purpose of a starting point is to make it easier to get wherever you're going. And you don't have to modify the sample files to use them in compositions. 1.05 Which has the most effect on render times, processor speed or graphics acceleration? Only processor speed really affects render time, subject to having sufficient RAM. XD does not use any graphics hardware features because they would only work for the smaller picture sizes, and they don't help with this type of calculation. 1.06 I have run out of inspiration and can't seem to make anything interesting; any ideas? This can happen not because you've exhausted the possibilities (impossible with XD), but because there are so many possibilities and it's not obvious what to choose next. Some people have asked why we didn't include a random mutation generator where you choose from perhaps 12 options each time. The main reasons are that 3-D preview would be a bit slow for this, and randomizing these kind of objects makes mostly junk. We have included many options for randomizing subsets of parameters because it can be useful, but adjusting controls will often be more productive. Here are some ideas if you feel stuck. 1. 2. 3. 4. Don't start from scratch. Open either a Starter Shape or a parameter file (yours or one of the samples) and experiment with it... Look at it from different camera angles. Or adjust the front clipping plane to see what's inside it. Look at it with transparent preview if you haven't already. Select one of the holons and adjust the rotations, position, scales or skews to see what happens.
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5. 6. 7. 8.
Repeat with other holons. If it has metamorphs, adjust the parameters, or try a different metamorph, or add a second metamorph if it doesn't already have one. Add another holon, with or without a constructor, and experiment with it. Try doing one of the tutorials but making some different choices. You never know where it could lead. If your object has relatively smooth surfaces, experiment with the glazes or multiple lighting techniques described in the Lighting Effects tutorial.
Many people find it relaxing just to pick a starting point and experiment with holon and metamorph parameters, and the most interesting shapes also become starting points for another day. Interesting shapes can usually produce plenty of worthwhile variations.
2.7.3
Section 2: The Main window
2.01 How can I center the object without it changing shape? Changing the camera position can affect what you see due to the different view point (this is 3-D). Prior to v1.5, dragging in the Preview window changed the camera position, but it now changes the camera angle, so is a suitable method for centering. 2.02 What's the difference between a starter shape and a parameter file? There is no difference between the files; both are .xep files. The difference is how you open them. The Starter Shapes... dialog lists only the files in the Starters folder, and when you open them it only loads the shape and view parameters. The term 'Starters' should only be used in this context and not to refer to sample parameter files in general. 2.03 How can I add other files to the Starter Shapes list? Copy the .xep files into the Starters folder. 2.04 Can I make a Free holon larger than the parent shape? If you're not already using both metamorphs on the Free holon, there is a way. With the Free holon, set the unused style to TileXY, leave Scale at 10 and Special at 0, and adjust Amount larger than 10. 2.05 Some holons render slower; can I speed them up? As long as you are using the Chaos method for rendering, you can adjust the relative densities of the holons on the Shape page. For some shapes, checking or unchecking Optimize will improve the balance. You can also adjust the Density control for individual holons. For example, adjusting the density of the large holon of a spiral shape changes the relative density of the spiral center or tail. An easy way to balance density is to click the Transparent Preview button in the Preview toolbar, notice which holons appear much faster or slower than the others, and adjust their densities until the picture appears more evenly. (Sometimes you don't want it to be even, for example transparent renders of spirals often look better with slightly more density in the centers. Leaving Optimize off gives the desired result.) When using multiple constructors, try to adjust the holon scales approximately in relation to the holon size instead of leaving them at the default. For very large constructors, set the holon scales to 100 and if necessary increase the Density. For small constructors, reduce the holon scales, and adjusting Density may not be necessary. This will improve render time, and it also makes the Holon window easier to
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understand. However, it may not be possible when using Rescale. It can also be useful to reduce the density of holons that are placed far from the camera, which otherwise get more than they need. 2.06 How can I get textures like marble or wood? There are two ways to do this at present. Both use Metamorph coloring. The first is to use picture mapping, by setting Map To to Background Picture. You can either use an imported picture of the texture, ideally one designed for seamless tiling, or create a texture using Background Creation Mode, with optional filtering. See the Filtering Noise tutorial for examples of such textures. (One disadvantage of this approach is that you can't save it all in a paramter file for automatic reproduction at a later time.) The other way is to set Map From to Other Holon. See the Other Holon tutorial for examples. This is less flexible in resulting texture but is saved in the xep file. More support for natural textures is planned for future development. 2.07 How can I cast shadows onto a backplane? Dropshadows are not currently implemented, so you need to add a free plane to the object before rendering, and set shadow angles accordingly. To add the plane, right-click in the center of the Holon window and choose Plane | Square Z from the submenu. Click the Free Holon button on the Holon toolbar. On the Shape page, set all holon scales to 100, and the Z Position to move the plane just behind the rest of the object. You can temporarily rotate the camera 90 degrees to make that adjustment easier. Then adjust the .Planez Scale to fill the background. You may need to increase the Density for this holon to render at the same rate as the others. The coloring of the plane is easy to set with Metamorph coloring, but with Holon Sequence coloring all you can do is experiment with the gradient to get a satisfactory shade of noise. You may want to set some shadow lights nearer to the front than the standard settings. If the camera angle is different you will need to check the plane's Reorient option and rotate it. 2.08 How can I cast shadows onto a background picture? Dropshadows are not currently implemented, so you need to add a backplane as described in the previous question and put a picture onto it. Provided you are using Metamorph coloring, the easiest method is to set Map To to Background Picture for the backplane holon. The picture colors are affected by lighting since it's now part of the rendered object. For best control, use regions with the Per Holon method and assign the plane holon to region 2 so you can light it independently; for example using the same lighting as the rest but changing the Diffuse%, Shininess and Diffuse Color to suit, and the ambient color and intensity if necessary.
2.09 Can I save the shape memory spots? Saving them automatically is not yet implemented. It was a bit laborious to save them manually, but v1.5 makes it easier. If you have just saved an object and want to save the Shape Memory Spots with a similar name, all you have to do is recall each Shape Memory Spot in turn and click the Save button (not Save As) on the
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Standard toolbar. This saves them with automatically incrementing suffixes. Make sure that Include View and Include Colors are checked if the spots had different view or color settings that you want to save. 2.10 Can XenoDream import parameter files from other programs? Or export them? No. While programs that produce either pure IFS or 'flame' variations have similarities, there are significant differences that would make many of the results incompatible. It is therefore a low priority for future consideration. 2.11 How can I make the 'flame fractal' type of pictures? 'Flame fractals' were developed by Scott Draves and made popular by KPT FraxFlame and more recently Mark Townsend's Apophysis program. A flame is a 2-D IFS fractal with optional metamorphs and a transparent rendering method that is slightly different from XenoDream's. The main differences are that they apply metamorphs in parallel instead of one after another, and compute colors after the render, taking density into account, which can create a 3-D appearance. Any object may be rendered with transparency in XenoDream; here are some tips for getting shapes similar to the other programs. Use between two and eight holons, with no constructors. Adjust the holon scales to set the density of the form. Too high and you have a blob, too low and you have just a few lines and dots. Adjust them individually to change the shape and contribution of each holon. To make those thin lines that flames often have, set either the X or Y Scale very small, and/or set the Z Skew near 90 or 270. Some of the classic flame styles only work if you stay in 2-D. To do this, keep the X and Y Skew, X and Y Rotation and Z Position at 0. If you do any dragging in the Holon window, first set Constraints to XY Plane. The metamorphs that correspond to ones used in classic flames are Spheric, Swirlz, Horshu and Sine. Some other useful ones are Wabe, Vortex, Zagzigz. To make Horshu behave the same as the horseshoe transformation, set its Scale to 20, Special to 0 and adjust the Amount. Leave Reposition unchecked. Move the holon's position to change how it responds. To make those circular holes, use Spheric. To keep the hole centered on the holon, check Reposition. Adjust Amount for the strength of effect and Scale for the relative size of the hole. To get lots of holes, don't use Spheric on all the holons; use it on only one or two and let the other holons iterate them. Use a large holon with no metamorphs to make spirals or other iterated structures, as you usually would. For coloring, use either the Holon Sequence method, or Metamorph method with Map From set to Flame. Set holon opacity about 10 for smooth renders or 20 for fast coarser renders. There are some example files in the Data\Transparent folder.
2.7.4
Section 3: The Picture window
3.01 Can I save progress in a large render and resume rendering in another session? Not yet. As of v1.2, you can save and open pictures and depth maps, but not shadow masks or alpha channels; so in principle you could resume rendering if neither shadows or transparency are used, if you follow the necessary steps. 3.02 How long should I render?
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It depends. If you use Hybrid or Ordered render methods, rendering stops by itself when 100% complete. The Chaos method depends on several factors. For transparent renders in general you can stop it as soon as it looks dense enough or saturated enough; but if you will be using lighting that shows a solid surface, it may need longer (pixel rates in the hundreds rather than thousands) and may need lower opacities to compensate. For objects with relatively smooth surfaces, you can often stop it around 500 or higher, sometimes fixing up a few blemishes with Pits. For objects with finer detail, quality will improve noticeably if you go to 100 or less. This is especially true when using the Holon Sequence coloring method with few or no constructor metamorphs, when sometimes the fine color detail continues to improve after the shape seems well defined, and it can justify going well below 100. 3.03 How do I import a picture to apply lighting to it? First, in the Picture window File menu choose Open Picture... and select a file. Choose Unlit Picture as the destination. When prompted to change the size to fit the picture, click Yes. Second, click the Depth button in the Picture window toolbar to open the Depth window. Read the help topic Overview: the Depth window 165 for more information.
2.7.5
Section 4: Lighting
4.01 Is any lighting saved in a parameter file? Parameter files include ONE set of lighting parameters (including multiple regions if you have used them). The current values are saved, regardless of what may have been applied to the picture previously. 4.02 How can I save more than one lighting for use on a single picture? Apart from multiple regions, there is currently no way to store more than one set of lighting in a parameter file. There are two options: 1. save them as lighting presets, and write the sequence in the comments field on the File page before saving the parameter file. 2. save a separate parameter file with each set of lighting parameters. Open the first one, render and light it. Then open the second file, apply lighting, and so on. 4.03 Can I start lighting before rendering is finished? Yes, you can preview lighting and adjust parameters etc without stopping the render. If you start too soon on a larger render the surface won't be well enough defined to assess the results, but it improves all the time. You cannot apply lighting without stopping the render. As long as you are using the Chaos render method, you can resume rendering after applying lighting if it needs more. 4.04 How can I get rid of those black spots or rough patches that appear when I use lighting? These may be either small holes where the background shows through, or 'pits' in the surface. They can get amplified into large dimples or pockmarks if any light sources have smoothing. Depending on the object, rendering longer may fix it, or some may simply be a natural part of the object. 1. Set Holes to 1, and click the Fill Holes Permanently button beside the Holes control. If that doesn't
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2.
do anything, Increase Pits one step at a time and observe to effect in the preview. Often a setting of 1 to 3 is enough. Click the Fill Pits button to fill them. Repeat if necessary. It is best to set Pits only as high as necessary, because larger values (especially 7 or more) remove fine surface detail that you may want to keep.
4.05 Why does lighting make the object too chunky, with thick edges? Many of the legacy presets have high amounts of smoothing on the light sources, which gives a smooth surface at the cost of smoothing the features too. Try selecting one of the light sources, clicking Sync, and setting Smoothing to 0. (Some presets vary the smoothing and fringe settings per light for special effects, so you may lose the effect.) Also try checking the Fine Depth option if it isn't already. 4.06 Why do some lighting presets seem to distort spheres and other shapes? Many presets have the Extra depth option checked, and/or various Depth values. Some were for specific effect, others were a legacy from v1.0, which had only pure fractals with no constructor metamorphs, so there were no 'standard shapes' to pose this problem. Try setting Depth to 20, unchecking Extra and checking True, for normal geometry. You may need to adjust some light source Intensity and Diffuse % values, and iridescence or refractive index if applicable. 4.07 What are those white spots and how can I get rid of them? They are most likely highlights from the lights reflecting off surface variation. They may be other colors depending on the lighting. For some shapes this indicates that you should render longer, and/or apply some pits filtering. Other options are to use more diffuse light and reduce the intensity accordingly, and to increase the Shininess to 100. 4.08 Why does the preview change after applying lighting with reflection or refraction? If the source for reflection or refraction is 'Old Lit picture', then applying lighting changes the Lit picture, and the reflection or refraction now have a different result and the preview shows this. Reflection and refraction are implemented as a kind of environment mapping, offering creative flexibility, but you need to keep in mind where the effect comes from. Using the Old Lit picture means it takes at least two passes to get an effect. Before you have applied any lighting, there is no Lit picture and therefore no reflection can come from it. So you apply some lighting, then you see the reflection and/or refraction, adjust if necessary, and apply again. Of course you can change lighting between applying. Also remember that if the Lit picture was created from a different render then it may not be the source you intend; if not then you need to first apply some lighting without reflection or refraction to get a clean beginning (or clear the Lit picture with the Picture window Edit menu Clear option).
2.7.6
Section 5: Other techniques
5.01 Does XD have any antialiasing options? It does not have a general antialiasing option for rendering. For best results, you will often need to render larger size (two to four times larger), save the picture and resample it in another program. There are some things you can do in XD: Background creation mode has an antialiasing control. Transparent rendering blends the colors smoothly, though it doesn't antialias in the X and Y directions. If you are not already using any transparency, you can use the alpha channel to antialias colors. Set the
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holon opacity to about 15 and the Opacity Mode to Surface Only. Start rendering, then release the Alphablend button to see the colors, which improve with a long render, then in the Lighting window uncheck Use Alpha. You can use Gaussian Blur in the Picture window Effects menu for some antialiasing. Set Amount small, typically between 1 and 15, and adjust Width for the best effect. Jagged edges can sometimes be improved with the Remove Noise effect, if there isn't much fine color variation to lose. 5.02 How can I make stereograms? With the automated stereo mode 83 in the View page in v1.5, this is now easy. If for any reason you need to do it manually, here is a method. This method of making double image stereograms for cross-eye viewing is due to Stan Hood. Basically, you render & save two separate views of an object with the SAME size, shadows, lighting, opacity, length of rendering time, and any other additions such as applying pits etc. Only the horizontal camera position varies. 1. Choose an object that has a good bit of 3d in it to begin with... you can tell if it does by moving it about in the 'view' page. It can be a wispy 'flame' type, or solid or transparent or whatever. Apply all the coloring and whatever else you want. 2. Position the first (left) image, not centered in the preview screen, but off to the left a bit. 3. Render it and NOTE, by way of the rendering counter, how much it has rendered when it is stopped. On the Lighting page, apply whatever else you want. I suggest not using any reflection/refraction at this time - until you can make sure that your second image comes out exactly lit as the first one. 4. Save it as a bmp, with a 'Left' designation in the file name. Save the xep - you may need it later. 5. Second (right) image: Return to the Main window and go to the View page. 6. Note the X Position number. Click on one of the olive Memory Spots to save the view. Increase the X Position to move the image to the right. This part takes a bit of experimentation. The amount depends on the 3-D depth of the object. Too little, and you won't get much depth. Too much, and it's difficult to lock your eyes into focus. A difference somewhere between .05 and .2 usually works. 7. Render the second image for the same amount as the first. Apply the same lighting. 9. Save it with the same filename as the first but with some 'Right' designation. 10. Combine the two images in your favorite image editing program such as Paint Shop Pro, or PhotoShop. If it has an image stitch option you can use that, or you could create a 'new' image twice as wide as each XD image and copy/paste the XD images into it as transparent layers - so you can butt them together. Make sure the 'Left' image is on the left. Sometimes if the images are too far apart, you can overlap them some. After merging the layers you can resize and sharpen as you wish. If the results don't come out stereo wise (too little or too much depth) , all (!) you have to do is re-render the second XD image increasing or decreasing the X Position on the View page. If you have closed XenoDream, I hope you saved the first image xep file... To view the stereogram, make sure the whole picture is visible on screen, sit three or four feet (over 1m) back from the screen, and cross your eyes until there is a third image between the outer two, and try to bring that image into focus. It may help to hold up a finger in front of the screen and move it slowly
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towards you, focusing on it while noticing the images. It can be difficult at first but becomes much easier once you've done it. It is also possible to view stereograms 'wall-eyed', by focusing into the distance; however this is not suited to viewing double image stereograms on computer screen, because the distance between the two images must be slightly less than the distance between your eyes. This would limit the size of the picture, and require adjustments for different monitor size and resolution.
2.7.7
Section 6: Meshes
6.01 Can I export meshes including color or regions? Not at present. Mesh export can use a lot of memory and to do it in a single operation would require a lot more. You would generally get better results using textures in the target application than would be possible by exporting XD coloring with the mesh. Exporting with regions may be implemented in future. 6.02 Can I import meshes to use XD's simplification? Not at present. 6.03 Can I use meshes as part of an object in the Main window? Not at present. We hope to implement this in future.
Part
III
Main Window
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Main Window
3.1 Overview: the Main window

The Main window is where you work with holons to create objects, prior to rendering them. It appears when you start XenoDream.
The Holon window shows the holons as transformed cubes. In this window you can use the mouse to select holons, and to drag with various effects depending on which tab page is active and relevant drag mode controls. The X, Y and Z axes are drawn in red, green and blue respectively. The Holon toolbar has controls relating to the Holon window and to holons in general. The Preview window shows the object corresponding to the arrangement of holons, and is continually updated. You can drag in the Preview window to reposition the object, or to copy colors when the mode is Palette preview. The Preview toolbar controls the Preview window. The Standard toolbar has some file operations and some additional Holon window controls. The Render toolbar controls rendering and switching to the Picture window. Toolbars may be moved within their bands but not dragged between bands. The tabbed pages contain controls specific to File, View, Shape, Color, Rendering and Region operations. When you start XenoDream there is one holon with default parameters, and the resulting object is a dot.
3.2 Numeric controls

The numeric controls in XenoDream respond to dragging as well as the usual methods of clicking the buttons or editing with the keyboard.
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To increase or decrease the value by one unit, click the up or down arrow. Hold the button down to change the value at a steady rate. To edit the value with the keyboard, double-click the number to select it, then type the value that you want. You can also move the cursor and edit the number. To set the value to zero (or the minimum value if zero is not allowed), press the space bar. To change the value by dragging, hold the left mouse button down on the number. The cursor changes to . Drag the mouse to change the value. Vertical dragging gives coarse control; up to increase the value, down to decrease it. Horizontal dragging gives finer control; right to increase it and left to decrease it. If the control has decimal places, holding Ctrl down while you drag will round the number to an integer (keep Ctrl down until you release the mouse button, otherwise the decimal fraction reappears.)
3.3 Main menu

3.3.1 File menu
Location: Main menu in the Main window This menu contains commands for opening and saving parameter files, and exiting the program. Some commands have shortcut keys and equivalent buttons on the toolbar. To open or save pictures, use the Picture window menu. Starting and opening files To begin a new object, choose New... (or press Ctrl-N). All Main window parameters are reset to the defaults. Lighting parameters are not affected. To open a parameter file, choose Open... (or press Ctrl-O). The File Open dialog appears, showing the folder where you last opened or saved parameter files. Click on a parameter file (extension .XEP) to preview it. You can use the cursor keys to browse through parameter files. To open the file, either double-click the filename or click the OK button. To close the dialog without opening a file, click the Cancel button. To append holons from a parameter file, choose Append... The File Open dialog appears, showing the folder where you last appended parameter files. Click on a parameter file (extension .XEP) to preview the effect of adding the holons to the existing object. To append the file, either double-click the filename or click the OK button. To close the dialog without appending a file, click the Cancel button. Note: Appending is an advanced feature, most useful for adding single holon objects, eg frames, that you've previously saved. Usually you'll want to make the new holon(s) free after appending (if they aren't already), so the preview is not always indicative of what you'll get. To reopen a recently used parameter file, point to Reopen and choose a file from the submenu. The full path is not shown, only the filename. Starter shapes Starter shapes are just parameter files located in the Starters folder. The difference is that when you open a Starter shape, only the shape and view parameters are loaded, ignoring any color, rendering, regions
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and lighting parameters. To open a Starter shape, choose Starter shapes... The Starter Shapes dialog appears, with a list of shapes suitable for beginning an object. Click on a shape name to preview it. To open a shape, either double-click the shape name or click the OK button. To close the dialog without opening a shape, click the Cancel button. To add other parameter files to the list of Starter Shapes, copy them to the Starters folder in your XenoDream folder. If settings have changed since you last opened or saved a parameter file, you will be asked for confirmation before proceeding with New, Open, Reopen or Starter Shapes. Saving files To save the current object parameters to a file, choose Save as... (or press Ctrl-A). The File Save dialog appears, showing the folder where you last opened or saved parameter files. The filename defaults to the contents of the Object Name field on the File page. Edit the filename if desired, and click the OK button to save the file. If the file already exists, you are asked to confirm overwriting it. To close the dialog without saving, click the Cancel button. You may wish to edit the file information fields on the File page before saving the parameter file. To save the parameters with the current filename, choose Save (or press Ctrl-S). If the file already exists, it will be saved with the suffix -0001 added, and if it already has a suffix it will be incremented. This is convenient for saving animation sequences, or saving variations on a theme. To save only the active holon, choose Save Holon... The File Save dialog appears, showing the folder where you last saved single holon parameter files. This is useful for saving constructor or extender holons, for adding to objects with Append... (Note: files saved with this option cannot be opened with program versions prior to v1.5.) Exporting meshes To open the Mesh Export window, choose Export Mesh... The Mesh Export window has the controls for the mesh exporting processes. It works with the current object's shape and view settings. If the Mesh Export window is already open, you can use this command to show it, or you can click on a visible part of the window. Importing colors To load the coloring from any parameter file and apply it to the current object, choose Import Palette... The Import Palette dialog appears, showing the folder where you last opened or saved parameter files. Click on a parameter file to preview the coloring in the current object. The Preview will show the object with new colors, unless the Preview mode was set to show the palette instead. To import the palette, either double-click the filename or click the OK button. To close the dialog without importing a palette, click the Cancel button. Updating old files This is not normally necessary, as XenoDream opens all previous versions of .XEP parameter files. It is used in development and left accessible in case it becomes useful or necessary in future. To update older versions of parameter files, choose Update Old Files... A dialog appears, showing the folder where you last opened or saved parameter files. Select the files to be updated, using Shift to
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select a contiguous group of files, and/or Ctrl to select additional files. To proceed with the update, click OK. The selected files are rapidly opened and saved in the latest format. To close the dialog without updating any files, click Cancel. Closing XenoDream To close XenoDream, choose Exit. You can also close the program by clicking the close button (x icon) on the title bar, or pressing Alt+F4.
3.3.2
Options menu
Location: Main menu in the Main window This menu contains options for controlling the default behavior of XenoDream. They are remembered between sessions. Set the Show hints option to show mouse-over hints for controls with limited labels or no labels. Set the Full Hints option to display mouse-over hints with more details for some controls (more will be added in future). Release the button to show only short hints. Note: some controls with adjacent labels don't have short hints, but may have full hints when this button is pressed. Choose the Preferences... option to open the Preferences dialog.
The Preferences dialog contains the following options: Set the Remember Shape Drag Modes option to have the Shape page Drag mode and Drag Rotate Mode remembered between sessions. Set the Clear memory spots on opening file option depending on whether you want to clear all the Memory spots or keep their contents when you open a parameter file or begin a new file. Opening a Starter shape never clears them. Set the Prompt to save parameters after saving picture option to be prompted to save the parameter file whenever you save a picture to file, if it has changed.
Set the Render size defaults to 800x600 option if you want the Render Size to always start at 800x600, otherwise it starts at the last size used. The sizes you use are remembered regardless of this setting. Set the Confirmation for Render New option if you want extra protection against accidentally rendering over an existing picture, for example if you intended to Render More. Uncheck the Use Memory Mapped Files for large renders option in the event that you have reliability problems with very large renders, unless it is worse with this option off. Leaving this option checked will normally perform better. The Data location fields specify where the two types of parameter files are located. Do not change these settings unless you have reorganized your folders. The Starter files field specifies the path to the Starters folder. XenoDream uses this for the File menu Starter Shapes... dialog, and for the Random Starter File button on the File page.
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The Parameter files field specifies the path where folders of parameter files are located. XenoDream uses this for the Random Parameter File button on the File page. When you have finished editing preferences, click OK to keep the changes or Cancel to discard them.
3.3.3
Help menu
Location: Main menu in the Main window Choose Help Contents to open this help file. Choose About XenoDream to see information including the program version and who it is registered to.
3.4 Toolbars
3.4.1 Standard toolbar
Location: Top of the Main window File buttons These are shortcuts for the File menu Copy holon properties Use this button to copy various parameters from one holon to selected holons. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Select the destination holons. Click the Copy Holon Properties button to open the dialog box. Set the From Holon control to the holon you want to copy from. Check the boxes for the parameters to copy. Click OK to copy the parameters.
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options New
, Open
, Save
, Save as
Holon window options The Drag Speed control The Select Holons button sets the speed when dragging holons in the Holon window. enables selection of holons directly in the Holon window.
Help Click the Help Contents button to open the Help file.
3.4.2
Render toolbar
Location: Top of the Main window Rendering buttons

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To begin a new render, click the Render New button. The button caption changes to 'Stop Render'; the unlit picture and all associated depth, alpha and shadow data are cleared; the size is set, and a new render begins in the Picture window. To stop the render from the Main window, click the Stop Render button. The rendering stops and the button caption changes back to Render New. To begin or resume rendering without clearing the unlit picture or any other data, click the Render More button. Any changes you have made to parameters will affect the render. Navigation buttons To go to the Picture window, click the Picture button.
3.5 Holon window

3.5.1 Overview: the Holon window
Location: Main window The Holon window is the black pane in the left half of the Main window, where holons are drawn as boxes. The size, shape, orientation and position of each box correspond to the holon parameters. The active holon is drawn in yellow. Other selected holons are drawn in aqua (cyan), and non-selected holons are gray. The 'world coordinate' axes show the orientation of space relative to the camera. The X axis is red, the Y axis green and the Z axis blue. By default, X points right, Y points up and Z points toward the camera. You can use the mouse in the Holon window, clicking to select holons 73 , and/or dragging 74 to change holon parameters or the camera view depending on which tab page is active. You can right-click in the Holon window for a popup menu 74 to add a holon at that position. The Holon window has its own Holon Window Zoom control in the Holon toolbar. Use this to adjust the magnification of the Holon window independently of the Camera Zoom and Preview window.
3.5.2
Selecting in the Holon window
Location: Main window You will probably want to select holons directly by clicking on them in the Holon window. You can do this while any page except View is active. 1. 2. 3. If the Select Holons button on the toolbar isn't down, click it. Move the mouse in the Holon window. The holon nearest to the mouse pointer (calculated at the corners, not the center) is drawn in red, unless it is already the active holon. Click to make the red holon active.
To select the holon so it stays selected when not active, Ctrl-click it instead. If it is already selected then Ctrl-click will deselect it. Note: in v1.5 you can select and drag in a single action. If you accidentally drag a holon while selecting it,
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you can undo the effects of the drag by clicking the Undo Last Drag button.
3.5.3
Dragging in the Holon window
Location: Main window Dragging the mouse in the Holon window can have different effects depending on the active page. View page: drag to control the camera or object position and orientation, depending on the View Drag Mode. Shape page: drag to move selected holons or adjust other parameters, depending on the Drag Mode. There are also modes for interactive morphing. Color page: drag to morph the gradients for selected holons. Other pages: same as for the View page. To set the speed of dragging, adjust the Drag Speed control in the toolbar. For the Shape and Color pages: If the Select Holons button is not down, dragging does not affect the selection. If it is down, begin dragging near the active holon if you want to keep the current selection. From v1.5 you can select a new active holon and begin dragging in one motion.
3.5.4
Add Holon popup menu
Location: Holon window in the Main window Right-click in the Holon window to get a popup menu to add a holon at that position. The distance from the camera will be the same as the origin (center of the axes). The top choice in the menu is Holon, to add a standard holon with scale 50. The other choices are various useful constructor shapes. When adding a constructor, the Metamorphs button on the Shape page is pressed if it wasn't already down.
3.6 Preview window

3.6.1 Overview: the Preview window
Location: Main window The Preview window is the black pane in the right half of the Main window, where the object corresponding to the holons is previewed. You can also see gradients or palettes there when the Color page is active. The preview fills in the object randomly (using the Chaos method of rendering), to give a quick idea of the shape, with more detail appearing as you wait. The Preview toolbar, with buttons for controlling the preview modes the Preview window. Dragging Dragging in the Preview window changes camera position when the Preview Mode is set to show the object. When the Preview Mode is set to show the palette, you can drag and drop to copy or swap holon colors.
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and options
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, is located below
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Guide lines Two gray guide lines are drawn in the Preview window to show the picture boundaries for the current render size. The lines will be vertical or horizontal depending on the relative aspect ratios of the Preview window and render size. Rendering menu Right-clicking in the Preview window activates a popup menu to start and stop rendering. The choices are the same as the buttons on the Render toolbar. Overflow If the holon interaction creates an object that is unstable and expands out towards infinity, calculation stops. From version 1.2, the calculation is re-initialized and the preview continues. This allows you to preview and render all but the most divergent objects. If the limit is reached within the initialization routine, the preview stops and an Overflow indicator appears at the top of the Preview window. When this happens, just reverse whatever you were doing until the Overflow disappears. Re-initialization also occurs when rendering with the Chaos method. If overflow occurs during reinitialization, the render terminates. Other rendering methods terminate at the first overflow, as reinitialization is not applicable. The progress indicator in the Picture window has a red background if rendering halts due to overflow.
3.6.2
Preview mode
Location: Preview toolbar in the Main window
The Preview Mode button switches between the available Preview modes depending on the active page. The Gray preview mode shows the object in gray, with the part corresponding to the active holon in yellow. The Color preview mode shows the object in full color. The Palette preview mode shows the color palette, which depends on the Coloring Method. The Regions preview mode shows each Region in a different color. The Gray preview mode is available for all pages. The Color preview mode is available for all pages except Regions. The Palette preview mode is available for the File and Color pages. The Regions preview mode is only available for the Regions page. Tip: Gray preview is faster than Color preview and may be preferred for morphing and some other shape adjustments, especially on slower machines.
3.6.3
Preview options
Location: Preview toolbar in the Main window
These three options control the appearance of the preview when the Preview Mode is Gray, Color or Regions. Transparent Preview
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To see the preview with moderate transparency, click the Transparent Preview button . This releases the Shaded Preview button if down (because you usually want to see the transparent colors without any shading) and restores its previous state when released. Clicking the Shaded Preview button does not affect the Transparent Preview button. Note: this transparent effect is a fast approximation, prone to saturation before long. It does not correspond directly to any Holon Opacity value on the Color page.
Shaded Preview Click the Shaded Preview button to see the preview in 3-D, illuminated from directly in front. Release the button so see a flat preview with no depth information. The flat preview is continually updated, while the shaded preview updates twice per second. You can click or release this button without the preview starting over. Note: this option affects only the preview and has no connection to any lighting or shadow settings.
Preview with Background To preview the object against a background, click the Preview with Background button . The background will be the Background picture if it exists, otherwise the Unlit picture. This is useful for aligning the object for layering or multiple renders.
3.7 Holon toolbar

3.7.1 Holon window zoom
Location: Holon toolbar in the Main window The Holon Window Zoom control adjusts the magnification of the Holon window independently of the Camera Zoom and Preview window.
3.7.2
Object size
Location: Holon toolbar in the Main window
The Object Size control adjusts the overall size of the object in 3-D. This affects how large it appears from a particular camera position. Use this control to set the size of the object in the Preview window. It does not affect the holons or the Holon window.
3.7.3
Undo last drag

Any dragging operation in the Holon window or Preview window can be undone by clicking the Undo Last Drag button. It has only one level of undo, and is disabled when it would have no effect.
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3.7.4
Active holon control

To make changes to holons, they must be selected. For convenience, a holon is always selected, and is called the Active Holon. It is drawn in yellow in the Holon window. All the controls with holon properties show values for the holon that is currently active. Use the Active Holon control to choose which holon is active. The total number of holons is shown on the right. This is a convenient way to cycle through holons quickly. There are other methods for setting the active holon, and for selecting more than one holon so that you can edit them at the same time.
3.7.5
Adding and deleting holons

Click the Add holon button to add a new holon with default values (scales 80, skew, rotation and position 0). If the maximum number of holons (100) is reached, you cannot add more. Click the Clone holons button to add copies of the active holon and any other selected holons. (The new holons are shifted 3 units in X so you can see them more easily.) All other properties of the selected holons (metamorphs, coloring etc) are also copied. Click the Delete holons button to delete the active holon and any other selected holons. If there is only one holon, you cannot delete it (unless you add another holon first). Objects with just one holon A single holon will only produce a noticeable object if it has a constructor metamorph 95 , otherwise the result is just a single pixel. A single holon can only be rendered with the Chaos Method 124 . (Several holons can also produce just one pixel if their Positions are identical, which is the case when you first add holons.)
3.7.6
Free holons
Holons generally interact with each other to make a fractal. Specifically, a holon inherits the shape of each "parent" holon and transforms it with its own parameters. In turn, the holon is a parent to each "child" holon, passing its shape on to them. By default, every holon is both a parent and child of every holon, including itself. However, a holon with no children has no effect on other holons, and is called a Free Holon. Each free holon inherits the Parent Shape (the result of all non-free holons) but does not affect it. To make the active holon free, click the Free Holon button. To let the active holon rejoin the parent shape, release the Free Holon button. This button applies only to the active holon, not to other selected holons. In the Holon Info List, free holons are identified by an 'f' after the holon number. Note: if a holon is both hidden and free at the same time, it is effectively disabled and has no effect on the shape. You can take advantage of this to temporarily disable holons, or to keep spare holons for use in
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creating backgrounds, Other Holon coloring or extenders.
3.7.7
Hide holons
There are two options to control the visibility of holons in the fractal. Hidden holons still interact to make the shape but are not themselves visible. To hide the active holon, click the Hide Holon button .
To make the active holon visible, release the Hide Holon button.
To reset all hidden holons to be visible, click the Show All Holons button
In the Holon Info List, hidden holons are identified by an 'h' after the holon number. Note: if a holon is both hidden and free at the same time, it is effectively disabled and has no effect on the shape. You can take advantage of this to temporarily disable holons, or to keep spare holons for use in creating backgrounds, Other Holon coloring or extenders. If you have both free holons and hidden holons, the hidden parts in the parent shape will also be hidden in the free holon's shape. To hide the whole parent shape without affecting the free holons, click the Hide Parent Shape button . To make the parent shape visible again, release the button. This button is only enabled when one or more holons are free. Hide Parent Shape works independently of Hide Holon, so you can use them in combination.
3.7.8
Holon info list

The Holon Info button opens the Holon Info List, which shows the metamorph parameters for each holon. It also provides an easy way to see and change which holons are selected. To show the Holon Info List, click the Holon Info button. To hide the Holon Info List, release the Holon Info button. The list is hidden automatically when you open the Metamorph Style list.
Each row shows the holon number and for each metamorph, the Style, Amount, Scale and Special values (ignoring any decimal places.) The checkboxes show which holons are selected. The active holon is shown as disabled, because it is always selected. The holon number is followed by a period (.) normally, 'f' if free, and/or 'h' if hidden. The Style is followed by a plus sign (+) if Reposition is checked. If a holon is
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extended, 'Ex' and the extender holon number are added to the end of the row. If Displacement is checked it shows 'Di' instead of 'Ex'. Selecting holons in the Holon Info List: To change the active holon, click in the text area for the holon you want to be active. To select or deselect holons, click in the checkboxes. To select or deselect all holons, double-click the text area of any row.
3.7.9
Selection controls
To edit several holons at once, they must be selected. These controls let you select holons other than the active holon. To select the active holon so that it remains selected when no longer active, click the Select Holon button . Selected holons are drawn in aqua when not active.
To deselect the active holon, release the Select Holon button. Remember that the active holon is always affected by any operations that affect holon properties. To select all holons, click the Select All Holons button . . . All unselected holons
To deselect all holons, click the Deselect All Holons button
To invert the holon selection, click the Invert Holon Selection button become selected and vice versa. Saving selections
There are eight Selection Memory Spots to let you store and recall holon selections. This is useful if you're working with more than a few holons and want to work with different groups without having to reselect them each time. To store the current selection, click on an empty (cream) spot. To recall a selection, click on a full (blue) spot. To clear a full spot, Ctrl-click it. To clear all spots, Shift-click any spot. You will be asked for confirmation before the spots are cleared.
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3.8 File page

3.8.1 File information
Location: File page in the Main window The Object Name, Creator, and Comments fields are stored in each XenoDream parameter file. Creator information is easily changed and not intended as any form of copyright protection, but as a convenient record of the likely origin of each data file, as you can quickly lose track when they number in the thousands. To set your default creator information, edit the text in the Creator field as desired, then click the Set Default button. It is saved in the Xenodream.ini file. To set the Creator field to your default, click the Get Default button. The full path of the last parameter file opened is shown at the bottom of the page. Press the Enter key while in any of the fields on this page to open the Save as... dialog.
3.8.2
Quick start
Location: File page in the Main window
For a quick start you can open a randomly selected parameter file. When you move the mouse over the Quick Start button, it reveals two buttons for opening random files.
To open one of the Starter files, click the Random Starter File button parameters are included, unlike opening it as a starter shape.
. Any color and lighting
To open one of the parameter files, click the Random Parameter File button chosen from the XenoDream\Data folder or any of the subfolders. The locations for these can be changed in the Preferences dialog if necessary.
. The file is
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3.9 View page

3.9.1 Overview: the View page
Location: tab pages in the Main window We are creating 3-D objects, which means we can look at them from any position and direction. The appearance from other angles can vary dramatically. The viewpoint is represented by a camera, and you can change its position and direction, either by dragging 81 in the Holon window or by adjusting position 82 or rotation 83 controls. You can also zoom 82 in or out, clip the front and back fisheye lens 83 , and make stereograms in stereo mode
82 83
of the object for cutaway effects, use a .

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You can temporarily store views with View Memory Spots
Note: When you're dealing with only a single object, it doesn't really matter whether you move the camera or the object, as only the relative positions matter. The current implementation is based on moving and rotating the camera.
3.9.2
Dragging the view

Location: View page in the Main window
Dragging in the Holon window is the most interactive way to adjust the camera view. Selecting holons by clicking is disabled while the View page is active, so you can drag the view without interference. The View Drag Mode determines what effect dragging will have. The View Drag Mode options are: Position: drag in the Holon window to change the position. Vertical dragging with the Ctrl key pressed changes the distance from the camera. You can press and release the Ctrl key while dragging and the current position is remembered so that you can change position fully in a single drag. Camera Angle: drag in the Holon window to rotate the camera. With the Ctrl key down, vertical dragging affects the roll (rotation parallel with the screen). It's easy to turn the camera away from the object with this mode, so if this should happen, keep dragging until it becomes visible again. Object Angle: drag in the Holon window to rotate the object. This is equivalent to rotating the camera around the object. With the Ctrl key down, vertical dragging affects the roll. Roll and Distance: drag horizontally for object roll and vertically for Z distance.
Note: you can also drag in the Preview window to change the camera angle, no matter which page is active.
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3.9.3
Camera position and zoom

Use the Position controls for precise adjustment of the position relative to the camera. Increase X to move the view right, Y to move it up, and Z to move it away from you. Camera Zoom controls the magnification of the camera. It is different from moving the camera closer. Zooming does not change the perspective; moving the camera does. Close up views have a greater apparent depth than zooms from further away. However, moving the camera very close and zooming way out can produce the exaggerated perspective of an extremely wide-angle lens. For most purposes you can leave Camera Zoom at the default setting and adjust the Object Size and camera Z Position. Note: while camera orientation and position affect both the Preview and Holon windows, Camera Zoom does not affect the Holon window, which has its own zoom control in the Holon toolbar.
3.9.4
Clipping planes
Front and back clipping planes set limits on how close or distant points can be. This allows cutaway views. To ignore points close to the camera, set the Clip Front control to the desired cutoff distance. The Closest Point indicator shows how close to the camera the object comes. If it is less than the Clip Front value, nearby points within the camera view are being clipped. A negative value means the object extends behind the camera. To set Clip Front to the current closest point, click the Set Clip Front button .
To ignore points far from the camera, set the Clip Back control to the desired cutoff distance. If Clip Back is less than Clip Front, no back clipping occurs. The Furthest Point indicator shows how far from the camera the object reaches. If it is greater than the Clip Back value, distant points within the camera view are being clipped. To set Clip Back to the current furthest point, click the Set Clip Back button .
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3.9.5
Rotation controls
These controls allow you to rotate the camera around the object (actually, the center of world space, which may not be the center of the object) in precise increments. This is equivalent to rotating the object within the camera view. You can use either the numeric angle controls or the buttons. The numeric controls adjust axis angles while the buttons always rotate relative to the camera. To set the angle for each rotation step, adjust the Rotate By control. To rotate the camera by one step at a time, click the desired rotation button. To rotate the camera through many steps, hold the desired rotation button down.
3.9.6
Fisheye lens
A fisheye lens makes the image bulge spherically, so the center is magnified and the edges curve away. The lens is positioned at the front clipping plane, which makes it easy to vary the fisheye effect without moving the camera position. To use the fisheye lens, check the Fisheye Lens checkbox. Increase the Clip Front value until the curvature is right. You may need to reduce Camera Zoom to compensate. You may also want to adjust camera Z Position for the desired perspective. Note: The fisheye effect may not look good if the object is asymmetric or positioned off center, or doesn't fill much of the view. It works best with sufficient context to see that the whole view is warped consistently.
3.9.7
Stereo mode
Stereo mode provides an easy way to make stereograms for cross-eyed viewing. The display is split into two copies, an image for the right eye on the left, and an image for the left eye on the right. When viewed with crossed eyes, a single 3-D image may be seen. To use stereo mode, click the Stereo Mode button. You may need to adjust the Camera Zoom so that the two images are not overlapping. To stop using stereo mode, release the Stereo Mode button.
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The Stereo Depth control adjusts the difference between the viewpoints for each image, which determines the 3-D depth that you see. A value of 10 corresponds to a 1/30 angle. Smaller values work best with distant objects (larger Z Position), and larger values may be used when the camera is closer, or to increase the depth of flatter objects. If the depth is set too high for the camera distance, the nearer parts of the object will appear to diverge no matter how you focus. The Stereo Distance control adjusts the distance between the two images, which determines how far away the stereo image appears. For a single render this can be ignored, although in some cases it may be useful for adjusting the separation. If you are combining separate renders, you will need to set this value differently for each render, otherwise they will all appear to be the same distance away. Preview with Background is useful for this. To move the stereo image further away, increase Stereo Distance. To move the stereo image closer, decrease Stereo Distance. It is usual to render and apply lighting to stereograms, but transparent rendering can also work very well. Note: When lighting stereograms, True Depth does not work symmetrically, so it is best not to use it. Viewing stereograms Viewing crosseyed stereograms can be challenging, especially at first, but once you start to see them it gets easier. Here are two methods to begin. 1. Hold a finger up in front of the screen, below the center of the picture. Slowly bring it closer to your face, focusing on the tip of your finger. When it gets to about nine inches (22cm) from your eyes, you should see a central image behind it. Keep focusing on your finger and move it forward or back until the image is clearest. Try shifting your focus between your finger and the image without changing your focus distance. When you can hold it steady, you can bring the object into sharp focus, and see it in full 3-D. 2. Hold both hands up about eight to ten inches from your face, palms towards you, with a gap of about two inches between them. Looking at your hands, move them so that the image appears between them, and move them further or closer until the image comes into focus. This method has the advantage of hiding the distracting side images.
3.9.8
View memory spots

There are 20 View Memory Spots to let you store and recall camera views during the current session, including clipping and fisheye parameters. To store the current view, click on an empty (cream) spot. To recall a view, click on a full (blue) spot.
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To clear a full spot, Ctrl-click it. To clear all spots, Shift-click any spot. You will be asked for confirmation before the spots are cleared. To return to the default view, click the Reset View button.
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3.10 Shape page

3.10.1 Overview: the Shape page
Location: tab pages in the Main window The Shape page has most of the controls that affect the shape of the object. The others are in the Holon toolbar. As the shape is defined by the holons and their relationships, the Shape page contains controls for the individual holon parameters, and tools for manipulating them in various ways. There are two groups of parameters that apply to individual holons. Every holon has the basic linear parameters 86 ; scale, skew, rotation and position. They can also have one or two optional nonlinear formulas called Metamorphs 95 . The parameters are shown for the active holon, but any changes you make are applied to all selected holons. You can adjust individual controls, use randomizing or other tools to change groups of parameters, or drag in the Holon window to change holon parameters directly. You can temporarily store shapes with Shape Memory Spots
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3.10.2
Holon parameters
Location: Shape page in the Main window
Holons are the building blocks for creating objects in XenoDream. They inherit the shapes of some or all holons and modify them, so as few as two holons can create a complex object that may have fractal characteristics. Holons can have specific shapes such as cubes or spheres by assigning a metamorph with a constructor style. Whether or not metamorphs are added, each holon is defined by its Scale, Skew Position 88 in each of three directions.
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, Rotation
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and
The directions are labeled X, Y and Z, which initially correspond to right, up and towards you. (These directions are fixed in space, in the same way north and east are fixed on a map. If you change the camera angle for a different view, they will point in different directions relative to you.) Absolute or relative adjustment When more than one holon is selected, you can choose whether editing a parameter will preserve differences between the holons or set them all to the same value. To set identical values for selected holons when editing holon parameters, first check Absolute . If unchecked, holon parameters retain relative values. Note: The Absolute setting does not apply to dragging in the Holon window, which is always relative, or to metamorph parameters, which are always absolute.
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3.10.3
Holon scale
The Scale parameters set the size of the holon in each of the three directions (X, Y, Z). Unequal scales allow you to make flattened or elongated features. The range is from 0 to 100%. Remember that holons inherit the shape of each holon and modify it. A scale of 100% means that the inherited shapes are not reduced in size. That can be useful for some purposes, such as creating circular symmetry, or for free holons. Scales can't be greater than 100% because the holons would expand towards infinity instead of converging to a finite shape. Generally the scales will be less than 100%, as parts of a shape are usually smaller than the whole shape. The scales collectively set the overall density of the shape. The largest holons have the most influence on the shape. Note: when using a constructor metamorph with Amount 100, the Metamorph Scale value sets the holon's size. The Holon Scale value has no effect on the holon size unless Rescale is checked, but it does affect the density (or probability) of points for the holon. To balance the density you can either adjust the Holon Scale or the Holon Density. Sync Scales To make the three scales equal for the selected holons, click the Sync Scales button . Click it immediately after changing any of the X, Y or Z Scale controls to set all scales to the changed value. Click it at any other time to set all scales to the X Scale.
3.10.4
Holon skew
The Skew parameters distort the holon by rotating one of the directions relative to the others. The range is from 0 to 359.9 degrees. As you increase the skew, the holon folds like a cardboard box, so that at 90 (or 270) degrees it is flat, and between 90 and 270 it is mirrored or reversed. You'll probably want to leave the skews at 0 most of the time. Tip: to flip or reflect a holon about a plane, set the appropriate skew to 180.
3.10.5
Holon rotation
The Rotation parameters adjust the holon's orientation. The range is from 0 to 359.9 degrees. Rotations are applied in order X, Y, Z. 3-D rotations are not independent, so the holon doesn't always turn the way you might expect when you adjust these controls. Holon rotations determine the curvatures of the shape. The angles of the largest holons are most significant to the overall shape, for example to make large spirals, while angles of smaller holons affect the detail within the shape.
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3.10.6
Holon position
The Position parameters set the holon's position in space. The relative positions together make a spatial arrangement that approximates the overall shape (though it can be heavily modified by the rotations and skews, and any metamorphs). The range is from -9999 to 9999. If all holons have the same position (and rotations) and don't have constructor metamorphs, the object is just a point. The further apart you move holons, the larger the object becomes. For precise alignment, it may be helpful to know that the Position and Scale units are the same size (although Scale is limited to 100). 100 units of position on the Shape page equals one unit of camera position on the View page. Tip: you can scale the overall object size to fit the window with the Object Size control, which is easier than readjusting all the holon positions (which would often change the shape).
3.10.7
Holon volume and density
Location: Shape page in the Main window These controls are for adjusting relative density of points in the object. This is useful for minimizing render time, or changing the emphasis of some features in transparent renders. The Holon Volume indicator provides an estimate of the overall density of the object, or relative volume that is filled. You cannot edit this number. Generally, numbers below 50% indicate sparse fractals, and over about 110% indicate excessive density. The actual density depends on the interaction between the parameters, and metamorphs further complicate matters, so there are no rules, but a general guideline is that volumes much over 100% will be slow to render. (Free holons do not contribute to this number.) The Optimize Density option gives a different probability distribution for the preview and chaos render, which fills in details faster for typical fractal objects. It may give poor or undesirable results for some objects with holon density of 100% or more, especially those where one holon has all Scales at 100. It is unpredictable for metamorphs so you need to assess visually which you prefer. It also affects the coloring when the Holon Sequence method is used. This option makes no difference when all holons have equal size. Check or uncheck Optimize Density and choose which fills in the preview faster and more evenly. For transparent renders the other choice may be preferable for showing some features more clearly. The Holon Density control allows you to increase or decrease the relative density of selected holons. It defaults to 1 and ranges from 0.01 to 1000. This is most useful for increasing the density of holons that are very 'thin' due to one or more scales being near zero, or skew settings that flatten the holon. You can also use it to compensate for metamorphs that significantly expand or shrink a holon. Density corresponds to probability in the Chaos method, and has NO effect for other rendering methods. Select holons that fill in slower than the others in the preview, and increase Holon Density. Select holons that fill in faster than the others in the preview, and decrease Holon Density. Tip: another use for Holon Density is to compensate for distance from the camera in Chaos renders.
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Distant holons may fill in faster than close ones. You could increase Holon Density for close holons or decrease it for distant holons, to improve render time, and to balance the holons better for transparent renders. This works well where constructor metamorphs are used, otherwise it can modify the shape if you make the densities too different.
3.10.8
Shape drag mode

As well as adjusting the individual holon parameters, you can drag the holons in the Holon window in various ways. Dragging works on the active and any other selected holons, so you don't have to start the drag on a particular holon. Think of the holon window as a mousepad. You can continue the drag off the edge, as long as you start somewhere inside it. Another advantage of dragging is that it works relative to the camera, so that left always means left regardless of the viewing angle. If the Select Holons button is down, you need to begin the drag somewhere where the active holon remains yellow. Clicking when a holon is red will instead make that holon active (see Selecting in the holon window 73 ). Alternatively you can release the Select Holons button to allow unhindered dragging. The effect of dragging depends on the Drag Mode. Scale: drag to change the scales of the selected holons. Skew: drag to change the skews of the selected holons. Rotation: drag to rotate the selected holons. The angles or positions or both are rotated depending on the Drag Rotate Mode. Position: drag to move the selected holons. Morph: drag to interactively morph the selected holons. Each time you begin dragging, the rates for each parameter and holon are randomized, so no two morphs from the same starting point would be the same. If a morph drag is not worthwhile, click the Undo Last Drag button on the toolbar and morph again. Drag horizontally to change Rotations, vertically to change Scales and Skews, and vertically with Ctrl to change Positions. Metamorph: drag to interactively morph the metamorph parameters for the selected holons. Each time you begin dragging, the rates for each parameter and holon are randomized. Drag horizontally to change Amounts, vertically to change Scales, and vertically with Ctrl to change Specials.
If you press the Ctrl key while dragging, vertical dragging switches to the in/out axis (towards/away from the camera). Settings are stored so you can repeatedly press and release Ctrl during a drag.
3.10.9
Shape drag rotate mode

When the Drag Mode is Rotate, the Drag Rotate mode determines how the selected holons respond to dragging. Choose Angle to change only the orientation of the holons. Choose Position to rotate the holon positions around the center without changing orientation.
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Choose Both to rotate angle and position together. Choose Counter to rotate angle and position in opposing directions. When several holons are selected, these are useful ways to assemble and adjust different geometrical arrangements.
3.10.10 Randomizing holons

Location: Shape page in the Main window These controls provide quick variations of some or all of the basic holon parameters. (Metamorphs have separate randomizing controls.) To randomize one or all parameters for selected holons: 1. 2. 3. Select the holons to be randomized. Set the Drag Mode to the parameter that you want to change. To change the Scales, Skews, Rotations and Positions at the same time, choose Morph (or Metamorph). Click the Random Sequence button Repeat as necessary. to generate a random sequence for the selected holons.
Several types of sequences are used instead of purely random numbers to produce more interesting patterns. Note: the Constraints setting applies when randomizing holons. To move all holons so they are centered in space: Click the Center Holons button . To undo the move, click the button again.
This is most useful after randomizing positions, but can be used at any time.
3.10.11 Constraints
Sometimes you may want to keep some holons in a flat plane, for example to make 2D objects or 'flame' style fractals. You can construct them by careful adjustment of the holon parameters, but if you used Sequences or Morphing, they would become 3-D. This is when the Constraints options are useful. The Constraints options are: None: morphing and random sequences operate normally, in full 3-D. XY plane: morphing and random sequences only change parameters in the XY plane. YZ plane: morphing and random sequences only change parameters in the XY plane. XZ plane: morphing and random sequences only change parameters in the XY plane.
Other parameters will be preserved, so if they are already arranged in 3-D they will remain that way. Note: Constraints do not prevent you from manually adjusting the holons in 3-D.
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To force selected holons from 3-D down to 2-D: 1. 2. 3. Select the holons to be constrained. Set the Constraints to the desired plane. Click the Zero Constrained Values button that plane will be set to zero. . The Skews, Rotations and Positions that are not in
Note: Scales are not affected by any of these controls.
3.10.12 Align linear

Location: Shape page in the Main window The Align Linear button opens a dialog with options for aligning any parameters of the selected holons in a straight line. The existing ranges of the holon parameters are used. To align holon parameters in a line: 1. 2. Select the holons to be aligned. If only one is selected, all holons will be aligned. Click the Align Linear button. The Align Linear dialog opens:
While the dialog is open you can choose any combination of parameters to align. The preview is updated as you make changes. You cannot access any controls in the Main window while the dialog is open. Choose the Align parameter from the dropdown box. Check which of the X, Y, Z directions to align. Choose the Nearest option to keep the holons in the order nearest to their original parameter values, otherwise they are aligned in order of holon number. Click the Clear button to uncheck the X, Y and Z options for the current parameter. Click OK to accept the current alignment and close the dialog. Click Cancel to close the dialog without applying any alignment. Note: if alignment has no effect for some parameters, it is because they are either already aligned, or most usually, they have identical values and therefore no range to be distributed over.
3.10.13 Align cyclic

Location: Shape page in the Main window The Align Cyclic button opens a dialog with options for aligning the parameters of the selected holons in a variety of curves. The Range and Center values are initially set to match the holon parameters. To align holon parameters in curves:
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1. 2.
Select the holons to be aligned. If only one is selected, all holons will be aligned. Click the Align Cyclic button. The Align Cyclic dialog opens, defaulting to a circle in the XY plane:
While the dialog is open you can choose any combination of parameters to align. The preview is updated as you make changes. By default you cannot access controls in the Main window while the dialog is open, but there is an option to do this. Choose the Align parameter from the dropdown box. Settings for each parameter are independent, so you can switch back and forth between them until you're happy with the overall effect. Choose a Curve for each of the X, Y, Z directions. Adjust the Cycles for the number of times each curve repeats within the range. Adjust the Phase to shift the curve around a cycle. Adjust the Range values to set the extent (amplitude) for each curve. Adjust the Center values to shift the whole curve. Choose the Nearest option to keep the holons in the order nearest to their original parameter values, otherwise they are aligned in order of holon number. Click the Clear button to reset the values for the current parameter. Click the Last button to reload the previous values (this is only enabled if you have applied Align Cyclic in this session.) To add more holons to the curve, adjust the Add holons control. You can adjust this up or down at any time, but it is easiest while aligning Position. Any holons that existed before opening the dialog will not be affected by this control. There are buttons to randomize each of the X,Y and Z controls and a button to randomize all controls. The checkboxes on the right select which parameters will be randomized. Click OK to accept the current alignment and close the dialog. Click Cancel to close the dialog without applying any alignment. If you want access to any controls in the Main window while this dialog is open, check the Main window checkbox. The Main window becomes accessible, though the Align Cyclic dialog stays on top. This allows you to change preview mode, adjust metamorphs etc. A few controls are disabled to keep you out of trouble, but the most important thing to remember is that if you change which holons are selected (eg to adjust metamorphs) then you'll probably want to restore the selection before returning to the Align Cyclic dialog. Note: the effects of the curves are easier to see when many holons are used. The Saw curve is a straight line when Cycles is less than +/-1, and a repeating sawtooth otherwise. Tip: when adding many holons with Add holons, you will want to adjust their scales. It is convenient to set
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Align to Scale, set each Curve to Saw and adjust the Center values.
3.10.14 Iteration control

These controls allow constraints on the iteration of holons. Maximum Iterations Adjust the Maximum Iteration control to set the maximum consecutive iterations of the active holon and any other selected holons. It is most effective for large holons. For example, for a holon that makes a spiral, this would limit how far in the spiral goes. It has no visible effect on constructors (but wastes density so should be avoided). For unlimited iteration of the selected holons, set Maximum Iteration to 0.
Exclusive Iteration These controls are global to the object, not set per holon. One control specifies the exclusive holon, the other sets how many iterations of other holons are allowed before returning to the exclusive one. Specify the exclusive holon with the Exclusive Holon control. To disable exclusive iteration, set Exclusive Holon to 0. Set the Exclusive Maximum control to limit the iterations of other holons. This is only useful in some situations; typically when all holons have equal or similar scales, especially when one or more (but not all) are constructors. It can reduce clutter by limiting some of the iteration.
3.10.15 Extending holons

These controls extend a holon by using another holon. The extender holon can provide extra metamorphs or it can apply displacement mapping. Any holon can be used as an extender, but Free Hidden holons are recommended for this purpose so they don't have other effects. For clarity we will say that a primary holon is extended by an extender holon. Extending for extra metamorphs First select the primary holon(s). To extend the selected holons with another holon, set the Holon control to choose the extender holon.
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To stop extending the selected holons, set the Holon control to 0. Then select the extender holon and add one or two metamorphs (not constructors). They will modify the primary holon(s). To apply the extension relative to the primary holon's position, check Repos. You will usually want to do this, so it is checked by default. When the primary holon has Map From set to First Metamorph or Last Metamorph, check Color to get the meta patterns from the extender instead of the primary holon. (Applies to Metamorph coloring only.)
Displacement mapping Displacement mapping is a process where points on a surface are moved into or out of the surface according to some pattern. Here we are displacing the primary holon's points radially from the holon position. The pattern is supplied by the extender holon's metamorphs and metamorph coloring parameters. Instead of mapping it to a color gradient we map it as a displacement of the primary holon. To displace the selected holons with another holon, check Displacement and set the Holon control to choose the extender holon. To stop displacing the selected holons, set the Holon control to 0. (Or uncheck Displacement to extend the holons instead.) It is most useful for the primary holon to be a constructor or inherit constructors. It is highly recommended that the extender be free and hidden to minimize confusion. The displacement pattern is calculated from the extender holon's metamorph coloring. With the extender holon selected you will need to switch between the Shape and Color pages to adjust the effect. 1. On the Shape page: To change the position, scale, angle etc of the pattern, adjust the corresponding basic parameters. To choose the type of pattern, select one or two metamorph styles (not constructors or tiles) and adjust the Scale and Special controls. If you use two styles, adjust the Amount of the first style to modulate the second style. To set the amount of displacement, adjust the Amount of the last metamorph (ie the first style if you use only one, or the second style if you use two.) 2. On the Color page: Set Method to Metamorph and Map From to Last Metamorph. To control the pattern, adjust the Meta Pattern, Curve and Blend controls. If Wrap is checked, the displacement is unbounded. If not checked, the displacement is shifted with the Cycle control and bounced. To adjust the coloring, make sure you select the primary holon first.
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When the primary holon has Map From set to First Metamorph or Last Metamorph, check Color (in the Extend box) to get the meta patterns from the extender instead of the primary holon. Saving extender or displacer holons It can be convenient to save an extender holon to use with other objects, especially for displacement mapping. 1. 2. 3. Select the extender holon. If it isn't already free and hidden, make it so. In the File menu choose Save Holon, and save it to a folder for this purpose.
To add a saved extender to an object, use File | Append... then select the primary holon and set the Extend controls accordingly. Note: The extender holon cannot be further extended or displaced. Any Extend settings for the extender holon would apply only to its primary role, if it is not free and hidden. For example, if holons 1 and 2 are not free or hidden, and holon 1 is extended by holon 2, and holon 2 is extended by holon 3. Extending can be confusing enough without holons having two roles, so such experiments are recommended only for the bold.
3.10.16 Metamorphs: overview

Location: Shape page in the Main window Metamorphs are optional extra transformations of the holons, applied before or after the basic transformation (scale, skew, rotate and position). They have two uses: warping the holon shape in an endless variety of ways, and making holons into constructors (standard shapes such as spheres and cubes, independent of other holons). (Metamorphs have no connection to Morphing, which is a process for changing the main holon parameters.) The different metamorph formulas are called Styles and you choose them from a list. Each style has two options for how it is applied and three parameters to adjust the effect. There are two stages of metamorphs, and you can use either or both. If you use both, the left one is applied before the right. Metamorphs can be completely enabled or disabled with one control. They must be enabled to have any effect on the shape (though they can still affect the colors if the Metamorph coloring method is used.) To enable metamorphs, click the Metamorphs button Note: Metamorphs cannot be rendered with the Ordered method. . To disable metamorphs, release it.
3.10.17 Metamorph styles

Location: Shape page in the Main window There are currently 83 different styles of metamorph for modifying holons. Each style is a preprogrammed formula with three parameters (Amount, Scale and Special). You can use up to two metamorphs per holon.
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Each Style button shows the name of the style in the caption. '(None)' indicates that no metamorph is applied. To choose a style for one of the metamorphs: 1. 2. 3. Click the Style button for that metamorph. If the other Style button is down it will be released. The Style List opens with the current style highlighted. Select the holons that you want to set the styles for, if not already selected. In the Style List, click the new style.
To get popup help for any style, right-click the style in the list. This gives a short description of the style and the effect of the parameters. To close the Style List, release whichever Style button is down. (None) is listed first, followed by the constructor styles, which are prefixed with a period (.) to keep them at the top of the list. A few constructor styles always make constructors (a specific shape independent of any other holons), while others require Amount set to 100 or -100 for pure constructors. Otherwise the style modifies the holon's existing shape, and does not determine the holon's shape by itself. Reposition, Rescale and Reorient options
Metamorph styles are defined in world coordinates and by default are applied after the holon's basic parameters. This means that the style is fixed in space and orientation. The Reposition, Rescale and Reorient options allow the style to be relative to the holon, and are especially useful with constructor styles! Each metamorph has these options. To move the style to the holon's position, check the Reposition option for that metamorph. It is checked by default. To transform the style with the holon's scales, check the Rescale option for that metamorph. To transform the style with the holon's skews and rotations, check the Reorient option for that metamorph. Note: In version 1.1, Rescale and Reorient were combined as a single option. When v1.1 files are opened, Rescale is set to match Reorient. If Reorient was on and Reposition off, the behavior was previously incorrect, and a Compatibility button is set to provide the old behavior. It is recommended that you leave this button off unless it is set by opening an old parameter file, and that you experiment with turning it off to see if it is still needed.
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3.10.18 Metamorph parameters

Each metamorph has three parameters to adjust the effect. Changes are applied to all selected holons. The Amount generally controls the strength of the metamorph effect. When Amount is 0, the metamorph has no effect on the shape (except for a few constructor styles). Amount usually blends between the normal and metamorphed effects, and negative values subtract the metamorph from normal. Negative values can cause unstable shapes for some styles. An Amount of 100 gives the full effect, and values up to 200 provide 'overdrive' for non-constructor styles. Most constructor styles are only true constructors (fully independent of holon interaction) when Amount is 100 or -100; others are always independent shapes and Amount adjusts a different attribute. The Scale generally adjusts the relative size or frequency of the metamorph, depending on the style. For constructor styles, Scale sets the absolute size of the constructor shape. Depending on the style, negative values of Scale may have the same or opposite effect as positive values, or may have a different formula. The Special parameter provides custom variations for each style. Note: unlike the other holon parameters, adjusting metamorph parameters for several selected holons always sets the values identical for each holon regardless of the Absolute option.
3.10.19 Randomizing metamorphs

Location: Shape page in the Main window There are two randomizing buttons , one for each metamorph. They randomize parameters for the selected holons depending on the associated checkboxes. Use the column of checkboxes to the right of the metamorphs to choose which parameters to randomize. From the top down, they enable Style, Amount, Scale, Special and Reposition. (Rescale and Reorient are never randomized.) If Sync is checked, all selected holons will get identical values, otherwise they are randomized independently.
3.10.20 Shape memory spots

There are 20 Shape Memory Spots to let you store and recall shapes during the current session, including holon parameters, metamorphs, free and hidden options.
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To store the current shape, click on an empty (cream) spot. To recall a shape, click on a full (blue) spot. To clear a full spot, Ctrl-click it. To clear all spots, Shift-click any spot. You will be asked for confirmation before the spots are cleared. To include camera settings when recalling a shape, check the Include View option recalling the shape. To include coloring when recalling a shape, check the Include Colors option recalling the shape. before
before
Tip: Shape Memory Spots are most useful before randomizing metamorphs or other experiments, so you can easily return to the same starting point.
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3.11 Color page

3.11.1 Overview: the Color page
Location: tab pages in the Main window The Color page is where you assign natural or intrinsic coloring to the object before rendering. The final colors also depend on the lighting process, in which the object's colors, transparency and 3-D shape interact with light sources and other effects. They may be similar or very different from the colors that you assign here. There are two coloring methods 99 . The Holon Sequence method is best suited to pure fractals and the Metamorph method is best suited to shapes with constructors. Some of the controls are visible on the Color page depending on which method is chosen. The other controls relate to the gradients. A gradient strip shows the gradient for the active holon. There are two types of gradient, Parametric 111 and Custom 114 , each with its own gradient editor window. The Edit Gradient button opens the appropriate gradient editor.
There are presets for each type of gradient, which can be opened by clicking the Gradient Presets button on the color page, or from the gradient editors. You can temporarily store all color parameters with Color Memory Spots 101 .
3.11.2
Coloring method
Location: Color page in the Main window
There are two Coloring Methods. The Holon Sequence method 103 colors each pixel uniquely and is best suited to pure fractals. The Metamorph method 105 uses individual gradients and is best suited to shapes with constructors. To set the Coloring Method, choose from the dropdown list. The method determines which other controls are visible. The Holon Sequence coloring method uses each pixel's unique sequence of holons to generate colors. It allows millions of colors together, which are intimately related to the object's shape. It works best with fractal shapes that either do not use metamorphs, or use relatively subtle non-constructor styles (because constructor styles or strong distortions destroy the coherence of the underlying patterns). The Metamorph coloring method uses texture mapping. There is a choice of sources to map from, mostly based on metamorph coordinates. They may be filtered and combined before being mapped to either gradients or the background picture.
3.11.3
Map to
The Map To control specifies the color source that this holon will be mapped to. For Metamorph coloring the holon's meta pattern output will be mapped to it. For Holon Sequence coloring the gradients are blended according to the holon sequence.
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The Map To options are: Parametric Gradient: use the parametric gradient for this holon. Custom Gradient: use a custom gradient for this holon. This is the default for new holons. For Metamorph coloring only: Background Picture: use picture mapping with the Background picture for this holon.
3.11.4
Edge and mix
Location: Color page in the Main window Applies to: Holon Sequence coloring: always Metamorph coloring: Parametric gradients These controls affect how the gradients behave, depending on the coloring method. Edge selects the behavior of the gradients at the maximum and minimum values of red, green and blue. With Bounce, the gradient reverses direction, producing smooth color changes. With Wrap, the gradient wraps around, producing abrupt changes. With Limit, the gradient stays at the maximum or minimum until the next time it changes direction.
The effect of Mix depends on the coloring method: For Holon Sequence coloring, Mix sets the balance between the holons. For positive values, more of each holon's own gradient are used; for negative values more of the other gradients are used. For Metamorph coloring and Parametric gradients, Mix acts as an additional Gain control, providing smoother adjustment for small Gain values. It has no effect on Custom gradients.
3.11.5
Absolute color editing

Location: Color page in the Main window Applies to: Per holon color controls
When more than one holon is selected, you can choose whether editing a parameter will preserve differences between the holons or set them all to the same value. To set identical values for selected holons when editing holon parameters, first check Absolute. If unchecked, holon parameters retain relative values. The Absolute option for colors is checked by default.
3.11.6
Inherit color
Sometimes it is useful for a holon to ignore its own Map To colors and inherit from other holons, to replicate their coloring. It is most useful for large or Free holons. With Metamorph coloring, it works well in conjunction with the Map From options Inherit All and Inherit Style.
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To inherit colors from other holons, check Inherit Color. When Inherit Color is checked, the Inherit Count control is visible beside it. To set the number of iterations to inherit the color, adjust Inherit Count. It ranges from 1 to 392, and wraps around for convenience. Note: when applied to constructors, the result is just noise because constructors are not correlated to inherited position.
3.11.7
Noise
Location: Color page in the Main window The Noise control adds some randomness to the brightness of each pixel. This gives some speckle to the coloring without changing the hue. It works for all coloring methods and mappings.
3.11.8
Color memory spots

There are 20 Color Memory Spots to let you store and recall all coloring parameters during the current session. To store the current coloring, click on an empty (cream) spot. To recall a coloring, click on a full (blue) spot. If the memory has fewer holons, the coloring is replicated for the additional holons. To clear a full spot, Ctrl-click it. To clear all spots, Shift-click any spot. You will be asked for confirmation before the spots are cleared.
3.11.9
Color picker dialog
The Color Picker dialog is where you choose colors. It replaces the standard Windows color dialog from v1.5 onwards. XenoDream is updated with any color changes while this dialog is open, so you can see the effects without having to close it. This dialog appears when you click on any of the color rectangles in the program.
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There are four ways to set the color. Each method updates the other controls. 1. Using the color field and color slider. The Color Slider Mode dropdown list has six modes: Hue, Saturation, Brightness, Red, Green and Blue. The color slider is the strip on the lower left, and shows the component selected in the dropdown box. The color field is the square box above the color slider, and shows the other two components. For example, if the slider is set to Hue, the field will show saturation horizontally and brightness vertically. If the slider is set to Red, the field will show green and blue. Circles indicate the current position in the slider and field. To change the component controlled by the color slider, select it in the dropdown list. To change the values in the slider or field, either drag the circle or click on the desired position. 2. Using the numeric controls Adjust the Red, Green and Blue controls to change the color. 3. Using the fixed or custom color squares There are 48 fixed colors and 16 squares for custom colors. Custom colors are stored until you exit XenoDream. To select a fixed color, click on the color square. To store the current color to a custom square, click on an empty square. To select a custom color, click on a custom square with a color in it. To clear a custom square, Ctrl-click it. 4. Using the eyedropper To select a color from anywhere in the screen, click the Eyedropper button , then click on any pixel in the screen with the desired color. The color is selected when you release the mouse button.
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Closing the dialog The color square below the numeric controls shows the original color on the left and the current color on the right. To keep the current color and close the dialog, click OK. To revert to the original color and close the dialog, click Cancel.
3.11.10 Holon Sequence coloring

3.11.10.1 Overview: Holon Sequence coloring
Location: Color page in the Main window How it works Each 3-D point in the object is generated by a unique sequence of holons. Using these sequences, we can assign colors that follow the shape in various ways. Instead of using a fixed color gradient, the color is calculated dynamically by adding the contributions from each holon in the sequence. In effect, blending the gradients in different combinations. Either Parametric gradients 111 or Custom gradients 114 may be used for this method. However, the colors shown in the gradients do not match those in the picture because they are blended together. The color for each point depends on the holon at each step in the sequence, and the length of the sequence (which depends on the holon scales). Gradient strip The gradient strip shows the gradient for the active holon. The number of color steps in the gradient depend on the maximum sequence length used to generate the shape.
To open the appropriate gradient editor window, click the Edit Gradient button . If Parametric Gradient is selected, the Parametric Gradient Editor window stays on top and is visible whenever appropriate until you close it. If Custom Gradient is selected, the Custom Gradient Editor window opens as a dialog. Palette Preview The Preview window shows the Palette preview when selected by the Preview Mode button when the Color page is active. It appears to show a number of color gradients. In fact it shows samples for each holon of how the color changes along the sequence, with the initial colors on the left. For each holon there is a sample for each holon. Two vertical black lines show the range of sequence lengths, within which the final colors are produced. The width is adjusted automatically. A vertical scrollbar appears on the right if necessary. The active holon is outlined in yellow.
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You can drag and drop in the Palette preview mode to swap or copy gradients between holons. To copy one holon to another, drag from the source holon and release over the destination holon. To swap between two holons, Shift-drag from one to another. To copy one holon to all others, Ctrl-drag from one to any other. To copy Initial Colors, drag and drop in the left half of the preview. To copy Modifiers, drag and drop in the right half of the preview. To swap or copy both Initial Color and Modifiers, drag and drop first on one side then the other.
3.11.10.2
Bailout, blend and blender
Location: Color page in the Main window Applies to: Holon Sequence coloring Bailout sets the maximum length of the color sequence. It ranges from 2 to 392 and defaults to 200. Small values simplify coloring. This control is duplicated from the Rendering page. Blend and Blender add extra variation based on a specified holon. The effect is not visible in the Palette preview, only in the Color preview and actual renders. Blend sets the strength of the effect. Blender selects the holon to use, and is most effective with the largest holon. Negative values provide variation based on all holons except that one. 3.11.10.3 Color perspective Location: Color page in the Main window Applies to: Holon Sequence coloring, chaos render This control determines whether the color varies with perspective in a chaos render. If the camera is close to a fractal object, you'll see more detail close to you than further away. With Color Perspective checked, the colors will change to match the extra detail close up, otherwise the colors will not change with distance. The closer the camera is to the object, the more difference it makes.
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Tip: For regular holon arrangements you would probably want the coloring to be uniformly scaled and leave Color Perspective unchecked, but for other shapes, perspective adjustment may work better.
3.11.11 Metamorph coloring

3.11.11.1 Overview: Metamorph coloring
Location: Color page in the Main window How it works The Metamorph coloring method uses texture mapping. For each holon you choose a source for the texture coordinates, optionally filter them, and choose a color source. The texture source is chosen from the Map From dropdown list. It may be as simple as using world space coordinates, or more usually meta pattern values generated by metamorphs. You can also inherit the values from other holons. The color source is chosen from the Map To dropdown list. Two of the options are gradients; the third is the Background picture. Parametric gradients are correlated across holons and may be randomized all at once, while custom gradients are independent and offer far more control of colors. For gradients, you set the strength of each parameter with the Meta Pattern controls, and may further transform them with a choice of Curve, and Blend the results in various ways to produce an index into the gradient. The Cycle control allows each holon's gradient to be shifted. For the background picture, the process is similar but two coordinates are needed. The Picture Mapping controls select which values to use for the X and Y picture coordinates, and also allow you to shift the picture in each direction. There is also a process for applying this coloring to a plane to make backgrounds: Background creation mode 110 . Gradient strip The gradient strip shows the full gradient for the active holon. It shows either a custom or parametric gradient depending on the Map To choice. If Background Picture is selected, the parametric gradient is shown but not used.
To open the appropriate gradient editor window, click the Edit Gradient button . If Parametric Gradient is selected, the Parametric Gradient Editor window stays on top and is visible whenever appropriate until you close it. If Custom Gradient is selected, the Custom Gradient Editor window opens as a dialog. Palette Preview The Preview window shows the Palette preview when selected by the Preview Mode button when the Color page is active. It shows the gradient for each holon. The active holon is outlined in yellow.
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You can drag and drop in the Palette preview mode to swap or copy gradients between holons. To copy one holon to another, drag from the source holon and release over the destination holon. To swap between two holons, Shift-drag from one to another. To copy one holon to all others, Ctrl-drag from one to any other. When the source gradient is parametric: To copy Initial Colors, drag and drop in the left half of the preview. To copy Modifiers, drag and drop in the right half of the preview. To swap or copy both Initial Color and Modifiers, drag and drop first on one side then the other. 3.11.11.2 Map from Location: Color page in the Main window Applies to: Metamorph coloring The Map From control selects the source of the mapping parameters for each holon. The mapping parameters are combined using the Meta Pattern, Curve and Blend controls, and mapped to colors selected by the Map To control. The Map From options are: First metamorph: get the parameters from the holon's first metamorph. If the first style is (NONE), the parameters are simply the point's x, y and z position. Last metamorph: get the parameters from the holon's second metamorph if it is assigned, otherwise use the first. World space: the parameters are the point's x, y and z position, regardless of the holon's metamorph styles. Inherit all: inherit the parameters from other holons. The Meta Pattern, Curve and Blend values are also inherited. This is most useful for large or free holons, but not constructors (the result is noise). It is useful in conjunction with Inherit Color. Inherit style: ignore the parameters from other holons' styles, but do not inherit the Meta Pattern, Curve and Blend values, allowing them to be independently set for this holon.
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Other holon: get the parameters from the holon specified in the Other Holon control, which appears on the right when this option is selected. The Meta Pattern, Curve and Blend value are set by this holon's controls, not the other holon. It works in the same way as Background Creation mode 110 , but applied to the object instead of a plane.The same tips apply as for Background Creation mode. Flame: use running averages of holon history for 'flame' style coloring. The first meta pattern is strongly averaged, the second is moderately averaged and the third gives mostly local coloring. For best results you should keep most holon meta patterns at zero and experiment with meta pattern values for only one or two holons at a time, especially those with the largest scales. Holons that are not set to Flame are treated as having zero values, so their meta patterns don't affect the flame holons. Flame coloring can be speckly, so is best with transparent rendering (or Surface Only opacity method for anti-aliasing.)
Apply Pattern to Unlit picture When Map From is set to Other holon, the Apply Pattern to Unlit picture button is visible. This allows you to apply the active holon's coloring to an already rendered object. The entire object gets the same coloring, so the preview only indicates the correct result for the active holon. The pattern comes from the Other Holon, and the coloring from the active holon. Note: you can apply only one holon's coloring to the whole object. If no object has been rendered, it has no effect (unless a depth map has been created using the Depth window.) 3.11.11.3 Meta pattern
Location: Color page in the Main window Applies to: Metamorph coloring The Meta Pattern controls adjust the strength of the three mapping parameters (from the source selected in the Map From control) for the selected holons. Increasing values map more of the destination gradient or picture onto the shape. The parameters are then modified by the Curve and Blend controls. To randomize the Meta Pattern values for the selected holons, click the Randomize Meta Patterns button . To use identical values for all selected holons, first check the Sync Meta Patterns checkbox, otherwise each holon is randomized independently. To make the gradient for the selected holons wrap instead of bounce, check the Wrap checkbox. The three parameters are different for each metamorph style, and most come directly from the metamorph formulas.
3.11.11.4
Meta curve

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Applies to: Metamorph coloring The Curve controls provide additional transformations of the Meta Pattern parameters. The Curve options are: Linr: linear Saw: sawtooth Sin: sine wave Cos: cosine wave Puls: pulse Step: steps Sqr: square of parameter Cube: cube of parameter Tanh: hyperbolic tangent, squeezes towards the center Sinc: damped sine wave (reducing away from the center) Sin2: squared sine Cup: repeating cup shape (inverted absolute sine) Ripple: a double sine ripple Sinst: a sine staircase Zigz: zigzag
The two Blend controls determine how the parameters are combined. The first Blend control combines the first and second parameter, and the second Blend control combines the result with the third parameter. The Blend options are: + adds the parameters - subtracts the parameters x multiplies the parameters > maximum value < minimum value ~ exclusion; the sum minus the product ? selects the first or second parameter depending on the value of the other parameter ! don't blend; use with ? for pure selection
Randomizing and resetting To randomize the Curve and Blend parameters for selected holons, click the Randomize Curve/Blend button . To use identical values for all selected holons, first check the Sync Meta Patterns checkbox, otherwise each holon is randomized independently. To reset the Curve and Blend parameters for all holons to Linr and + respectively, click the Reset Curve/Blend button .
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3.11.11.5
Cycle gradient Location: Color page in the Main window Applies to: Metamorph coloring
The Cycle control allows each holon's gradient to be rotated independently. To rotate the gradient for the active holon and any other selected holons, adjust the Cycle control. 3.11.11.6 Picture mapping Location: Color page in the Main window Applies to: Metamorph coloring
These controls manage picture mapping when Map To is set to Background Picture. To set the controls to default values, click the Picture Map Defaults button .
The defaults will produce linear mapping for most of the constructor styles. It will generally be necessary to try all the Pic Map X and Y combinations of 1, 2 and 3 to see which one works best. Some styles will only produce very warped mapping that looks like an alternative gradient. The Pic Map X and Y controls map parameters to the horizontal and vertical picture coordinates respectively. The options are: 1. first parameter 2. second parameter 3. third parameter 4. first and second parameters blended 5. all three parameters blended The Picture Offset X and Y controls shift the picture in each direction. The Meta Pattern controls provide picture scaling. Use negative values to flip the picture. The Curve options allow additional warping. Note: which Meta Pattern, Curve and Blend controls are effective depends on which parameters are assigned by Pic Map X and Y. If the Map From option is Inherit all, the Meta Pattern, Curve and Blend settings are inherited as for gradient mapping. To inherit the Map To values and the Pic Map and Picture Offset settings, check Inherit Color. Adjust Inherit Count to limit the number of iterations skipped. This overrides the Map To setting for this holon, and allows correct inheritance from multiple holons, even if some have pictures and some have gradients.
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3.11.11.7
Background creation Location: Color page in the Main window Applies to: Metamorph coloring
This feature allows you to create background pictures directly from any holon's metamorph coloring. It does not affect the rendered or lit pictures or depth map etc, so you can create background pictures either before or after rendering. It works by transforming every point in the visible plane by the active holon and its metamorphs, and using the associated metamorph coloring. Because we are using the original position of the point in the plane and not the transformed position, all the controls seem to work backwards from their usual effect in metamorph coloring. To enable background creation, click the Background Creation Mode button . The preview shows the background resulting from the active holon's metamorph coloring. The object is not shown. To return to normal operation and previews, release the Background Creation Mode button. As only the active holon is used, the Map From option must be First Metamorph, Last Metamorph or World Space to get any pattern. The Map To control selects the color destination, except that if Background Color is chosen then Parametric Gradient is used instead. All the holon shape parameters except X Skew usually affect the result, but they work in the opposite sense from usual. Metamorph Amount only has an effect for the first style driving the second. On the View page, the Camera Zoom affects the result, and also in the opposite direction from usual. Stereo Mode supports background creation, and the Stereo Distance control adjusts the relative distance for the background. It will usually be necessary to increase the value above zero to move it behind other objects. To create the Background picture with the current pattern, click the Create Background Picture button . If the Background picture already exists, you are asked to confirm overwriting it. To use anti-aliasing when creating the Background picture, set the Anti-alias Background (AA) control to 1 for moderate effect or 2 for full effect. Anti-aliasing reduces the intensity of fine interference patterns at the expense of color intensity, and is a lot slower. Tips: Avoid constructor styles and the Tile styles unless you want noise. The radial styles such as Ripple and Nubble work best with some Z position. Some styles don't do much by themselves but can be useful before or after another style. To reserve a holon just for background creation without it affecting the object, make this holon both Free and Hidden. It will be saved along with the object in a parameter file. Note: with busy patterns or gradients, the preview will have heavy interference patterns that will be different in the full size picture, and different again if you render to a larger picture.
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3.11.12 Parametric gradients

3.11.12.1 Overview: Parametric gradients
Location: Color page in the Main window Parametric gradients are a set of color gradients that are correlated across all holons. One set of controls produces a Global Pattern that is shared by all holons. Each holon has controls to give it individual colors. This provides fairly wide variation from a small number of parameters, and allows randomization of all gradients at once. However it does not allow much control of the gradients, and they are not independent. The color of a point is calculated by starting with the holon's Initial Color. For each step in the generating sequence, the color is changed by the product of the holon Modifier and the global pattern for that step. Parametric gradients may be used for either coloring method by selecting it in the Map To dropdown list. To show the Parametric Gradient Editor window: 1. 2. Make sure the active holon has Parametric Gradient selected in the Map To list. Click the Edit Gradient button on the Color page.
Parametric gradients may be saved as Color Presets. The gradients are saved for all the holons. 3.11.12.2 Initial color and modifier Location: Parametric Gradient Editor window
Each holon has an Initial Color and Modifiers. Together with the global pattern, they determine the gradient. The Initial Color is the starting point for a gradient or color sequence. To change the Initial Color for the selected holons, either click the Initial Color rectangle to open the color picker dialog, or adjust the R, G and B controls individually. Each holon has a Modifier for each of red, green and blue. The modifiers and global pattern are multiplied together to determine how the color changes at each step, starting from the Initial Color on the left. The color does not evolve from the Initial Color if either the global pattern Gain is zero, or the Modifiers are zero. The Gain controls the overall rate of change, and the Modifiers control the rate for each color channel. To change the Modifiers for the selected holons, adjust any of the three Modifier controls. You can also copy or swap the Initial Color and Modifiers by drag and drop in the palette preview.
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3.11.12.3
Global pattern
Location: Parametric Gradient Editor window These controls define a global pattern that gives complexity to parametric gradients. By mixing two repeating waves (a step and a ramp), a wide range of patterns is possible. For each holon, the global pattern is multiplied by the Modifiers to determine how the color evolves from the Initial Color. Some of the controls work differently for each coloring method. Gain sets the overall strength of the pattern. Large positive or negative values produce dense stripes, while small values produce gradual changes. When Gain is 0 the pattern has no variation at all. Wave sets the balance between step and ramp waves. Set it to 100 for pure ramp, 0 for an equal mix and -100 for pure step. Slew has the effect of rotating each gradient into the next, either up or down. Start sets the step where the pattern begins. There is no variation before this point. The step function has three controls: On sets the length of the rising segment. Off sets the length of the falling segment. Vert adjusts the vertical bias, or how much it tends to increase or decrease the gradient. Extreme values produce alternating flat segments. The ramp function has two controls: Up sets the length of the rising segment. Down sets the length of the falling segment. When Down has a negative value, the ramp occurs only once instead of repeating. 3.11.12.4 Randomize and clear palette
Location: Parametric Gradient Editor window To clear the gradients for all holons (Initial Color, Modifiers, global pattern controls), click the Clear Palette button .
To randomize the Initial Color and Modifiers for all holons, click the Randomize Gradients button (upper position). To randomize the whole palette, click the Randomize Palette button . (lower position).
To randomize the global pattern, click the Randomize Global Pattern button
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3.11.12.5
Gradient rotation
Location: Parametric Gradient Editor window These buttons allow rotating or swapping the gradients between the holons. To rotate the holon gradients up, click the Rotate Gradients Up button . . .
To rotate the holon gradients down, click the Rotate Gradients Down button
To swap the active holon's gradient with the first holon, click the Swap Gradient With First button To swap the active holon's gradient with the next holon, click the Swap Gradient With Next button .
3.11.12.6
Color presets
Location: Color page in the Main window Color Presets let you save and load favorite or useful parametric gradients. However, their appearance can vary considerably when applied to other objects. To open the Color Preset window, click the Gradient Presets button in either the Color page or the Parametric Gradient window. Drag the Color Preset window so you can see the Preview window in the Main window. All preset operations are done from the Color Preset window, except for saving new presets. Saving presets You can save the current parametric gradient as a new Color Preset. This is done from the Parametric Gradient window. To save a new preset: 1. 3. 4. Click the Save Color Preset button . The Save Preset dialog opens. Type the name for the preset into the Preset edit box. Click OK to save the preset, or Cancel to close the dialog without saving the preset. If the preset name already exists you are asked for confirmation to overwrite it. Color preset window
3.11.12.7
The Color Preset window is where you choose Color Presets for the Parametric Gradient editor. When you resize the Color Preset window vertically, the preset list resizes to fit. You can drag the window to a convenient position. It is most useful to keep the Main window preview visible. The Main window is not accessible while the Color Preset window is open.
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The Preset List shows the names of presets. To choose a preset, click on the name in the Preset List. The Main window Preview shows how it will look. To preview many presets consecutively, use the cursor keys to scroll through them. To close the Color Preset window, click the OK button. To choose a preset and close the Color Preset window, double-click the preset name. To close the Color Preset window and revert to the palette before you opened the window, click the Cancel button. To change Preview Mode, click the Preview Mode button .
To delete a color preset: 1. 2. 3. Select the preset name in the Preset List. Click the Delete Color Preset button . Click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the preset.
3.11.13 Custom gradients

3.11.13.1 Overview: Custom gradients
Location: Color page in the Main window Custom gradients are independent of each other and very flexible. They use control nodes with standard and additional parameters. You can build gradients just by adding points and editing their colors, or you can add repeating curves and color variations for any interval. These extra features allow gradients with fewer control points, which makes it much easier to change colors or other aspects. Custom gradients are available for both coloring methods, as an option in the Map To dropdown list. To open the Custom Gradient Editor window: 1. 2. Make sure the active holon has Custom Gradient selected in the Map To list. Click the Edit Gradient button on the Color page.
Custom gradients may be saved as presets for permanent storage.
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3.11.13.2
Custom gradient editor
The Custom Gradient editor allows creation and editing of individual gradients. It uses control nodes similar to many other programs, with some powerful enhancements for greater flexibility. The gradient editor updates the Main window preview as you make changes. To close the Custom Gradient Editor window and keep the current gradient, click OK, or press Enter. To close the window and revert to the old gradient, click Cancel. Gradient strip and control nodes The gradient strip is the rectangle at the top containing the color gradient. The control nodes are the colored circles below it. The active node has a white border and is lower to make it easier to control when near other nodes. To add a new node, click in the gradient strip at the desired position. The gradient color at that position becomes the new node's color. To copy a node, Ctrl-click somewhere between the node and the next node on the right. This is most useful if you subsequently change the color, or move it beyond another node. To select a different node, either click on the node, or adjust the Active Node control (first numeric control on the left). To move a node, either drag it horizontally, or adjust the Position control (bottom left numeric control). To delete the active node, click the Delete Node button .
To change the color of the active node, click the color rectangle to open the Color Picker dialog. Active node controls The other active node controls affect the interval between the active node and the following node. The Midpoint control sets the midpoint of the interval. Values below 0.5 bend it to the left, and values above 0.5 bend it to the right. The Curve dropdown list provides 18 different curves for the color interpolation. The Frequency control sets the number of times the curve repeats. With positive values, the curve reverses for continuity; with negative values it repeats without reversing.
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The Amount control blends between a linear transition and the curve. The red, green and blue Modifier controls provide additional color variation within the interval, from subtle tints to polychromatic bands. The Ghost control blends between the intervals either side and the interval that adjacent points would have if the active point were not there.
Gradient controls There are three randomize buttons. None of them change the number of nodes. 1. 2. 3. Randomize colors Modifier values. . Ctrl-click instead to randomize Modifier values, or Shift-click to reset the .
Randomize all except colors and modifiers Randomize all parameters .
To rotate each node color to the left, click the Cycle Colors Left button To rotate each node color to the right, click the Cycle Colors Right button To reset the gradient to the default values, click the Clear Gradient button
. . .
Gradient presets To open the Custom Gradient Preset window, click the Gradient Presets button To save the current gradient as a preset: 1. 2. 3. 4. Click the Save Preset button . The Save Preset dialog opens, with the Category defaulting to the last used, if any. Choose a category; or to make a new category, type the name into the Category dropdown box. Type the name for the preset into the Preset edit box. Click OK to save the preset, or Cancel to close the dialog without saving the preset. If the preset name already exists you are asked for confirmation to overwrite it. .
Gradient memory spots There are 8 Gradient Memory Spots to store and recall gradients during the current session. To store the current gradient, click on an empty (cream) spot. To recall a gradient, click on a full (blue) spot. To clear a full spot, Ctrl-click it.
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To clear all spots, Shift-click any spot. You will be asked for confirmation before the spots are cleared. 3.11.13.3 Custom gradient preset window
The Custom Gradient Preset window is where you select Custom Gradient Presets. Presets are organized in categories for ease of use and management. To open the Custom Gradient Preset window, click the Gradient Presets button located in the Color page and also the Custom Gradient Editor window. . This button is
When you resize the Custom Gradient Preset window, the category and preset lists are resized to fit. You can drag the window to a convenient position. The Category List shows the categories of presets. To select a different category, click on the name in the Catetory List. The Preset List shows the name and gradient of each preset in the current category. To select a preset, click on the name or gradient in the Preset List. To preview many presets consecutively, use the cursor keys to scroll through them. To close the Custom Gradient Preset window, click the OK button, or press the Enter key. To select a preset and close the Custom Gradient Preset window, double-click the preset name. To close the Custom Gradient Preset window and revert to the gradient before you opened the window, click the Cancel button. Note: the Preset List supports multiple selection for the purposes of export and changing category. Only one preset is opened at a time. To move one or more presets to another category, select the presets in the Preset List, then drag and drop them to the destination category in the Category List.
3.11.13.4
Deleting and renaming gradient presets
Location: Custom Gradient Preset window. You can delete or rename lighting presets from the Custom Gradient Preset window. Saving new presets is done from the Gradient Editor window. To delete a gradient preset: 1. 2. 3. Select the preset name in the Preset List. Click the Delete Preset button . Click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the preset.
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To rename a gradient preset: 1. 2. 3. 4. Select the preset name in the Preset List. Click the Rename Preset button . A dialog box opens. Change the category, preset name or both. Click OK to accept the change, or Cancel to leave it unchanged.
3.11.13.5
Importing and exporting gradient presets
Location: Custom Gradient Preset window. Sometimes you might download collections of new gradient presets, or want to share with others. You can import and export lighting presets for this purpose. Custom gradient preset files have extension .xcg. To import gradient presets: 1. 2. 3. Click the Import Presets button at the bottom of the Custom Gradient Preset window. A file open dialog appears. Find and select the gradient preset file to import. Click OK to import.
If the name of any imported preset already exists in your collection, it will not be imported. When the process is complete, a message confirms the number of presets imported.
To export lighting presets: 1. Select all the presets in the Preset List that you want to export. You can only export from one category at a time. Standard multiple selection methods apply; you can drag the mouse or Shift-click to select a range, and Ctrl-click to select non-continuously. Click the Export Presets button. A file save dialog appears. Name the file whatever you like (except "Custgrad" which is reserved for your active presets). Click OK to export the presets.
2. 3. 4.
Note: the gradient preset .xcg files are plain text, and it's safest to zip them before emailing or uploading.
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3.12 Rendering page

3.12.1 Overview: the Rendering page
Location: tab pages in the Main window Rendering is the process of calculating color, depth and shadow information for the full size picture. You can watch the picture being rendered in the Picture window, but you don't see the depth or lighting effects until you go to the Lighting window. The Rendering page contains the controls that you set before rendering. They include shadows 120 , holon opacity 122 , render size 123 and rendering method 124 . You can also select .xep files for batch rendering 127 . Controls to start and stop rendering are located: In the Main window: in the Render toolbar 72 by right-clicking in the Preview window
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In the Picture window: on the toolbar 137 , along with a progress indicator by right-clicking in the Picture window 131 Note: New renders always have a black background. You generally add any different backgrounds during or after rendering, either by layering in the Picture form, or in Lighting, or both. Screensavers are disabled during rendering to prevent display problems that can occur in some cases.
3.12.2
About rendering
Rendering produces color, depth and optionally shadow and opacity information for use in layering and lighting. The flexible interaction between these processes allows for a variety of approaches to creating a picture. Here are the main ways that XenoDream is being used so far. Standard The default is rendering with full opacity. In rare cases the rendered (Unlit) picture is the end point, but usually lighting is applied. The lighting can illustrate the 3-D features of the object, or it can be a 2-D filter effect, or somewhere in between. Then the Lit picture is what you save to a file. You can do additional layering with backgrounds first.
Transparent Setting holon opacities below 100% produces a transparent render. The colors through the object are blended accordingly and an alpha channel is created to store the opacity of each pixel. With alphablending on, the rendered (Unlit) picture may be all you want. The general options are: Use the Unlit picture as is. Apply ambient lighting just to tweak blur, saturation, contrast and glow, to enhance the result. Apply a 3-D lighting, with Use Alpha checked to keep the transparency.
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Apply a 3-D lighting, with Use Alpha unchecked, for a solid object (same as a standard render except the colors have been blended by the transparency.) Optionally, alphablend the Lit picture afterwards. Opacities between 5 and 30% work best. If you are using a 3-D lighting, use opacities below 20% and render long enough for the surface to develop sufficiently. Otherwise you can use higher opacities and stop rendering sooner.
Accumulating the background layer You may want to composite several objects (identical or different) into one picture. One method is to render each object separately (Render New) and merge the Lit or Unlit picture into the background layer each time. This is probably the easiest way, as the rendered objects are fully independent of each other. Each object can be opaque or transparent, but can only cast shadows onto itself. To position each object before rendering, use the Preview With Background option.
Multiple Sometimes it works better to accumulate several renders together before lighting, using Render More. The objects will intersect correctly. It is difficult to estimate the relative depths to position the objects and some trial and error can be needed to plan the scene before beginning the final renders, because there is no undo for Render More. Shadows are cast by and onto all objects; however the bounds of the shadow areas are set for the first object rendered, and any portion of subsequent objects outside these areas will not cast shadows.
Unrendered You can open a picture file as the Unlit picture, create a depth map in the Depth window, and apply lighting. Rendering is not necessary for this kind of processing. If you open a Background picture too, setting the Depth source to Background picture allows independent bump map texturing. This can be used for 3-D text effects. Using another application to write the text in a large font, save it in BMP or PSD format. Open it as the Unlit picture in XenoDream, apply some Gaussian blur, then create the depth map and experiment with lighting.
Other ideas Render an object, open an Unlit picture to replace the colors, and apply lighting. Render an object, open an Unlit picture and a Background picture, and enable Background Mask.
3.12.3
Render shadows
Location: Rendering page in the Main window A XenoDream object can cast shadows onto itself no matter how complicated the shape. The shadow information for each light has to be calculated during the render. Before rendering you need to set the position of each light that may cast a shadow. When you apply lighting, a light can have a shadow only if
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its position matches one of the rendered shadows. Note: Shadows are not cast onto a background picture layer. The Shadow Ball The shadow-casting lights are shown on the Shadow Ball (which is similar to the Lighting Ball in the Lighting window, except it only shows information relevant to shadows).
The shaded ball in the center represents the object, and each light is shown as a white circle on a stalk. The active light has a white border while others have a black border. The stalk is red if the shadow has not yet been rendered, and black if it has. To select a light, you can either adjust the Active Light control , or click on the light.
To move a light, you can either drag the light around, or adjust the Horizontal and Vertical angle controls. Dragging operates within either the front or back hemisphere. To switch the active light between front and back, either click the Front/Back icon controls. , or use the angle
To add another light, click the Add Light icon . A new light appears 15 degrees up and left of center, unless there are already the maximum number of shadows. To delete a light, first select the unwanted light, then click the Delete Light icon .
Lighting and Shadow presets To open a lighting preset and get the shadow angles to match, click the Lighting Presets button and choose a preset from the list. The lighting preset will be ready to apply when you get to the Lighting window. If All is checked, shadows will be created for all the lights, otherwise only the shadows assigned in the preset will be created. Shadow presets are just preprogrammed sets of shadow angles. To use a shadow preset, change the setting in the Shadow Preset control .
After opening a shadow or lighting preset you can make changes to the shadow settings if necessary.
Holons casting shadows

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By default, all holons cast shadows. You can disable casting shadows for any holon. You might do this for a very low opacity holon, or a specific effect. To choose whether the selected holons cast shadows, check or uncheck the Cast by Holon checkbox.
Casting shadows from beyond the screen boundary If the object extends much beyond the view, calculating shadows from all those points will take longer to render. Depending on the shape and the light positions, those shadows may or may not be critical to the appearance. To cast shadows from points that are off screen, check the Cast from Off Screen checkbox.
Note: If you are using Regions, the shadow ball shows all shadow-casting lights. Regions have independent lighting but share a common pool of shadows.
3.12.4
Holon opacity
Location: Rendering page in the Main window
When the holons have some transparency, rendering allows you to see inside and through the object. It is convenient to work with opacity (the opposite of transparency). The resulting opacity of the object will vary with its thickness and density, and depend on the opacities of the holons. An Alpha Channel is created to store the opacity of each pixel. You can choose to use or ignore the opacity in layering and lighting. The Preview window has a transparent option that approximates transparency. It does not preview the actual holon opacity or method settings. Setting holon opacity The Opacity control ranges from 0 (totally transparent) to 100 (totally opaque). Adjust it to set the opacity for selected holons or all holons depending on Sync. Check the Sync checkbox to keep the same Opacity value for all holons. Uncheck it to allow holons to have different opacities. The rendering methods do not allow for an actual percentage of opacity, so the values are relative. The length of time needed to render depends on how it will be lit. If you need a clean surface for light sources, you will need to use small values of opacity (less than 20) and let it render a longer time than if you will be lighting it in ways that don't show the solid surface. Transparency mode The Transparency Mode provides three methods of calculating the opacities and colors, each handling depth differently.
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Uniform: depths of points within the object are ignored when blending the colors. Enhance Depth: depths of points within the object are considered when blending the colors, for more impression of internal depth. Surface Only: only points within 0.1% of the surface are blended. Tip: for antialiasing of color without transparent effects, use Surface Only mode with Opacity 20 or less, and turn off Alphablend when layering, or uncheck Use Alpha when lighting. Note: the Enhance Depth option can introduce a 'shadowing' effect when thin areas are a long way in front of denser areas, which may be undesirable especially when the effect is messy. Note: if you start rendering totally opaque, and the Alpha Channel exists from a previous transparent render, you will be asked if you want to keep the existing Alpha Channel. Normally you won't want to keep it, unless you have a specific plan to use the old Alpha Channel creatively.
3.12.5
Render size
Use these controls to set the size of the picture that will be created. The Render Size dropdown list remembers up to 24 sizes, with the most recently used at the top (unless you choose the option to default to 800x600). Use this to choose sizes that you've used before. Edit the Width and Height fields for any size you want. The pictures are not resized until you either start rendering or click the Change Size button. The only immediate effect of changing the size is to recalibrate the color scale if the coloring method is Holon Sequence. In that case you should set the size before finalizing the colors. To change size immediately without starting a render, click the Change Size button . This is not necessary before rendering, but can be useful if you want to do other operations in the Picture window without rendering. Note: when the picture size changes, all existing pictures, depth, shadows etc are lost. Make sure you've finished with any previously rendered data before continuing. The Preview window contains gray guide lines to indicate the boundaries of the rendered picture depending on the relative aspect ratios of the Preview window and picture. The render size controls are disabled while rendering is in progress. How large can you render? It depends on how much RAM you have, and how many of shadows, regions and transparency. XenoDream can be quite memory intensive, as it uses several pictures as well as depth and opacity and shadows, and all of these depend on the area of the picture. Disk swapping is acceptable for layering and
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lighting, but any significant disk swapping during the render (besides swapping other programs out to disk) will slow the render too much to be worthwhile (due to the random access of the picture and other data). If the render will exceed the amount of physical memory in your system, a warning appears with the percentage of memory used so you have the option of canceling. It is recommended not to exceed about 120% of physical memory if there is some background showing around the object, or 100% if the object fills the entire area. If you want to calculate memory requirements, use this method: Multiply width by height to get the area. Calculate the number of bytes of data per pixel by starting with 7, adding 2 per shadow, another 2 if any holons have opacity less than 100, and 1 if regions are used. Multiply the area by number of bytes for the total memory for rendering. For example, if you want the size to be 4000x3000 with two shadows and some transparency, this gives an area of 12,000,000 and there are 7 + 2x2 +2 = 13 bytes per pixel, for a total of 156 million bytes. Note: if you are rendering large sizes, make sure you have more than enough free disk space and that your hard disk has been recently defragmented. Note: Unless you have Memory Mapped Files turned off in the Preferences menu, if XenoDream or your computer crashes it may leave some large temporary files in your temporary folder (usually C:\Temp or C:\Windows\Temp or C:\WinNT\Temp). These will be any of RendBmp.tmp, PRZ.tmp, Shadow1/2/3.tmp etc, Alphachan.tmp, LitBmp.tmp, BackBmp.tmp, or variations with suffixes of A, B etc if you were running multiple instances. XenoDream will re-use these files if they already exist and are not in use by another instance. However if you have run out of disk space it may be necessary to delete them yourself.
3.12.6
Rendering method
There are several methods of generating XenoDream objects, each with some strengths and weaknesses. The default is the Chaos 124 method. This is the one used in the Preview window. It always works, and has no critical parameters to adjust. We recommend it in general unless you have a reason to try another method. The Ordered 125 and Hybrid 125 methods are sometimes capable of results that may be preferable, but they can be tricky to adjust and sometimes don't work very well. Note: some rendering controls (Bounds, Bailout and Terminate At) are only visible when they apply to the selected render method.
3.12.7
Chaos render
Location: Rendering page in the Main window The default Rendering Method is the Chaos render, the same method as used in the Preview window. The pixels are calculated in random sequence, which has the advantage that the whole shape appears quickly, and the quality of detail improves with time. The Chaos render is the easiest to use because it works for all objects, without any critical adjustments.
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A Chaos render does not have a clearly defined endpoint; it keeps choosing points randomly until you stop it, or the number of new pixels per second falls below the Terminate At value for four consecutive seconds. To stop rendering automatically at a specific pixel rate, set the Terminate At control to that value. Values below 1.0 do not terminate. You can stop a Chaos render whenever you like and still have a "complete" picture, and some surface roughness can be cleaned up in lighting. You can also resume a Chaos render with the Render More option, even after lighting it. Low opacity renders generally work best with the Chaos method. They need to be stopped at some point, otherwise the opacity increases too much. It has a minor disadvantage for some objects of not completing fine details such as sharp spines due to some pixels having extremely low probability.
3.12.8
Ordered render
Location: Rendering page in the Main window The Ordered method calculates the points for each holon in sequence. Holon 1 will be drawn first, then holon 2, etc. Ordered renders terminate when all points have been calculated. The Ordered method will NOT work with metamorphs enabled for shape or coloring. The advantages over the Chaos method are: slightly sharper detail. shows sharp spines that may be incomplete in a Chaos render. bounding boxes can speed up zoomed renders. The disadvantages are: with large scales it can be too slow to render. depends on Bailout and Resolution settings for balance between quality and render time. stopping the render will leave out significant portions of the object the render can't be resumed, only restarted over. Metamorphs are not supported. The coloring will be slightly different from the preview and other methods, tending to be more sharply defined. Bounds (Applies only to Ordered rendering) If the object goes much off screen, you can speed it up by setting the Bounds, which detects pixels that cannot be on screen and avoids some calculation. A setting of 1 is most aggressive, but can result in some missed pixels. Larger numbers are safer but give less speed improvement. You may also lose some of the shadows if Cast from Off Screen is checked.
3.12.9
Hybrid render
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The third Rendering Method is called Hybrid. It calculates the holon combinations in sequence. The Hybrid method combines aspects of the Chaos and Ordered approaches, with some pros and cons of each. It calculates the combinations sequentially, but in a different order. It also terminates when complete. The advantages of this method are: slightly sharper and more complete detail than the Chaos method. Metamorphs can be rendered, unlike the Ordered method. The disadvantages are: some fractals with large scales would take days or weeks to render this way. they may have holes or missing portions due to compromises in the Resolution and Bailout 126 settings. stopping the render will leave out significant distributed detail. the render can't be resumed, only restarted over.
3.12.10 Resolution and bailout

These parameters control the holon iterations in generating the object shape and/or colors, depending on the Rendering Method. Recall that each pixel in the object is the result of combining holons together in a different sequence. The length of the sequence varies with the size of the holons, as small holons converge faster than large ones. Resolution is the size (relative to a pixel) that the sequence must converge to before generating a pixel. Bailout is the maximum number of steps in the sequence.
For Chaos renders: These parameters have no effect on the shape. They affect the colors when the Coloring Method is Holon Sequence, and the Bailout control is duplicated on the Color page for that purpose. Increase Resolution to reduce the level of detail in the coloring, or decrease it for very busy or speckled coloring. Decrease Bailout to simplify the coloring.
For Ordered and Hybrid renders: These parameters affect the number of points in the object that are generated, and therefore affect both the quality of the render and the time it takes. The idea is to find a balance between quality and time; however, some objects are just not suitable for these rendering methods. Adjust Resolution for the best density of points. Too large a value will leave holes; too small a value will take too long to render.
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Adjust Bailout to limit the iteration of large holons. Too small a value will most noticeably cause missing points at the center of spirals. Both parameters affect the colors for the Holon Sequence coloring method.
Lo and Hi indicators The Lo and Hi indicators show the range of sequence lengths (as measured in the preview or render, whichever is in progress) and correspond to the black vertical lines on the palette preview. If the Hi value is the same as the Bailout setting, the Bailout limit is being reached.
3.12.11 Render batch

Batch rendering allows you to render and save multiple pictures without intervention. You can select any number of .xep parameter files, which will automatically be opened, rendered and lit, and the pictures saved. The saved picture files will have the same filename as the parameter file but with '-bat' added before the extension. If you will be making an animation sequence, you may want to create .xep files with sequentially numbered filenames. To render a batch of files: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Set the Render Size. All the pictures in this batch will be the same size. Set the Terminate At value (unless you are using only Ordered or Hybrid renders). Choose the Save To format for the picture files. Optionally set a value for Apply Pits to be used when lighting each picture. Click the Select Files... button to open a file dialog. Select all files to be rendered, using the shift or ctrl keys for multiple selection. Click OK to begin. Each file will be opened, rendered, lit and saved.
To cancel the batch before it finishes, release the Select Files... button. Stopping the render in the usual ways will not stop the batch from continuing.
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3.13 Regions page

3.13.1 Overview: the Regions page
Location: tab pages in the Main window You can divide the object into Regions and, after rendering, apply different lighting to each region. The Regions page contains controls for setting the regions in various ways. Regions must be set before rendering. Regions are not necessarily continuous areas. Each region may consist of many patches spread around the object. When you open the Lighting window, if there are several regions, additional controls are visible for managing them. If there is only one, regions are ignored. If the Number of Regions control is set greater than 1, regions will be generated, otherwise they will be ignored. The maximum number of regions is 32. There are three methods of assigning regions, selected with the Region Method dropdown list. The Preview window shows each region in a different color when the Preview Mode is set to Regions.
3.13.2
Holon step region method
Location: Regions page in the Main window
When the Region Method is set to Holon Step, the regions are based on holons, subdivided by holon iterations. The Number of Regions has a maximum value equal to the number of holons, up to a maximum of 32. The Step control sets the number of subdivision steps for each holon. Higher numbers divide each holon into smaller patches. To create a region for each holon, leave Step at 1 and set Number of Regions to the maximum value. Note: Free holons cannot have their own regions with this method. They inherit the regions from the parent shape.
3.13.3
Gradients region method
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When the Region Method is set to Gradients, the regions are based on the holon color gradients. The Number of Regions has a maximum value of 32. The Step control determines how fragmented the regions are. The Red, Green and Blue controls change the mapping of the colors to regions. Note: any subsequent changes to the coloring will affect the regions.
3.13.4
Per holon region method
When the Region Method is set to Per Holon, each holon can be independently assigned to any region. This is the default method. The Number of Regions has a maximum value of 32, and is set automatically to the highest Holon Region assigned. To set the region for the currently selected holons, adjust the Holon Region control to the desired region. To quickly set each holon to its own region, click the Assign Holon Regions button .
If Inherit is checked, the holon ignores its own holon region and inherits regions from other holons. This is most useful for large holons and free holons.
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Picture Window
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Picture Window
4.1 Overview: the Picture window

The Picture window is where you view and work with the full size pictures. It comes to the front when you start rendering. The menu and toolbar allow you to: Save 133 and load 134 pictures. Export the depth map 134 . Apply some effects 136 to the pictures. View 136 the pictures at different magnifications. Start and stop rendering and monitor progress 137 . Set layering modes 131 . Copy or merge layers 140 . Open the Lighting and Depth windows 141 .
The Picture window may be larger or smaller than the picture size, and will have scrollbars if necessary. You can resize the window at any time. If one or both scrollbars are visible you can also drag directly on the picture to move around it. Double-clicking the picture will open the Lighting window if the Lit picture is showing, otherwise it opens the Main window. Right-clicking the picture opens a popup menu to start or stop rendering.
4.2 Pictures and layers

Location: Picture window. In XenoDream, rendering does not usually produce a finished picture. It generates some raw ingredients that you combine with additional processes; mainly lighting and layering. Transparent renders may not need lighting. Rendering produces: the Unlit Picture (a normal color picture) the Depth Map (the distance of each pixel from the camera) shadow maps optionally, the Alpha Channel (opacity per pixel) The Alpha Channel is produced if any holons have opacity less than 100%. The Unlit Picture is given this name because it has the colors of the rendered object but does not yet have any 3-D depth, transparency or lighting. When you use the Lighting window, it reads these sources, calculates lighting and other effects and produces the Lit Picture as output. Layers The Picture window provides basic layering. You can see the Unlit or Lit pictures as they are, or in
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combination with a background. The background can be either a single color or a picture. The front layer 138 can be either the Unlit or Lit Picture. You cannot combine them directly. The back layer 138 can be either the Background Color, or the Background Picture. The layering options are Background Mask 139 , Alphablend 139 , Layer Opacity 140 and Merge Mode 140 . If no layering options are active, the front layer will be visible. You can also hide the front layer to see just the Background Picture. You can use the Copy/Merge 140 button or menu option to copy one picture to another, or to combine two layers into one picture, selecting any of the three pictures as destination. This process can be repeated, and in combination with lighting, and opening pictures from file, provides considerable flexibility.
4.3 File menu

Location: Menu bar in the Picture window. The Picture window's File menu has these options: Save picture... Saves the active picture or layers to a file. See Saving pictures 133 . Save depth map... Saves the depth map to a file. See Saving depth maps 134 . Open picture..., Reopen picture Opens a graphic file as one of the pictures. See Opening pictures 134 . Open depth map... Opens a PGM file as the depth map. See Opening depth maps 135 . Close Background picture Closes the Background picture to free the memory for other uses. If the Background Picture doesn't exist, this menu option is disabled.
Close Alpha Channel Closes the existing Alpha Channel, either to free memory or to avoid potential confusion when lighting a new render. Once created, the Alpha Channel is not automatically closed unless you change render size. One potential annoyance of an obsolete alpha channel is that some Lighting presets have Alpha Glow checked, and will show incorrectly each time you load them until Alpha Glow is unchecked.
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Exit Choose this option to quit XenoDream. You can also quit from the Main window by clicking the close box on the title bar, or the Exit option in the File menu.
4.4 Saving pictures

Location: File Menu in the Picture window menu bar. You can save pictures in three formats: Bitmap (*.bmp), Jpeg (*.jpg) or Photoshop (*.psd). Read below for details specific to each format. 1. 2. 3. In the File menu, choose Save picture... In the Save Picture dialog, choose the file type, then enter a filename. Click OK to save the file, or Cancel to close the dialog without saving.
Note: if the filename has an extension, and you subsequently change the file type, you need to delete the extension or change it to match. After saving, you are prompted to save the parameter file if it has changed since last being saved. Jpeg format Whatever you see will be saved. Layers are merged automatically into the file. After clicking OK, a dialog opens for setting the quality factor. 70 to 90 is the most useful range. You can also choose whether to use the standard 422 subsampling, or no subsampling for sharper colors. The settings are remembered between sessions. Bitmap format Whatever you see will be saved. Layers are merged automatically into the file. Photoshop format Prior to v1.2, layers were merged automatically. From v1.2, if layers are active, the front and back layers are preserved in the file along with masks, opacity and merge mode for the front layer. If the Alphablend button is down, the Layer mask (the Clip mask in Photopaint) will contain the alpha channel opacities and the transparency mask will contain the Background Mask (opaque for the object and transparent for the background). Otherwise, the Layer mask will contain the Background Mask and the transparency mask will be all opaque. If the Merge Mode is not one supported by Photoshop, the most similar mode will be saved instead. Insufficient disk space If there is insufficient disk space to save the file, you get an error message and the file is not saved.
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4.5 Saving depth maps

Location: File Menu in the Picture window menu bar. Saving the Depth Map provides a way of using XenoDream objects in other 3-D applications. Depending on the program, they can be imported and used as terrains, or as more general objects by clipping the base off. Depth maps are also called heightfields. You can export 3-D meshes 169 with a different process. You can save the depth map any time after rendering, because the depth map is produced automatically by rendering. To save the depth map: 1. 2. 3. 4. Choose the Save depth map... option from the File menu. Choose the file type to save as. Type a filename and click OK to save. A dialog asks whether to 'Set base level at back of object?' Choose Yes to eliminate extra height from the whole object, or No to keep the absolute height.
There are two supported formats. Portable Grey Map (*.PGM) is a common format for storing heightfields. XenoDream uses the 16 bit ASCII version. The other option is Targa 16bit RG encoded (*.TGA). You need to know which format your 3-D application can import. For Bryce or KPT Gel (see below), use the PGM format. In the Bryce File menu, choose Import Object to convert the PGM file directly to a terrain. Terrains are extended to a multiple of 512 per side, so it's easiest to render at 512x512 or 1024x1024 (it has been recommended to use 3 pixels less than these sizes, eg 509x509). For Vue d'esprit v4.05 and later, use the TGA format. Note: you can do surface cleaning such as Pits, permanent smoothing etc, in the Lighting window before saving the depth map. You can also create or modify the depth map with the Depth window before saving it. Tip: to reduce perspective distortion when rendering to save the depth map, set up a camera view with increased Z Position (eg 20) and increase Camera Zoom to compensate. Note: KPT Gel does not open PGM files saved with XenoDream v1.1. You can fix these files either by opening them in XenoDream v1.2 or later and resaving them, or by editing the PGM files in a text editor and breaking the first line into three, with the P2 on the first line, the width and height on the second line, and the maximum value (65535) on the third line.
4.6 Opening pictures

Location: File Menu in the Picture window menu bar. You can open picture files to use as background, unlit or lit pictures, whether or not they were saved from XenoDream. To open a picture file, choose Open picture... from the File menu. After choosing a picture file from the dialog, the Picture Destination dialog appears. Choose the Background, Unlit or Lit picture. If the chosen picture doesn't exist it will be created, otherwise it will be overwritten. Any existing Depth, Alpha or Shadow information is unaffected.
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To reopen a recently used picture file, point to Reopen and choose a file from the submenu. The full path is not shown, only the filename. After choosing the file, the Picture Destination dialog appears. Currently three file formats are supported: Jpeg (*.jpg) - any type. The dialog preview does not show the picture. Bitmap (*.bmp) - only 24bit RGB bitmaps can be loaded. Photoshop (*.psd) - only 8 bits per plane, RGB, 3 or more channels. If 4 or more channels are present, the 4th channel is loaded to the Alpha Channel and higher channels are ignored. The dialog preview does not show the picture. Note: Though XenoDream now saves Photoshop files with layers and masks, it opens the combined image as a single picture. Opening layers may be supported in a future version. Differing picture sizes If the picture file has different height or width from the current picture size, a dialog appears with the option of changing size to fit the file. (This is equivalent to changing the size in the Main window Rendering page, and clicking the Change Size button.) If you click Yes, you will lose any existing pictures and depth/alpha/shadows. If you click No, the file picture will be truncated and/or tiled to fit the current picture size.
4.7 Opening depth maps

Location: File Menu in the Picture window menu bar. You can open a Depth Map that was previously saved in XenoDream, or import one that was created in another program, for example a KPT Gel heightfield, or a Bryce depth render, or any terrain editor that saves PGM files in ASCII format. To open a PGM file as the Depth Map, choose Open depth map... from the File menu, and select a file to open. The Depth Map will be overwritten. If the file dimensions are larger than the current picture size, the extra data will be truncated. If smaller, it will be aligned at the top left corner, and is not tiled as smaller pictures are. If you open a PGM file saved with XenoDream 1.2 or later, it will be identical to the depth map that was saved. Files saved from XenoDream 1.1 or another application don't contain any absolute depth range and may appear deeper or flatter than expected. Note: XenoDream saves PGM files with 16 bit precision, but can open any ASCII PGM file.
4.8 Edit menu

Location: Menu bar in the Picture window. The Edit menu has three options. Copy to Clipboard Copy/Merge layers... 140 Clear Copy to Clipboard
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To copy the active picture to the clipboard, choose the Copy to Clipboard menu option. You can then paste the picture into any other application that supports pasting 24 bit RGB Bitmaps. Layering options are not included. This operation is limited in size to 2400x1800 (or other dimensions of equal area). For larger pictures you need to save to file instead. XenoDream does not currently support pasting pictures from the clipboard. Note to users of Corel Photopaint 8: service packs SP1 and SP2 are required, or copying to the clipboard won't work. Clearing the picture To clear the active picture by filling it with the current Background color, choose Clear.
4.9 View menu

Location: Menu bar in the Picture window. The View menu allows you to see the picture (including any layer options) at different sizes. The options are: 25% 50% 100% 200% To Fit
100% is normal size. Choose To Fit to have the picture fit into the window. If you resize the window while To Fit is selected, the picture will resize accordingly. Warning: if you are rendering at a large size, To Fit will slow down rendering considerably. Set the view to 100% for maximum rendering speed.
4.10 Effects menu

Location: Menu bar in the Picture window. The Effects menu has a selection of effects that can be applied to the active picture. Some take place immediately when you choose them, and these can be undone simply by repeating the effect. The others, which end in "..." open a dialog with a preview window and OK and Cancel buttons. Note: Effects are applied to the active picture, not to the full layers, if merged layers are showing. The active picture is whichever of the Unlit or Lit pictures is selected, or the Background picture if that alone is selected. The currently available effects are: Flip Horizontal Flips the active picture horizontally.
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Flip Vertical Flips the active picture vertically. Note: If you flip the Unlit picture before applying Lighting, the Depth, Alpha and Shadow information are not flipped to match. Invert Inverts the colors in the active picture (makes a color negative.) The Effects dialog The following menu items open the Effects dialog. The dialog has a preview window, which you can scroll either with the scrollbars or by dragging in the window. A progress indicator at the bottom of the dialog shows progress in applying the effect when you click OK. To close the dialog without applying the effect, click Cancel. Gaussian Blur... Opens the Effects dialog to do a Gaussian blur or sharpen on the active picture. The Width control sets the number of iterations of the filter, which determines the radial distance that the blur extends over. Large Width settings are slower. The Amount control sets the strength of the blur in each iteration. Negative values produce sharpening or edge enhancement. The Lighten control adjusts the overall lightness level. It is per iteration, so interacts with the Width setting. Remove Noise... Opens the Effects dialog to remove or increase noise in the active picture. The Iterations control sets the number of iterations of the filter. Large Iterations settings are slower. The Amount control determines how much variation is removed in each iteration. Negative values amplify existing variation. The Lighten control adjusts the overall lightness level. It is per iteration, so interacts with the Iterations setting. The Mono option attempts to preserve the hue of each pixel. HLS and Contrast... Opens the Effects dialog to adjust the hue, lightness, saturation and contrast of the active picture. The Hue control rotates the hues. The Saturation control adjusts the saturation of the picture. Values above 100 or below -100 invert the saturation. The Lightness control adjusts the lightness of the picture. Values above 100 or below -100 invert the lightness. The Contrast control adjusts the contrast of the picture.
4.11 Rendering progress

Location: Toolbar in the Picture window.
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These buttons start and stop rendering, and the progress indicator shows how the render is proceeding. Click the Start New Render button to begin a new render, replacing the Unlit picture, depth map, alpha channel and shadows as applicable. To start or resume rendering without clearing any existing data, click the Render More button While rendering is in progress, the Start New Render button is replaced by the Stop Rendering button . Click it to stop rendering. (You can also click it to halt the application of lighting.) .
If you want to have a confirmation dialog for Start New Render, check that option in the Main window Options | Preferences menu. Rendering progress For Chaos renders, the progress indicator shows the number of new pixels plotted each second. New pixels are those in front of existing pixels. (With transparent renders, other pixels are still changing the colors, but only new pixels update the surface shape.) The rate starts very high and falls gradually. The longer you leave it, the more surface detail is filled in and the better the quality generally. If the fractal is underdone, the surface will have holes in it or appear rough or pitted when lit. Lighting includes some surface cleaning 150 options to fix these defects. Tip: for Chaos renders, you will often find that stopping at 500 or even 1000 or more gives satisfactory results (perhaps with some Pits filtering), and you can go ahead and preview lighting earlier, without stopping the render. Sometimes you will want to continue until the rate is down below 100 to get all the fine detail complete. For Ordered and Hybrid renders, the indicator shows the percentage of holons completed. When the holon sizes vary, this will not change at a consistent rate, so it is of limited use. Overflow The progress indicator has a red background if rendering halts due to overflow. If you are using the Chaos method, you can click the Render More button to resume. Note: while rendering, the picture is normally updated once per second. When any layer options are active, the refresh rate is once per two seconds.
4.12 Selecting layers

Location: Toolbar in the Picture window. These controls determine which pictures are in each layer, and set the background color. If any of the pictures does not currently exist, that button is disabled. The Unlit Picture always exists. The Lit Picture is created when lighting is first applied, and closed if the picture size is changed. Pictures can also be loaded from file or created by copying or merging from the other pictures. To choose the picture for the front layer, click either the Unlit Picture button button . Only one of these can be visible at a time. or the Lit Picture
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To choose the Background Picture as the back layer, click the Background Picture button disabled, you first need to load a background picture or copy it from one of the other pictures. To choose the Background Color as the back layer, release the Background Picture button.
. If it is
To change the Background Color, click on the color rectangle to open a color picker dialog. (This is the same background color as used in the Lighting window, and is updated to match.) To see the Background picture alone, choose it and release whichever of the Unlit and Lit picture buttons is down. If only the Unlit Picture exists, you cannot release the Unlit Picture button. Tip: if you want to combine the Unlit and Lit pictures together, copy one of them to the Background Picture to be the back layer.
4.13 Background mask

Location: Toolbar in the Picture window. The Background Mask uses the depth map as an implicit mask, to show the back layer at every pixel not occupied by the object. To apply the background mask, click the Background Mask button release the button. . To stop using the mask,
Note: if this button doesn't seem to do anything, it's because the back layer is the same color(s) as the front layer in the masked areas. This is the default situation, when the background color and the background of the Unlit Picture are both black.
4.14 Alphablend
Location: Toolbar in the Picture window. Alphablending means blending layers according to the opacity of each pixel. The Alphablend option uses the opacity of each pixel in the Alpha Channel to vary how much of the back layer shows through the front layer. The Alphablend button is enabled only when the Alpha Channel exists. When you render with any holons having opacity less than 100%, the Alpha Channel is created and Alphablend is selected automatically. To apply alphablending, click the Alphablend button button. . To stop using alphablending, release the
Note: If you use the Alpha Channel in Lighting, you may not want to use it on the Lit Picture as well. Another option is to apply lighting with Use Alpha unchecked, and Alphablend the resulting Lit Picture.
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4.15 Layer opacity

Location: Toolbar in the Picture window. The Layer Opacity control sets the overall opacity of the front layer. As you decrease the value, more of the back layer shows through. Layer opacity works independently of alphablending, and they can be used together. The difference is that layer opacity has a constant value over the whole layer, while alphablending gets different opacity for each pixel from the Alpha Channel.
4.16 Merge mode

Location: Toolbar in the Picture window. The Merge Mode determines how the layers are blended together. Many of these modes may be familiar if you use photo manipulation or paint programs that do layers. The Merge Modes are: Normal: just the front layer. Add: adds the layers together for brighter colors. Subtract: darkens the colors unless either layer is white. Multiply: multiplies the layer colors together, preserving darkness in either layer. Screen: the opposite of multiply, preserving brighter colors in either layer. Overlay: if the back layer is bright, applies Screen, otherwise applies Multiply. Soft light: darkens or lightens the back layer depending on the front brightness. Hard light: if the front layer is bright, applies Screen, otherwise applies Multiply. Color dodge: brightens the back layer according to the front color Color burn: darkens the back layer according to the front color Reflect: strong dodge with highlight effect Freeze: strong burn. Lighten: uses the lighter color in each channel. Darken: uses the darker color in each channel. Difference: subtracts the darker color from the lighter one, giving a mix of normal and inverted colors. Exclusion: more subtle difference. Lightness: the front layer's brightness controls the back layer's lightness. Lum diff: the front layer's brightness modulates the difference. Procedural+: the back layer's brightness modulates the front layer's colors. Procedural-: the front layer's brightness modulates the back layer's colors. Square: adds the layers together and squares the result for a dim luminous look.
4.17 Copy or merge layers

Location: Toolbar in the Picture window. This option is also in the Edit menu. It allows you to copy one picture to another, or to merge the active layers into a single picture. 1. Set the toolbar controls to show exactly what you want to copy or merge.
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2. 4. 5.
Either click the Copy/Merge button , or choose Copy/Merge Picture... from the Edit menu. The Copy/Merge dialog opens, with a description of what will be copied. Choose the destination picture to copy or merge to. Click the OK button to proceed, or the Cancel button to close without copying.
After the copy/merge, the toolbar controls are reset to show the destination picture.
4.18 Navigation
Location: Toolbar in the Picture window. These buttons show the Main window, Lighting window, Depth window and Lighting Presets window respectively. Opening the Depth window or Lighting Presets window also opens the Lighting window.
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Lighting Window
5.1 Overview: the Lighting window

The Lighting window is where you preview and apply Lighting. Lighting is a kind of filter (really a whole bunch of effects working together) that processes the Unlit picture, Depth Map and other data, saving the result to the Lit picture. This is where rendered objects get their 3-D appearance. To open the Lighting window, click the Lighting button on the Picture window toolbar. How Lighting works The general idea of Lighting is to shine lights onto a 3-D object, specifying the properties of the lights, the object material and related effects. The object's intrinsic colors come from the Unlit picture. The Depth Map contains the distance of each pixel from the camera, thereby defining the visible surface of the object. Along with shadows and opacity, this information is used to calculate the resulting color of each pixel. This becomes the Lit picture, without changing the Unlit picture or any of the other data (except where Surface Cleaning permanent options are used.) The lighting parameters are organized in sections, each in a collapsible panel down the right side of the window. To expand or collapse a panel, click in its title bar. The panel titles show in bold face when any controls in that panel contribute to the lighting, except for the Light Sources and Depth panels which always affect the results. The left side of the window has the general controls, for presets 157 , randomizing 156 , memory spots 157 , lighting by region 158 , preview 143 and applying lighting 144 , and others. Some of the behavior is customizable in the Lighting Options menu 145 .
5.2 Lighting preview

Location: Lighting window. The Lighting Preview window shows the effect of all lighting parameters as you adjust them. It can either show actual size or zoom out to show more of the picture.
To scroll around the picture, either use the scrollbars or drag directly in the Preview window. The Unlit picture shows while you drag, for fast response.
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To change the preview zoom, choose the zoom value from the Preview Zoom dropdown list. If the zoom is less than 100%, a progress bar is visible below the preview window to indicate progress in recalculating the preview, and you can choose automatic or manual preview. To choose manual preview, release the Automatic Lighting Preview button Manual Preview button. To preview manually, click the Manual Preview button . . This enables the
Previewing with layers You can preview the lighting with the current Picture window layer options. This does not mean that the layers will be incorporated into the Lit picture; it shows how the Lit picture will appear with the layer options active. Note that when Use Alpha is checked, the Alphablend button will be released by default when you apply lighting, so you'll want to set the Alphablend button accordingly when you preview with layers. To show the layers in the Lighting Preview window, click the Preview With Layers button .
Fast preview option The preview is slower when you zoom out, or use many lighting parameters, especially with extra lights and shadows. The Fast Preview option updates a smaller square at the center of the Lighting Preview window while you adjust parameters, and updates the rest of the preview when it has time to catch up. To set Fast Preview on or off, click the Lighting Options button Preview menu option. , and check or uncheck the Fast
5.3 Apply lighting

Location: Lighting window.
When you apply lighting, the current parameters are used to create a new Lit picture. If the Lit picture doesn't exist yet, it is created; otherwise it is overwritten. The Unlit picture, Depth Map etc are not changed. To apply lighting, click the Apply button, or press the Enter key. The Picture window switches to the Lit picture, refreshing at one-second intervals until the lighting process is complete. The mouse pointer has the "processing" cursor while lighting is applied. If the object is still rendering, the Apply button instead says 'Stop'. Clicking it at this time will stop the render and change the caption back to 'Apply'. Click it again to apply lighting. You can choose whether to keep the Lighting window on top or to show the Picture window when you apply lighting.
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To choose which window to show, click the Lighting Options button Show Picture Window After Apply option.
and check or uncheck the
If you keep the Lighting window on top by default, click the Picture button to show the Picture window.
5.4 Lighting options

Location: Lighting window. There are several options for customizing the behavior of the Lighting window. Click the Lighting Options button to show the Lighting Options menu. The options are: Fast Preview. See Lighting preview 143 . Snapshot for Reflect/Refract. See Reflection and refraction 153 . Show Picture Window After Apply. See Apply lighting 144 . Keep Lighting Presets Window On Top. When this option is checked, the Lighting Preset window stays on top as long as it is open, but does not prevent you from accessing controls in the Lighting window and elsewhere. Delay preview while typing numbers. If you adjust lighting parameters by typing numbers into the controls, it can be annoying to have the preview updating while you type. This option delays the preview until after you finish typing the number.
5.5 Copy lit to unlit

Location: Lighting window. If you use image editing programs, you'll be familiar with applying effects sequentially as the normal way of working. In contrast, XenoDream's lighting filter lets you preview and apply many effects at once, and does not change the source picture. However, you can accumulate multiple lighting steps by copying the Lit picture to the Unlit picture between applying each lighting. To accumulate lighting effects: 1. 2. 3. 4. Apply the first lighting. Click the Copy Lit to Unlit button . Click OK to confirm overwriting the Unlit picture. The Lighting Preview shows that the previous lighting is now the source for the next one. Choose a new lighting combination.
You could instead copy the picture on the Picture form with the Copy/Merge button 140 , but that takes additional steps. Tip: to maintain 3-D realism, the first lighting(s) should focus on coloring, with little or no shadows; and
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the last lighting should contribute the most 3-D lighting and shadows. Other approaches are more likely to be surreal or 2-D in effect. Note: There is no undo capability (except by first saving the Unlit picture to file, or copying it to the Background picture if you're not already using it).
5.6 Light sources
Location: Light Sources panel in the Lighting window. Light sources control the 3-D appearance of the object. You can use up to 15 directional lights and ambient lighting. The light sources cast parallel rays, as if they were very distant, so you only need to set their direction, intensity and color, and whether they cast shadows. Some surface properties that would usually be fixed for the material can be varied per light source, for more complex or exotic effects. The Lighting Ball The shaded ball in the center represents the object and shows the effects of the lights, and each light is shown as a colored circle on a stalk. The active light has a white border while others have a black border. The stalk is red if the shadow has not yet been rendered, and black if it has. To select a light, you can either adjust the Active Light control , or click on the light. Light # 0 means ambient light (illumination that is the same everywhere, with no direction). Click anywhere within the large circle other than on a light to select ambient. To move a light, you can either drag the light around, or adjust the Horizontal (H) and Vertical (V) angle controls. Dragging operates within either the front or back hemisphere. To switch the active light between front and back, either click the Front/Back icon controls. , or use the angle
To add another light, click the Add Light icon . A new light appears 15 degrees up and left of center, unless there are already the maximum number of lights (15). To add another light with the same intensity, color and surface properties as the active light, Ctrl-click the Add Light icon. To delete a light, first select the unwanted light, then click the Delete Light icon . If there is only one light, you cannot delete it (set its intensity to 0 instead if you want no light sources.)
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Note: when ambient is selected, non-applicable light controls are disabled (the angle, shadow and surface properties)
Light color and intensity The Color Circle color picker dialog. shows the color of the active light. To change it, click the Color Circle to open a
The Intensity control sets the overall brightness of the active light. To adjust the ambient intensity, first select the ambient light. Negative intensities have the effect of removing light.
5.7 Shadows
Location: Light Sources panel in the Lighting window. Any directional light source can cast a shadow, provided that the shadow mask for that light position was calculated during the render. Due to this constraint, enabling shadows interacts with setting the light positions, as described below. Shadow status is indicated by the color of the light's stalk on the Lighting Ball. A white stalk indicates no shadow, a black stalk indicates a rendered shadow, and a red stalk indicates a shadow that has been assigned but not yet rendered. If the stalk is black, you can't drag that light or otherwise change its angle without first turning off the shadow. Shadow controls apply to the active light, so first select the light source of interest. To make the active light use the nearest available rendered shadow, check the Shadow checkbox. The light will change position if necessary. If no shadows are available, one is created, but will not be effective unless you render again. To add a shadow at the active light's current position, click the Add Shadow button . If there isn't already a shadow at that position, you'll need to render again before the shadow takes effect. To turn the shadow off, uncheck the Shadow checkbox. The Shorten control causes the shadows to vary with distance from the occluding surface. Positive values cause the shadow to lighten with greater distance from the surface. Negative values cause the shadow to lighten nearest the surface (one use of this is to reduce shadows due to rough surfaces while keeping deeper shadows). Note: sometimes artifacts (such as banded, checked or moir patterns) occur in the shadow boundaries due to aliasing, especially when the light direction is nearly tangential to the surface, or the object extends over a large distance. The Shorten control can be adjusted to remove this effect. Most lighting presets already have some Shorten added, and for some objects (eg boxes with thin walls) you may need to reduce the values to minimize light bleed. The red LED flashes if one or more shadows are enabled which have not been rendered. You can still
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apply lighting, and any unrendered shadows will be ignored. Click on the LED to show a dialog box with the status of each shadow. This can be especially helpful if you have several regions, or a light is obscured behind the Lighting Ball.
5.8 Surface properties
Location: Light Sources panel in the Lighting window. When directional light sources hit an object surface, what you see depends on the surface texture and other properties that characterize different materials. Some of these properties can be set individually for each light, to create more complex surface effects. Smoothing and Fringe You can smooth or roughen the object surface with the Smoothing and Fringe controls. Positive values of Smoothing make the surface smoother and more fluid, while negative values tend to roughen it by accentuating fine variations. Smoothing works by averaging the surrounding surface. Fringe mixes in a wider area of the surface, modifying the effect of Smoothing for subtle variety of texture. If Smoothing is zero, Fringe has no effect. When either Smoothing or Fringe is negative, roughening (and some overall flattening) depends on cancellation effects and the pattern varies with the combination. Diffuse light and Shininess When a simple light source hits an opaque surface, it usually reflects in two ways - diffuse and highlights (also called specular reflection). Rough surfaces cause mainly diffuse light, which is smoothly shaded, and doesn't change with viewing angle. Polished surfaces have less diffuse light and strong highlights. Highlights depend on both the light direction and the viewing angle. Surfaces appear shiny because of highlights, and also from reflections of surrounding objects. The Diffuse % is the balance between diffuse light and highlights. Small values give mainly highlights, and large values give no highlights and gradual shading. Negative values provide a diffuse light with a narrower focus, for improved metals, or lights that appear closer. The Shininess control sets the sharpness of the highlights. Low values of Shininess can give glary or flash effects, while high values give sharp highlights. Note: The effect of these settings also depends on the Depth controls, which affect the surface angles. Diffuse Color and Metallic The Diffuse Color control sets how much the object color filters the diffuse light. Use high values for strong object coloring, low values for the light to largely ignore object color. Negative values subtract the filtered light from the additive, for a washed out inverted color.
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The Metallic control provides the same effect for the highlights. High values tend to more metallic effects and low values to plastic, but the result is dependent on the Shininess, light colors and intensity balances. Copy and Sync properties By default, the settings for Smoothing, Fringe, Diffuse %, Shininess, Diffuse Color and Metallic are edited independently for each light source. To copy the settings from light #1 to any other light, select the other light and click the 1-> button. To synchronize editing for any of these controls, click the Sync button. Any surface property control you adjust will then affect all lights. Remember to release the Sync button to edit them individually. It is automatically released whenever you select another light.
5.9 Depth effects
Location: Depth panel in the Lighting window. The Depth parameters affect the calculation of the object surface from the depth map, which affects the appearance of the light sources, iridescence, reflection and refraction. Use the Depth control to adjust the apparent depth of the object, in terms of surface angles for lighting. A value of 20 gives normal geometry. Smaller values make the surface appear flatter; larger values make the surface appear deeper. This is useful for tuning presets to suit objects with different characteristics from the ones the preset was created for. It is an important adjustment after using the Depth window to create or modify the depth map.
Check Extra Depth to extend the object over a large range of depth. Leave it unchecked to preserve normal geometry, especially if you have spheres or other shapes that you don't want to distort. This is useful for adding depth to very shallow objects. Many presets have Extra Depth checked; you will often want to uncheck it and increase Depth to compensate, to avoid distorting the shape. (This was all done before constructor metamorphs were implemented.)
Check True Depth to use the correct lighting angles of the 3-D object. Uncheck it to use the angles of the perspective projection. The result is the same at the center of the picture, and differs more towards the edges. When Depth is small, checking True Depth preserves sharp angles; unchecking it produces a smooth surface. The combination of Extra Depth and True Depth exaggerates the depth, usually darkening the image.
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Check Fine for finer surface detail and thinner lines at sharp edges.
Edge effects Flat Edges controls how the surface angle is calculated at object edges. If checked, the edges stop abruptly and appear sharp, otherwise they slope towards the background and will be lit accordingly. This is most noticeable if light sources have some Smoothing. Check Soft Edges to antialias edge pixels with the background.
5.10 Surface cleaning
Location: Surface Cleaning panel in the Lighting window. The object surface is not always as clean, smooth or complete as you want. It may have small holes, pits or disconnected pixels; due to the shape being a messy fractal, or insufficient rendering time (chaos method) or resolution and bailout values (ordered or hybrid method); or it may just be rougher than you want. These controls allow for correction of defects and creative treatments. Non-destructive options are part of lighting and don't affect the depth map. Permanent options make immediate changes to the depth map (and unlit picture for holes and stragglers) and currently have no undo. Holes Holes are areas where the background shows through the surface. You can fill holes of size 1 to 8 pixels. To fill holes non-destructively during lighting, set Holes to 1 or more. To fill holes permanently, set Holes to the size to fill and click the Fill Holes Permanently button . You can click this button repeatedly for progressive filling. With Holes set to 5 or more, the object will expand on all boundaries with each click. To fill holes continually until no more of that size remain, Ctrl-click the Fill Holes Permanently button. The button stays down until the holes are filled. To stop filling before then, click or Ctrl-click the button to release it. With Holes set to 5 or more this can take some time, and will continue until most or all of the picture is filled. Values of 5 or 6 make the smoothest gradations while 7 or 8 lead to rectangles of solid color. When Regions are in use, the Update Region checkbox is visible. To update the region to best fit the surrounding pixels when filling holes, check Update Region. To leave all filled holes in the first region, uncheck Update Region.
Stragglers Stragglers are disconnected pixels or small clusters surrounded by background. You can erase stragglers
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of size 1 to 7 pixels. To clear stragglers non-destructively during lighting, set Stragglers to 1 or more. To clear stragglers permanently, set Stragglers to the size to clear and click the Clear Stragglers Permanently button . You can click this repeatedly for progressive clearing.
Note: If Holes and Stragglers add up to 8 or more when you apply lighting, some sawtooth or other jagged effects may occur at edges due to interaction. Apply one or both permanently instead, and reduce the settings before you apply lighting.
Pits Pits are small craters or dimples in the surface. Dimples appear when light sources have smoothing on, which smears a one pixel crater into a smooth dimple. The Pits control sets the threshold for a noise removal filter, and can be set to fill craters or remove bumps. Pits can only be applied permanently; the preview only shows what you'll get if you apply it. To fill small craters or dimples while preserving surface features, set Pits to 1 or 2, check the effect in the preview, and click the Apply Pits button . The Pits control is reset to 0 after you apply it.
To fill craters and dimples aggressively, with some damage to other fine surface detail, set Pits to 7 or more, check the preview and click Apply Pits. To lower bumps, set Pits to a negative value, check the preview, and click Apply Pits. Note: small holes can also appear as dimples when smoothed, so it may be necessary to fill holes permanently at size 1 or 2 before applying pits. Tip: to make surfaces smooth for glassy lighting, apply Pits at 9 repeatedly, and some at -9 too. Because this removes noise, it flattens surfaces more effectively than just using light source Smoothing, and it preserves sharp corners and edges.
Permanent smoothing The Smooth button permanently applies the Smoothing and Fringe effect of the active light to the whole surface. If ambient is selected, the setting of light #1 is used. You can do this repeatedly with the same or different settings. If regions are in use, Smooth applies only to the active region unless the Sync Regions button is down. Tip: If there are pits or other defects in the surface, these can be spread out by permanent smoothing, so you should do any permanent Holes and Pits filtering first. Note: When the picture is large, applying permanent effects can take some time, so the cursor shows busy until processing is complete.
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5.11 Color effects
Location: Color panel in the Lighting window. These settings modify the object colors, before the taking any light sources into account. Use the Blur control to blur or sharpen the object color. Positive values blur the colors. Negative values sharpen the color detail, with the strongest edge enhancing effect at -50. Use the Saturation control to increase or decrease the saturation of the object colors. This affects the ambient light, and the directional lights if their Diffuse Color and Metallic settings are not 0. Use the Contrast control to increase or decrease the contrast of the object's colors for ambient light. It has no effect on the other light sources. If the ambient light intensity is 0, Contrast has no effect. Use the Shading control to simulate ambient lighting from the upper hemisphere only. This modifies the ambient light intensity depending on the surface orientation. Positive values leave upper surfaces unchanged and darken lower surfaces. Negative values brighten upper surfaces and darken lower surfaces.
5.12 Iridescence
Location: Color panel in the Lighting window. Iridescence is a shimmery color banding effect due to light interference in thin surface layers, as in soap bubbles and some butterfly wings and bird feathers. It is implemented as a modulation of the reflected light sources, and is very sensitive to the depth parameters and light source settings. To set the amount of iridescence, adjust the Iridescence control. Negative values subtract color. To set the frequency and width of the bands, adjust the Frequency control. There are two modes of iridescence. The Spread control sets the differences between red, green and blue components of the lights, depending on whether Frequency is positive or negative. This allows a wide range of color combinations. If Frequency is positive, Spread varies the relative frequencies for red, green and blue. When Spread is 0, monochrome bands are produced, which can enhance some metallic effects. If Frequency is negative, Spread varies the phases between red, green and blue, holding the frequency ratios fixed at the natural values.
Tip: for 'natural' soap bubble colors, set Spread to 0 and Frequency to about -17.
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5.13 Reflection and refraction
Location: Reflection and Refraction panel in the Lighting window. These controls simulate reflection and refraction effects using any of the available pictures as part of the scene. They work best on smoother surfaces where they have some coherence. When using the alpha channel, the effects are modified accordingly. To choose the source pictures, click the Reflection Source or Refraction Source buttons to cycle through the available pictures. The captions show the current sources. The choices are the Unlit picture, the Old Lit picture, and the Background picture (if it exists.) 'Old Lit pic' means whatever is already in the Lit picture, so it will only have an effect if you've already applied lighting. To set the amount of reflected light, adjust the Reflection control. Negative values subtract reflected light.
Refraction displaces source colors according to the surface angle and depth, and the relative refractive indexes of the materials. To set the amount of refracted light, adjust the Refraction control. Negative values subtract refracted light. To set the amount of bending, adjust the Refractive Index control. With a value of 100 there is no bending. Larger numbers bend the light as if the object is a denser substance like water or glass, and smaller numbers bend the light as if it is less dense, like an air bubble in water. Tip: If you use significant amounts of these, you'll need to compensate by balancing other light, for example reducing the ambient or glow. Glassy effects have very little ambient or diffuse light. Tip: a standard method is to apply lighting with no reflection or refraction, then increase the amounts, with 'Old Lit pic' as the sources. Apply more times to compound the effect. For more creative experiments, load different lighting presets and add reflection and refraction between each application. You can create interesting materials or ceramic glazes this way. Snapshot option By default, a snapshot of the Lit picture is taken before you apply reflection or refraction with an Old Lit pic source, to avoid interaction errors while the lighting is processed. If you are working with very large picture sizes this could cause unacceptable memory swapping. In this event, you may choose to disable the snapshot. To enable or disable the snapshot, click the Lighting Options button Snapshot for Reflect/Refract option. , and check or uncheck the
If working with the snapshot disabled, you will want to keep Reflection and Refraction amounts below about +/- 40 to minimize interaction errors.
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5.14 Glow effects
Location: Glow, Haze and Background panel in the Lighting window. These controls let you add or subtract luminous glowing effects. The object glow is first calculated from the average illuminated object color over nearby pixels, and applied depending on the mode. To set the amount of glow, adjust the Glow control. Negative values subtract glow, which can enhance detail or change the hue. To choose how the colors work, adjust the Glow Mode control. The modes are: 0. 1. 2. 3. the object glow alone is used. the Glow Color filters the object glow. the Glow Color alone is used. the object glow's red, green and blue channels are remapped according to the red, green and blue components of the Glow Color.
To change the Glow Color, click on the color rectangle to open a color picker dialog. You can also drag and drop colors between the glow, haze and background color rectangles. Adjust the Glow Direction control to modulate the glow depending on the surface direction relative to the weighted direction of the lights. It works best if the surface is smooth (and ideally would have smoothing built in instead). Checking Alpha Glow (when enabled) causes the object glow colors to use the Alpha Channel. It is on by default. Uncheck it for a stronger glow effect in the more transparent areas.
Glowing edges Adjust the Glowing Edges control to add glow to the edges of the object. The strength also depends on the main Glow control. If Glow is 0, you can't get glowing edges (unless you have multiple regions and refer to a region that has some glow). If Glowing Edges is negative, the object glow color is used. If positive, the Glow Mode is used, except if it is 0, then mode 2 (Glow Color) is used instead. (This allows the main glow to use the object color, and the edges to use the glow color.) The Glow Region applies if you have multiple regions, and allows you to choose which region's main glow to use for the edge effect.
5.15 Haze
Location: Glow, Haze and Background panel in the Lighting window.

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These controls allow blending by distance from the camera; that is, fading towards the front or back. You can fade into a specific color for haze, underwater or night effects; or into the background or lit picture. To choose the source to blend with, click the Haze Source button to cycle through the available options. The caption shows the current source. The choices are Haze Color, Old Lit picture and Background picture (if it exists). 'Old Lit pic' means whatever is already in the Lit picture, so it will only have an effect if you've already applied lighting. Use the Haze control to set the blend rate from the front to the back. If Haze is set to 0, no haze is applied, regardless of the other settings. If the value is negative, haze decreases towards the back, and depending on the value of Front, it can reverse into 'anti-haze' and increase contrast relative to the haze color. Use the Front control to adjust the onset of haze. If the value is positive, it sets the amount of haze at the front of the object. If negative, it sets the distance from the front of the object at which haze begins. To set the haze color, click the Haze Color rectangle to open a color picker dialog. You can also drag and drop colors between the glow, haze and background color rectangles. Haze is normally applied last, but you can apply it before Glow for a different effect. Although Haze is a global effect, this option can be set for each region. If there is no glow, it makes no difference. To apply haze before glow, check Haze Pre Glow. Haze is normally applied only to the object, not to background pixels. To apply haze to the background too, check Back Haze.
5.16 Background
Location: Glow, Haze and Background panel in the Lighting window. The Background is all the pixels not occupied by the object. If Color is selected, the Background Color rectangle shows the color that will be used. To choose the source for the background pixels, click the Background Source button to cycle through the available options. The caption shows the current source. The choices are the Background Color, Unlit picture and Background picture (if it exists). To set the background color, click the Background Color rectangle to open a color picker dialog. You can also drag and drop colors between the glow, haze and background color rectangles. Note: this is the same Background Color as set in the Picture window toolbar, and any changes will update both. When Use Alpha is checked, the background shows through the object depending on the opacity of each pixel.
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To apply any haze to the background too, check Back Haze.
5.17 Locking controls

Each group of lighting controls has a Lock button . When the Lock button is down, those controls are protected from changes when you load a lighting preset, restore from a lighting memory spot, or randomize lighting. This allows you to combine presets in specific ways, or randomize only some controls. For convenience you can disable locking, and set them all on or off. To enable locking, click the Enable Locks button . To disable locking, release it. . If any locks are off, they will be set on,
To set all Lock buttons on or off, click the Lock All button otherwise all locks will be set off.
To prevent changes to a group of controls when opening presets, recalling memory spots or randomizing, click the corresponding Lock button at the left of the panel. To allow changes, release the Lock button. Locks do not prevent you from changing the individual controls manually. The Lock buttons for the Light Sources panel are labeled, one for each of: light sources except for their color light source colors smoothing and fringe other surface properties For the other panels, the Lock buttons have a mouse-over hint to identify them, and lock the controls on the same row (except for the related controls that don't fit on the row; Alphaglow and Back Haze.)
5.18 Shadow angles

Location: Lighting window. When you open a lighting preset or recall a memory spot, and a light has a shadow assigned that doesn't match any rendered shadow angles, the result depends on the Shadow Angles option. When Shadow Angles is checked, the light will be moved to the nearest matching shadow angle. When Shadow Angles is unchecked, the light stays where it is and its shadow is turned off.
5.19 Randomizing lighting

Location: Lighting window. To randomize lighting controls, click the Randomize Lighting button .
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All lighting parameters are randomized, except: Locked controls (controls with the corresponding Lock button down). The surface cleaning controls. and... The number of lights remains fixed Any lights with shadows will not change angles.
5.20 Lighting memory spots

There are 20 Lighting Memory Spots to let you store and recall lighting parameters. The same parameters are stored as in Lighting Presets, but memory spots are not saved when you exit XenoDream. To store the current lighting, click on an empty (cream) spot. To recall lighting parameters, click on a full (blue) spot. To clear a full spot, Ctrl-click it. To clear all spots, Shift-click any spot. You will be asked for confirmation before the spots are cleared. If you are using regions, Lighting Memory Spots store from and recall to the active region only. To store and recall lighting for all regions at once, use the Region Lighting Memory Spots.
5.21 Lighting presets

Location: Lighting window. Lighting Presets give you a permanent library of lighting effects. Use them as a quick way to get standard or favorite results, or to search for a suitable starting point. Due to the wide variety of object surfaces that you can render or create, lighting can be unpredictable. What looks great on one may look ordinary or even awful on another. Sometimes you need to tweak the depth, lighting angles or other parameters to get best results. To open the Lighting Preset window, click the Lighting Preset button .
All preset operations are done from the Lighting Preset window, except for saving new presets. Saving presets You can save the current lighting parameters as a new Lighting Preset. You do this from the Lighting window. To save a new preset: 1. Click the Save Preset button . The Save Preset dialog opens, with the Category defaulting to
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2. 3. 4.
the last used, if any. Choose a different category if desired; or to make a new category, type the name into the Category dropdown box. Type the name for the preset into the Preset edit box. Click OK to save the preset, or Cancel to close the dialog without saving the preset. If the preset name already exists you are asked for confirmation to overwrite it.
5.22 Lighting regions

Location: Lighting window
Regions are areas of the object that can have their own lighting parameters independent of each other. The Lighting Region controls are visible only if you rendered with more than one region specified in the Main window Regions page. To disable regions and light the whole object as one, uncheck the Regions checkbox. Check it again to enable lighting regions individually. The Active Region control selects the region that the current lighting parameters apply to. To preview all regions, click the Region Preview Mode button active region, with all others shown in gray. . Release it to preview only the
To copy the active region to all others, click the Copy Regions button. To copy the active region to one or more others, save it in a Lighting Memory Spot, select the new region, and restore from the memory spot. Repeat as desired. To adjust controls for all regions at once, click the Sync Regions button and edit the control. Release the Sync Regions button to edit only the active region. Be careful with this, as there is currently no undo to restore individual values to each region if you use it indiscriminately. Light source controls are not synchronized. Regions have 10 of their own Region Lighting Memory Spots, for saving the lighting for all regions. To store lighting for all regions, click on an empty (cream) spot. To recall lighting for all regions, click on a full (blue) spot. To clear a full spot, Ctrl-click it. To clear all spots, Shift-click any spot. You will be asked for confirmation before the spots are cleared. Some controls are global, instead of being set per region. These are the surface cleaning controls, soft edges, glowing edges, haze controls, background controls, and reflection and refraction sources.
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5.23 Transparent effects

Location: Lighting window. If the Alpha Channel exists, you have the option of using it for transparent effects in lighting, or ignoring it for totally opaque lighting. The alpha channel is produced when you render transparently (with any holons having less than 100% opacity), and it contains the opacities of each pixel in the object. The background pixels all have opacity of 0, completely transparent. To use transparent effects in lighting, check Use Alpha (located underneath the Lighting Preview window). It is disabled if the Alpha Channel does not exist. To ignore the Alpha Channel and light opaquely, uncheck Use Alpha. When Use Alpha is checked, the Unlit Picture colors get their transparency from the Alpha Channel, allowing the background to show through accordingly. Two more controls are enabled; Alpha Glow and Translucent.
The Translucent option (located in the Reflection and Refraction panel) allows diffuse light to shine through the object depending on the opacity of each pixel. It has most effect for light sources coming from the side or back. (It also makes the non-metallic components of highlights ignore the Alpha Channel and appear stronger.) You will usually want to leave Translucent off except for glassy effects with partially diffuse backlighting. Note: these controls are not saved in Lighting Presets because it works better to set them by default when you render transparently, and let you adjust them independently of the presets.
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VI
Lighting Preset Window
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6.1 Overview: the Lighting Preset window

The Lighting Preset window is where you select Lighting Presets for the parameters in the Lighting window. Lighting presets are organized in categories for ease of use and management. To open the Lighting Preset window, click the Lighting Preset button Lighting window and also the Picture window toolbar. . This button is located in the
When you resize the Lighting Preset window, the category and preset lists are resized to fit. You can drag the window to a convenient position. It is most useful to keep the Lighting window preview visible. The Category List shows the categories of presets. To select a different category, click on the name in the Catetory List. The Preset List shows the names of presets for the current category. To select a preset, click on the name in the Preset List. The Lighting window Preview shows how it will look. To preview many presets consecutively, use the cursor keys to scroll through them. To close the Lighting Preset window, click the OK button, or press the Enter key. To select a preset and close the Lighting Preset window, double-click the preset name. To close the Lighting Preset window and revert to the lighting parameters before you opened the window, click the Cancel button. Note: the Preset List supports multiple selection for the purposes of export and changing category. Only one preset is opened at a time. To move one or more presets to another category, select the presets in the Preset List, then drag and drop them to the destination category in the Category List. Applying a preset directly To apply the current lighting parameters directly from the Lighting Preset window, click the Apply Lighting button . The Lighting window is conveniently hidden when you do this, so you can see more of the Picture window. If you select another preset, the Lighting window reappears so you can see the preview. The Lighting Preset window remains on top during this process. Note: you can make changes in the Lighting window while the Lighting Preset window is open, whether or not it is set to stay on top. You may find it convenient to keep the Lighting Preset window open while experimentally tweaking presets. Clicking OK will close the window without losing any of these changes.
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6.2 Deleting and renaming presets

Location: Lighting Preset window. You can delete or rename lighting presets from the Lighting Preset window. Saving new lighting presets is done from the Lighting window. To delete a lighting preset: 1. 2. 3. Select the preset name in the Preset List. Click the Delete Preset button . Click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the preset.
To rename a preset: 1. 2. 3. 4. Select the preset name in the Preset List. Click the Rename Preset button . A dialog box opens. Change the category, preset name or both. Click OK to accept the change, or Cancel to leave it unchanged.
6.3 Importing and exporting presets

Location: Lighting Preset window. Sometimes you might download collections of new lighting presets, or want to share with others. You can import and export lighting presets for this purpose. Lighting Preset files have extension .lux. To import lighting presets: 1. 2. 3. 4. Click the Import Presets button at the bottom of the Lighting Preset window. A file open dialog appears. Find and select the lighting preset file to import. Click OK to begin importing. For each preset that is new or different, click Yes to add or overwrite it. You can click Yes To All to skip individual confirmations, or Cancel to stop adding any more presets.
If the category and name of any imported preset already exist in your collection, the parameters are checked, and if different, you are asked if you want to overwrite that preset. When the process is complete, a message confirms the number of presets imported.
To export lighting presets: 1. Select all the presets in the Preset List that you want to export. You can only export from one category at a time. Standard multiple selection methods apply; you can drag the mouse or Shift-click to select a range, and Ctrl-click to select non-continuously. Click the Export Presets button. A file save dialog appears. Name the file whatever you like (except "lighting" which is reserved for your active presets). Click OK to export the presets.
2. 3. 4.
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Tip: if you import from a complete lighting.lux file, any that have been renamed (or changed category) will be imported as duplicates (though you have the option of skipping them if you recognize them), so it's preferable to swap presets by exporting selectively. Note: the lighting preset .lux files are plain text, and the import procedure can handle missing carriage returns due to email transmission, but it's safest to zip them before emailing or uploading.
Part
VII
Depth Window
Depth Window
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Depth Window
7.1 Overview: the Depth window

The Depth window is for creating depth information from the colors in one of the pictures. This can be used to create a new depth map or it can be added to an existing depth map. This process allows 3-D lighting to be applied to imported pictures, especially photos. (This is not required for lighting objects made in XenoDream because rendering creates a correct depth map.) To open the Depth window, click the Depth button on the Picture window toolbar. The Depth window works in conjunction with the Lighting window, which is always open at the same time. Arrange them so you can see the Lighting Preview, to preview the new depth map. The Depth window stays on top, but allows access to other windows. Note: if rendering is in progress you will need to stop it before the Depth preview will work. To preview a different part of the picture, scroll the Lighting Preview. The preview is updated to show the new depth. As long as the Depth window is open, you are only previewing changes to the depth map. Before you can apply lighting with them, you must apply the depth changes. To update the depth map with the current Depth window parameters, click the Do it! button. This also closes the Depth window. To close the Depth window without changing the depth map, click Cancel.
A recommended sequence for using the Depth window: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Get the source picture that you want in the Unlit Picture. Open the Depth window. If necessary, move it to see the Lighting preview. Open a Lighting Preset with the characteristics you want. Set any depth options that you want (source, add to original, masking). Adjust the parameters until the effect is about right in the preview. Click Do it! Play with lighting. If necessary, open the Depth window again and change parameters.
Tip: when importing pictures, before opening the Depth window it can be useful to apply either the Gaussian Blur or Remove Noise effects 136 to the picture to get a smoother depth map. Then re-open the picture if you want to use the unaffected colors. (Alternatively, copy the Unlit picture to the Background picture, filter the Background picture and set the Depth Source to Background picture.)
7.2 Depth source

Location: Depth window
You can use any available picture as the source for creating depth information. Remember that the Unlit picture supplies the colors for the lighting process, so if you use a different source for depth it will be
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unrelated to the color. To choose the source picture, click the Depth Source button to cycle through the available pictures. The caption shows the current source. The choices are the Unlit picture, the Lit picture (if it exists), and the Background picture (if it exists). Regions If you have rendered an object with regions, the All Regions checkbox is enabled. To apply the depth conversion to the whole picture, check All Regions. To apply the depth conversion to only the Active Region (selected in the Lighting window), uncheck All Regions.
7.3 Add to original

You can create a new depth map or add depth to the existing depth map. By default a new depth map is created and any existing depth is lost. To add to the existing depth map, check Add to Original. Adding to existing depth is one way to add texture variation to an object or picture. This is the same as 'bump mapping', except that this method makes permanent changes to the depth map.
7.4 Mask background

When creating a new depth map (Add to Original unchecked) the entire picture area will be treated as an object, with no background pixels. You can mask pixels by color to become background. The mask uses the Background Color from the Lighting window. To mask colors similar to the Background Color as background pixels, check the Mask Background checkbox. To change the color for masking, click on the Background Color box in the Lighting window. To set the amount of variation in the colors that are masked, adjust the Tolerance control. If Add to Original is checked, the existing background is preserved and the mask options allow additional background to be created.
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7.5 Conversion parameters

The conversion parameters determine the relationship between the source picture's colors and the resulting depth. There are two independent components that you can mix together, one using the absolute colors and one using the horizontal variations. Adjust the Base control to set the maximum depth. A value of 0 is very distant (usually too much), increasing values bring it closer to you. Base is ignored when Add to Original is checked.
Absolute colors Adjust the Red, Green and Blue controls to set the relative strength of each channel. Positive values result in brighter colors being higher/closer, and negative values result in brighter colors being lower/more distant. Adjust the Scale control to set the overall depth range. Very small scales are most useful with Add to Original; larger scales to create new depth. Adjust the Curve control to change the profile of the depth map. Positive values curve the surface back with sharper high points. Negative values curve the surface forwards, for flatter high areas and narrower valleys.
Horizontal variations Adjust the Slope control to add depth depending on the horizontal intensity gradient. To use Slope by itself, set Scale to 0.
Randomizing To randomize all conversion parameters, click the Randomize Parameters button .
Part
VIII
Mesh Export Window
Mesh Export Window
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Mesh Export Window
8.1 Overview: the Mesh Export window

The Mesh Export window is where you create a 3-D mesh from the current object and export it for use in other 3-D applications. Opening and closing the Mesh Export window To open the Mesh Export window, in the Main window menu choose File | Export Mesh... If the Mesh Export window is already open, this will bring it to the front. To close the Mesh Export window, click the Close button on the toolbar. If you have created a mesh you will be asked if you want to save it. To return to the Main window without closing the Mesh Export window, click the Main button.
Meshes and rendering Because XenoDream does not use meshes internally, and the surface of the object cannot be calculated directly, exporting a mesh requires a special rendering process. It is similar to the chaos method for rendering pictures, but stores different data. When you render for mesh export, it uses the current shape and view of the object in the Main window. Color and regions are not used.
The steps to export a mesh 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Set up the object in the Main window. Open the Mesh Export window. Set the mesh export options. Render to create the 3-D data. Triangulate to create a high resolution mesh. Simplify the mesh to the number of triangles you want. Save the mesh.
Memory use Memory requirements for exporting depend mainly on the Mesh Grid Size and the number of resulting triangles. When using the Volume method, the number of triangles can be quite sensitive to both the grid size and the object complexity. If you have less than 1GB of RAM, it is safer to try smaller grid sizes first when using volume rendering, see how many triangles are produced and increase the grid size in steps. If the system gets to thrashing the hard drive longer than you want, you can cancel triangulation or simplifying. If you have just rendered a large picture, it is recommended to change the size back to a small one (eg 800x600) before doing a large mesh export. After a large mesh export, you should close the Mesh Export window before rendering a large picture.
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8.2 Mesh export options

Location: Mesh Export window The Mesh Export Options dialog has settings to control each stage of mesh generation. To open the dialog, click the Mesh Export Options button The controls are organized into sections. The Rendering 170 options take effect next time you click the Render New button. The Triangulation 172 options take effect next time you click the Triangulate button. The Simplification 172 options take effect next time you click the Simplify button. The Export Smooth Mesh option takes effect when you save the mesh 173 . To keep any changes to the options, click OK. To close the dialog without saving changes, click Cancel. Note: whenever you open this dialog, the Mesh Grid Size and Method settings show the current values. If you change them, and reopen this dialog without rendering in between, you will need to set them again. .
8.3 Mesh export rendering

Location: Mesh Export window These controls manage the process of generating the object data for mesh export, before you can triangulate it. To begin a new render, click the Render New button . The current rendering options are used for the new render, and any previous render data is cleared. The rendering object is visible in the Mesh Export window, in shaded grayscale. The progress indicator fields show that the current operation is 'Rendering...' and also the number of new pixels per second. To stop rendering, click the Stop Render button To resume rendering, click the Render More button . The Triangulate button is enabled. .
To see the object from any one of six directions, choose from the View Direction dropdown list. You can change this at any time. Rendering options These are set in the Mesh Export Options dialog. Mesh Grid Size
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Adjust the Mesh Grid Size to set the maximum resolution for triangulation. For example if you set it to 200, the mesh will be generated within a 200x200x200 cube. Larger grid sizes produce more accurate detail and more triangles, but use more memory and take longer. Rendering is 2x oversampled to reduce voxelization effects, so the object that you see being rendered has a bit more detail than the mesh that will result. When using the Surface rendering method, the full cubic space is covered. When using the Volume method, one or two dimensions are reduced to what is needed for the object, to save memory and time. Scaling Adjust the Autoscale % to set how much of the grid to use. It is necessary to leave a small boundary around the outside to prevent truncation. For objects with very low density edges or spines, the autoscaling may miscalculate and truncate them. In that case you can reduce the Autoscale % until the whole object is captured. Scaling is recalculated whenever you click Render New. Click the Lock Scaling button Release it to reenable autoscale. to prevent autoscale recalculation when Render New is clicked.
Tip: One reason to lock scaling is to get controlled truncation. First click Render New, and after a few seconds, click Stop Render. Then click Main to go back to the Main window, and either increase the Object Size or adjust the camera position a bit. Choose File | Export Mesh... to return to the Mesh Export window, click Mesh Export Options, and click Lock Scaling. Click OK to close the dialog, and click Render New. If necessary, go back to the Main window and adjust the object, return to the Mesh Export window and click Render New again. Render Method There are two methods of rendering for mesh export. In the Surface method, surface depth is captured from 14 different directions and integrated into a surface for triangulation. The result is very smooth for relatively simple objects, but for more complex objects it can have errors where lines of sight do not resolve or do not reach. In the Volume method, full volume data is captured. The result is slightly thickened and voxelized but accurately captures the structure including all internal details. Due to internal structures it will cause more triangles to be generated unless Fill Volume is checked. To choose the method, select either Surface or Volume. To automatically fill any enclosed spaces and avoid generating hidden triangles, check Fill Volume. (This step actually occurs when you triangulate, but it alters the rendered data so is best considered as part of rendering.) Note: if there are any 'leaks' in the object, Fill Volume won't make any difference to the number of triangles. In this case you can Render More for a while then Triangulate again. How long to render? Rendering for meshes is less sensitive than rendering pictures, so it is usually sufficient when the surface appears complete and you can no longer see anything changing. It is often necessary to render longer when you use the Volume method with Fill Volume checked.
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8.4 Triangulating
Location: Mesh Export window This is the process of generating a triangle mesh from the rendered object. The Triangulate button is only enabled after mesh export rendering. To create the mesh, click the Triangulate button . The current triangulation options are used.
To cancel triangulation before it finishes, click the Triangulate button again. Triangulation goes through several steps. During each step the name of the process is shown in the progress indicator fields, and the progress is counted up or down. When completed, it shows the number of triangles created, and the window switches to show the triangulated object. The steps and progress counts are: 1. Filling volume (optional): counts the slices (up to 2x mesh size) 2. Creating triangles: counts the slices 3. Sorting and packing: first counts vertices (3x number of triangles), then counts triangles. After this there are about half as many vertices as triangles. 4. Orienting: counts triangles 5. Reorienting: counts triangles then counts down reoriented triangles until done. 6. Filtering (optional): counts filter passes (1 for half, 6 for full). To see the triangulated object from any one of six directions, choose from the View Direction dropdown list. You can change this at any time. If you render again, the mesh is no longer available to view or save, until you triangulate again. Triangulation options These are set in the Mesh Export Options dialog. The Isosurface Level adjusts the thickness of the surface where the mesh is created. Larger values make it thinner, smaller values make it thicker. It should generally be left at 127 for best accuracy and least voxelization. The main exception is when using the Surface method with objects having some thin surfaces, which can result in corrugations and holes. In that event, decreasing it to 90 or even 60 and retriangulating will usually be sufficient. Setting it to 0 usually makes the surface too thick and voxelized. Mesh Filtering reduces voxelization for Volume rendering and occlusion errors for Surface rendering. It is automatically set to Half when you select the Volume method. Setting it to Half provides one pass of filtering, while Full provides six passes. For objects with sharp spines or other fine detail, filtering can erode the features, and should be set to Half or Off. Smooth objects with Surface rendering are better without filtering.
8.5 Simplifying
Location: Mesh Export window Simplifying allows you to reduce the number of triangles in the mesh to as few as you like. It first calculates a progressive mesh, which allows the quality to be adjusted interactively. The Simplify button is only enabled after triangulating.
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To calculate the progressive mesh, click the Simplify button used.
. The current simplification options are
To cancel simplification before it finishes, click the Simplify button again. Simplification shows two stages of progress; counting up the vertices and counting them down again. When complete, the Quality control is enabled. Adjust the Quality control to set the number of triangles used in the mesh. The progress indicator shows the number of triangles used, and the picture updates accordingly. Simplification options This is set in the Mesh Export Options dialog. The choice of Metric allows different strategies for prioritizing the triangle elimination. Combo generally gives the best results, and the other methods are included only to offer different choices where it may be useful, typically for polygonal objects with sharp edges and flat surfaces. The differences between methods are subtle except for Sharp, which strongly favors sharp edges at the cost of smoother areas. Tip: to compare metrics at a given quality level, after simplifying with one metric, set the Quality control, then change the metric and simplify again. The Quality setting is preserved. You need to simplify again to see each metric, so watch carefully when it changes. Technical note: the metrics have been given simple descriptive names for convenience. For those with some knowledge of the field, here are their origins. The Sharp metric is the one used by Stan Melax in his Polychop demo, with size and curvature factors. The Regular metric is a minor modification of Sharp, to reduce skinny triangles. The Smooth metric is a variation of Hugues Hoppe's methods, with distance and spring factors. The Tight metric uses unsigned tetrahedral volume, following Lindstrom and Turk. The Combo metric is my combination of curvature, volume and spring factors.
8.6 Saving meshes

Location: Mesh Export window You can save the mesh to a file any time after triangulating or simplifying. To save the mesh: 1. 2. 3. click the Save Mesh button . The Save File dialog opens. Choose the file type to save as. Type a filename and click OK to save.
If you have simplified the mesh, the number of triangles specified by the Quality setting will be saved. You can adjust the quality and save several versions with different level of detail. Supported file formats Wavefront OBJ is a widely used format, supported by many applications. For POV-Ray, files are saved as a mesh object in an include (*.inc) file, with scale 1 and centered at the origin. The mesh is declared with the same name as the file, ready to be used as an object.
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PLY polygon files are not widely used but some utilities require it. Save options This is set in the Mesh Export Options dialog. Check the Export Smooth Mesh option to save the mesh with smoothed surface normals. This is not supported for PLY files. Exporting a smooth mesh is the same as applying smoothing in other programs that have that option. For example, in Bryce it is equivalent to smoothing the object with angle set to 180, but exporting smooth is much faster, and you still have the option of removing it with Unsmooth.
Part
IX
Metamorph reference
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Metamorph reference
9.1 (None)
(None) No metamorph is applied. Amount, Scale and Special settings are ignored.
9.2 .Balled
.Balled Solid or hollow ball. - Set Amount to +/-100 for pure constructor. - Scale sets the size of the ball; positive values for a hollow sphere, negative values for a solid ridged ball. - Special adds lobes to the ball along the Z axis, asymmetric if Amount is negative.
9.3 .Boxed
.Boxed Hollow cube, with variations. - Set Amount to +/-100 for pure constructor. - Scale sets the size. Positive values give a cube, negative values yield a polyhedron. - Special adds pyramids to each face, outward when positive, inward when negative. They are curved inward when Amount is negative.
9.4 .Cone
.Cone Open-ended cone with spiral options. Always a pure constructor. - Amount sets the relative length of the cone. Negative values add pitch along Z axis, towards the point. - Scale sets the size. Negative values add stronger pitch along Z axis. - Special adds curvature around the Z axis to make a spiral, with oscillating thickness if Special is negative.
9.5 .Crystal
.Crystal Hollow polyhedra, including common crystal shapes, oriented vertically. - Set Amount to +/-100 for pure constructor. Negative values make faces concave along Y axis. - Scale sets the size. The shape depends on Special and whether Scale is positive or negative. - The number of faces around the crystal is Special plus 2. When Scale and Special are both positive, a classic crystal results with a parallel middle section and points at both ends. When Special is negative, the middle section is omitted. When Scale is negative, a more spherical crystal results, with a flat top if Special is positive. +/-0.5 makes a five-pointed star.
9.6 .Cube
.Cube Hollow cube with variations. Always a pure constructor. Metamorph coloring allows mapping to each face. - Amount expands or contracts the edges. Set to -5 for flat faces on each edge. - Scale sets the size. Negative values put flat faces on each corner. - Special adds pyramids to each face, outward when positive, inward when negative.
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9.7 .Cylibal
.Cylibal Hollow cylinder or ball, with variations. - Set Amount to +/-100 for pure constructor. - Scale sets the size. Positive values for a cylinder, negative values for a hollow sphere (differs from .Balled in having an even distribution of points, which eliminates bright lines and points if rendering transparently). - Special varies the diameter along the Z axis, and adds spiral lobes when Amount is negative.
9.8 .Framez
.Framez Square or circular frame facing the Z axis. Always a pure constructor. - Amount controls the frame width. - Scale sets the size, positive values for a square frame, negative values for circular. - Special adds ripples, covering a very wide range. They are stepped in the center if Amount is negative.
9.9 .Planex
.Planex Flat square or circle facing the X axis. - Set Amount to +/-100 for a pure constructor. - Scale sets the size, positive values for a square, negative values for a disk. - Special adds ripples, covering a very wide range. They are stepped in the center if Amount is negative.
9.10 .Planey
.Planey Flat square or circle facing the Y axis. - Set Amount to +/-100 for a pure constructor. - Scale sets the size, positive values for a square, negative values for a disk. - Special adds ripples, covering a very wide range. They are stepped in the center if Amount is negative.
9.11 .Planez
.Planez Flat square or circle facing the Z axis. - Set Amount to +/-100 for a pure constructor. - Scale sets the size, positive values for a square, negative values for a disk. - Special adds ripples, covering a very wide range. They are stepped in the center if Amount is negative.
9.12 .Prism
.Prism Parallel or pyramidal prism oriented vertically. - Amount sets the length. Positive values make closed prisms; negative values make open ended prisms. - Scale sets the size. Positive values make rectangular prisms; negative values make pyramidal prisms. - The number of faces around the crystal is Special plus 2. Negative values make stars.
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9.13 .Sphere
.Sphere Hollow sphere, with uniform distribution, and variations around the Y axis. - Set Amount to +/-100 for pure constructor. Negative values give a narrow waist around the Y axis. - Scale sets the size. With Special, positive values have a rounded center, negative values have a point. - Special curves the top and bottom for cones, apples etc. Positive values curve both downwards; negative values curve both inwards.
9.14 .Torus
.Torus Torus (donut) around Z axis with rib/bubble options. Always a pure constructor. - Amount sets the relative width of the ring. Negative values increase rib/bubble size. - Scale sets the size. Negative values increase rib/bubble size more. - Special adds latitudinal ribs if positive, or longitudinal bubbles if negative.
9.15 Auger
Auger Spiraled spires along each axis. - Scale adjusts the length of the spires. - Special alters the rate of spiral.
9.16 Cacti
Cacti Adds ribs along each axis. - Scale sets the number of ribs. - Special twists the ribs around the axes when Scale is positive, otherwise Special modulates the radial thickness, in different ways if positive or negative.
9.17 Clampbb
Clampbb Clamps any portion of the holon that is outside a box or ball, shrinking the clamped points towards the surface. - Scale sets the size of the clamping shape. Positive values clamp to a box, negative values to a ball. - Special sets relative amount of clamping of the inside points. Positive values move towards the surface, negative values towards the center. Values of +/- 10 balance the inner and outer movement. Larger values move the inner points more than the outer.
9.18 Clipbb
Clipbb Clips any portion of the holon that is outside a box or ball, shrinking the clipped points towards the center. - Scale sets the size of the clipping shape. Positive values clip to a box, negative values to a ball. - Special alters the Z thickness of the box or ball.
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9.19 Cosmo
Cosmo Cosine combination that tends to make things rounder. - Scale adjusts overall size. - Special changes frequencies of terms, creating lobes.
9.20 Crinkle
Crinkle Radial crinkle around the Z axis. - Scale sets the crinkle frequency. Positive values stretch from the equator, negative values warp toward alternating poles. - Special twists the crinkles around the Z axis.
9.21 Cubist
Cubist Sine combination that tends toward solid blocks. - Scale sets the sine frequencies; values near 100 make a cube. - Special adjusts the Z component of the frequency in a complex way.
9.22 Giblet
Giblet A spherical pattern of circular folded lobes. Works best on smooth surfaces. - Scale adjusts the number of folds around each lobe. Negative values change phase of lobes. - Special adjusts the density of lobes.
9.23 Gimble
Gimble Sine warp beyond description. - Results vary widely with Amount as well as Scale and Special.
9.24 Gimper
Gimper Spherical pattern of lobes that are asymmetric around the equator. - Scale sets the density of lobes around the equator. Negative values change phase of lobes. - Special rotates the pattern and adjusts the density of lobes toward the poles.
9.25 Gnarl
Gnarl Iterated formula that makes gnarled distortion in the XY plane. - Amount is per iteration. - Scale sets the grid size for repeating patterns. - Special plus 1 is the number of iterations, ignoring the decimal part. Negative values give a variation in the formula. Increasing iterations is slower.
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9.26 Gnarl3
Gnarl3 Iterated formula that makes gnarled distortion in 3-D. - Amount is per iteration. - Scale sets the grid size for repeating patterns. - Special plus 1 is the number of iterations, ignoring the decimal part. Negative values give a variation in the formula. Increasing iterations is slower.
9.27 Gridcub
Gridcub Makes a cubic grid. - Scale sets the grid spacing. Negative values produce different shaped pieces. - Special warps the grid.
9.28 Gridpol
Gridpol Makes a polar grid, with poles on the Y axis. - Scale sets the grid spacing. Negative values produce different shaped pieces. - Special warps the grid.
9.29 Gumper
Gumper A spherical pattern of undulating folded lobes. Best on smooth surfaces. - Scale adjusts the number of folds around each lobe. Negative values change phase of lobes. - Special modulates the lobes from the poles.
9.30 Gyre
Gyre Cosine warp beyond description. - Results vary widely with Amount as well as Scale and Special.
9.31 Horshu
Horshu "Horseshoe" rotation around Z axis. - Scale adjusts amount of rotation. - Special adjusts variation along Z axis.
9.32 Mirage
Mirage Mirror effect that cuts the object into pieces and reflects them. - Scale sets the size of the pieces. - Special varies the spread between pieces.
9.33 Mirball
Mirball Radial mirror effect that cuts the object into pieces and reflects them.
Metamorph reference
181
- Scale sets the size of the pieces. - Special varies the spread between pieces.
9.34 Mirecho
Mirecho Rotating mirror effect that cuts the object into pieces and reflects them. - Scale sets the size of the pieces. - Special changes the rotations.
9.35 Mirkali
Mirkali Kaleidoscopic mirror. - Scale sets the rotation angle. - Special adds lobes.
9.36 Mirmaze
Mirmaze Rotating mirror effect that cuts the object into pieces and reflects them. - Scale sets the size of the pieces. - Special changes the rotations.
9.37 Mirrors
Mirrors Simple mirror effect that cuts the object into pieces and reflects them. - Scale sets the size of the pieces. - Special rotates the pieces.
9.38 Mirtile
Mirtile Rotating mirror effect that cuts the object into pieces and reflects them. - Scale sets the size of the pieces. - Special changes the rotations.
9.39 Mirwarp
Mirwarp Rotating mirror effect that cuts the object into pieces and reflects them. - Scale sets the size of the pieces. - Special changes the rotations.
9.40 Mome
Mome Complicated axial modulation. - Special adjusts axial mix.
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9.41 Moom
Moom Complicated axial modulation. - Special adjusts axial mix.
9.42 Nubble
Nubble Spherical pattern of bumps. - Scale sets density of bumps. Negative values change phase of bumps. - Special adjusts floor and ceiling of bumps.
9.43 Ogre
Ogre Spiral rotation about each axis. - Scale sets the spiral pitch. - Special varies the axial extension with distance from the axis.
9.44 Popcorn
Popcorn Iterated formula that makes popcorn distortion in the XY plane. - Amount is per iteration. - Scale sets the grid size for repeating patterns. - Special plus 1 is the number of iterations, ignoring the decimal part. Negative values give a variation in the formula. Increasing iterations is slower.
9.45 Project
Project Projects the shape outwards. - If Scale is positive, projects into the X and Y axes; if negative, projects to all three axes. - Special adjusts the size in the projected plane.
9.46 Pyro
Pyro Inverse spherical transformation. - Scale sets the conversion scale. - Special adjusts the polar amount.
9.47 Ribble
Ribble Radial ribs around the Z axis, linear along Z. - Scale sets the number of ribs. - Special twists the ribs along the Z axis, over a very wide range.
9.48 Ribblet
Ribblet Radial ribs around the Y axis, spherical along Y.
Metamorph reference
183
- Scale sets the number of ribs. - Special twists the ribs along the Y axis, over a very wide range.
9.49 Ringoz
Ringoz Concentric folded rings around the Z axis. - Scale sets the ring radius or density. - Special modulates the ring radially along the Z axis.
9.50 Ripple
Ripple A spherical pattern of circular folded lobes. Works best on smooth surfaces. - Scale adjusts the number of folds around each lobe. Negative values change phase of lobes. - Special adjusts the equatorial density of lobes.
9.51 Ripplet
Ripplet A spherical pattern of circular folded lobes. Works best on smooth surfaces. - Scale adjusts the number of folds around each lobe. Negative values change phase of lobes. - Special adjusts the density of lobes in the polar (Z) direction.
9.52 Rosette
Rosette Concentric folds along the Z axis. - Scale sets the density of folds. Positive values give uniform folds; negative values give petaled folds. - Special undulates the folds.
9.53 Shell
Shell Curls up into balls. - Scale increases coalescence into one ridged, solid ball. - Special adjusts modulation frequencies. Works best on smooth surfaces.
9.54 Sine
Sine Simple sine transformation. - Scale sets sine frequencies. Large values make segmented boxes. - Special modulates the phases.
9.55 Slithy
Slithy Convoluted twists beyond description. Works best on smooth surfaces. - Scale and Special increase complexity.
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9.56 Spheric
Spheric Reflects all points about a sphere. Points inside go out, and points outside go in. - Scale adjusts the size of the sphere. Small values have most effect. - Special flattens or stretches the effect in the Z direction.
9.57 Sphynx
Sphynx Iterated formula that makes circular gyrations in 3-D. - Amount is per iteration. - Scale sets the grid size for repeating patterns. - Special plus 1 is the number of iterations, ignoring the decimal part. Negative values give a variation in the formula. Increasing iterations is slower.
9.58 Spikes
Spikes Adds rounded spikes along each axis. - Scale sets the number of spikes. - Special mixes in a different spike formula.
9.59 Spinz
Spinz Iterated formula that makes circular alternating spirals in the XY plane. - Amount is per iteration. - Scale sets the grid size for repeating patterns. - Special plus 1 is the number of iterations, ignoring the decimal part. Negative values give a variation in the formula. Increasing iterations is slower.
9.60 Spirals
Spirals Moves all points a fixed amount, with direction varying along the axis to create a spiral. There is no rotation, so the spiral effect appears equal everywhere. - Scale sets the distance between each complete turn. Negative values change phase. - Special sets the spiral direction. Zero is vertical (Y axis). Positive values rotate the direction around the Z axis; negative values rotate it around the X axis.
9.61 Spiro
Spiro Spherical pattern of lobes similar to Nubble. - Scale adjusts the number of radial lobes. - Special adjusts the number of polar lobes.
9.62 Styro
Styro A lobed warp related to spherical transformation. - Scale adjusts the number of lobes. - Special modulates the frequency and phase for complex gyrations.
Metamorph reference
185
9.63 Swirlx
Swirlx Swirl around the X axis. - Scale sets the tightness of the swirl. - Special adjusts the radial variation along the X axis. A setting of -25 gives no variation, more positive values contract and more negative values expand.
9.64 Swirly
Swirly Swirl around the Y axis. - Scale sets the tightness of the swirl. - Special adjusts the radial variation along the Y axis. A setting of -25 gives no variation, more positive values contract and more negative values expand.
9.65 Swirlz
Swirlz Swirl around the Z axis. - Scale sets the tightness of the swirl. - Special adjusts the radial variation along the Z axis. A setting of -25 gives no variation, more positive values contract and more negative values expand.
9.66 Tilexy
Tilexy Tiles the holon into multiple copies in a rectangular grid in the XY plane. Is not generally a constructor but can act as one for single holons. - Amount sets the size of each tile. Negative values reflect odd columns. - Scale sets the overall size. Negative values reflect odd rows. - Special plus 1 is the number of tiles in each direction, ignoring the decimal part. Negative values rotate each tile 90 degrees from its neighbours.
9.67 Tilexyd
Tilexyd Tiles the holon into multiple copies in a diagonal grid in the XY plane. Is not generally a constructor but can act as one for single holons. - Amount sets the size of each tile. Negative values rotate odd columns 90 degrees. - Scale sets the overall size. Negative values reflect odd rows. - Special plus 1 is the number of tiles in each direction, ignoring the decimal part. Negative values offset odd rows in the Z direction.
9.68 Toppy
Toppy A spindle or top around the Y axis. - Scale adjusts the overall size. - Special curves the flange up or down, or alternating if Scale is negative.
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9.69 Toroidz
Toroidz Concentric rings around the Z axis. - Scale sets the distance between rings. Positive values have a solid center; negative values have a hole. - Special varies the strength of the effect around the circles.
9.70 Toves
Toves Oblique axial warp. - Scale adjusts the axial development. - Special varies the mix between oblique and regular axes.
9.71 Tubers
Tubers A tubular warp around the Z axis. - Scale sets the size of the tube (inversely) and adds fins at larger values. - Special adds a twisting modulation along the Z axis.
9.72 Tubey
Tubey A tubular warp around the Y axis. - Scale sets the size of the tube (inversely). - Special modulates the diameter along the Y axis. Negative values change phase of modulation.
9.73 Twirl
Twirl A sort of swirl that twists around in 3-D. - Scale sets the pitch of the curve. - Special changes the form of the curve.
9.74 Twist
Twist Undulating warp. Subtle unless Special used. - Scale adjusts the undulation frequency. - Special amplifies the effect. Negative values add extra modulation.
9.75 Twistx
Twistx Twists around the X axis. - Scale varies the strength with distance from the axis. Positive values twist more near the axis; negative values twist more further out. - Special oscillates the twist along the axis; positive with direction changes, negative without.
Metamorph reference
187
9.76 Twisty
Twisty Twists around the Y axis. - Scale varies the strength with distance from the axis. Positive values twist more near the axis; negative values twist more further out. - Special oscillates the twist along the axis; positive with direction changes, negative without.
9.77 Twistz
Twistz Twists around the Z axis. - Scale varies the strength with distance from the axis. Positive values twist more near the axis; negative values twist more further out. - Special oscillates the twist along the axis; positive with direction changes, negative without.
9.78 Vortex
Vortex Curling warps in the X-Y plane. - Scale sets the tightness of curvature. - Special varies the relative frequencies in the curve.
9.79 Wabe
Wabe Strong, smooth warp along the axes. - Scale inversely sets the relative warp strength. - Special modulates the warp with concentric folds. Negative values change phase of modulation.
9.80 Warble
Warble Strong radial spines. - Scale sets the frequency of spines. Negative values change spine curve. - Special adds sine modulation. Negative values change spine curve.
9.81 Warp
Warp Undulating warp. Subtle unless Special used. - Scale adjusts the undulation frequency. - Special amplifies the effect. Negative values add extra modulation.
9.82 Waver
Waver Simple sine wave displacement. - Scale sets the wavelength. Positive values oscillate perpendicular to the Z axis, negative values perpendicular to the X axis. - Special sets the direction. Zero is vertical (Y axis). Positive values rotate the wave around the Z axis, negative values around the X axis.
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9.83 Wheel
Wheel Swirl around the Z axis with a central warp along the Z axis. - Scale sets the tightness of the swirl. - Special adjusts the relative strength of the warp.
9.84 Whirl
Whirl A sort of swirl that twists around in 3-D. - Scale sets the pitch of the curve. - Special changes the form of the curve.
9.85 Whorl
Whorl A sort of swirl that twists around in 3-D. - Scale inversely sets the pitch of the curve. Small values can be messy. - Special changes the form of the curve.
9.86 Woob
Woob Strong angular warp along the axes. - Scale inversely sets the relative warp strength. - Special modulates the warp with concentric folds. Negative values change phase of modulation.
9.87 Wrap
Wrap Oblique axial warp that wraps around in various ways. - Scale sets the axial extension. - Special modulates the wrap.
9.88 Zagzigz
Zagzigz A spiral around the Z axis that zigzags (changes direction) on the way out. - Amount controls the rotation. - Scale adjusts the tightness of the spiral and number of direction changes. - Special adds modulation along the Z axis.
9.89 Zigzagz
Zigzagz A spiral around the Z axis that zigzags (changes direction) on the way out. - Amount blends the effect in. - Scale adjusts the tightness of the spiral and number of direction changes. - Special adds modulation along the Z axis.
Metamorph reference
189
9.90 Zinzan
Zinzan A spherical grid pattern of ridges and dents. - Scale sets the density of ridges. - Special adds a twist around the Z axis.
9.91 Zypes
Zypes Spiral swirl about each axis. - Scale sets the tightness of the swirl. - Special modulates the axial extension.
190
XenoDream v1.5 Help apply pattern to unlit picture assigning 129 holon regions 129 autoscale 170 mesh export 170 106
Index
-33-d mesh export 69, 169
-Bback haze 154, 155 back layer 131 background 155 lighting 155 preview 75 background color 138, 155 background creation mode 110 background mask 139 background picture 99, 131, 138 closing 132 bailout 104, 126 base 167 depth conversion 167 base level 134 batch rendering 127 bitmap 134 opening pictures 134 saving pictures 133 blend 104 holon sequence 104 meta patterns 107 holon sequence 104 blending 140 layers 140 blur 136 gaussian 136 lighting 152 pictures 136 bmp 134 opening pictures 134 saving pictures 133 bounding boxes 125 bounds 125 bump mapping 166
-Aabout XenoDream 72 absolute 100 color editing 100 holon editing 86 accumulating lighting effects 145 active 77 holon 77 light 120, 146 region 158 add to original 166 adding 74, 77 holons 74, 77 light sources 146 shadows 120, 147 to the depth map 166 aligning 91 cyclic 91 linear 91 all regions 165 alpha channel 122, 131, 139, 159 closing 132 alpha glow 154 alphablend 139 ambient light 146 amount 97 metamorph 97 angle 83 camera 83 holon 87 shadow 156 antialiasing 122 background creation 110 appending holons from files 69 apply 144 lighting 144 lighting presets 161 pits filter 150
-Ccamera 81 angle 81
Index opening 113 color preview 75 coloring method 99 colors 101 choosing 101 comments field 80 compatibility with v1.1 95 confirmation 71 render new 71 constraining holons 90 constraints 90 constructor styles 97 constructors 74, 95 contrast 136 effects menu 136 lighting 152 converting color to depth 165 copy lit to unlit 145 copy to clipboard 135 copying 105 gradients 105 holon properties 72 holons 77 initial colors and modifiers 103 layers 140 lit picture to unlit picture 145 region lighting 158 to clipboard 135 creating 110 background pictures 110 creator field 80 curve 91 aligning holons 91 depth conversion 167 meta patterns 107 custom gradient 99, 114 presets 117 custom gradient editor 115 cycle gradient 109 cycles 91 cyclic 91 aligning holons 91 cycling 109 gradients 109
191
camera 81 position 82 rotating 83 zoom 82 casting shadows by holon 120 category 117 gradient presets 117 lighting presets 161 centering holons 90 change size button 123 chaos 124 rendering method 124 child holon 77 choosing colors 101 cleaning 150 surface 150 clear memory spots 71 on opening files 71 clear stragglers 150 clearing 135 active picture 135 curve and blend 107 parametric gradient 112 clip 82 back 82 front 82 copying to 135 clipping planes 82 cloning holons 77 closest point 82 closing 132 alpha channel 132 background picture 132 XenoDream 69, 132 color 155 background 155 depth conversion 167 glow 154 haze 154 light source 146 color dialog 101 color memory spots 101 color page 99 color panel 152 color perspective 104 color preset window 113 color presets 113 deleting 113
-Ddata locations 71
192
XenoDream v1.5 Help distortion 87 distributing holons 91 down 112 global pattern 112 drag and drop 103, 105 palette preview 103, 105 drag mode 71 default 71 shape 89 view 81 drag rotate mode 89 default 71 drag speed 72 dragging 74 holons 74 numeric controls 68 rotate mode 89 undo last 76 view 81
default 80 creator 80 drag mode 71 drag rotate mode 71 render size 71 picture mapping 109 delay preview while typing numbers deleting 113 color presets 113 gradient presets 117 holons 77 light sources 146 lighting presets 162 shadows 120 density 88 holon 88 depth 149 extra 149 fine 149 lighting 149 source 165 stereo 83 true 149 depth conversion parameters 167 depth filter 165 depth map 165 opening 135 saving 134 depth panel 149 depth window 141, 165 deselect all holons 79 deselecting 79 holons 79 destination 140 picture 140 diffuse 148 color 148 light 148 direction 154 glow 154 directional lights 146 disabling 156 locking 156 shadows 147 displacement mapping 93 distance 82 clipping 82 stereo 83
145
-Eedge 100 gradients 100 lighting 149 edges 149 flat 149 glowing 154 soft 149 edit gradient 103, 105 edit menu 135 picture window 135 editing 115 custom gradients 115 numeric controls 68 effects menu 136 picture window 136 enabling 156 locking 156 shadows 147 enhance depth 122 transparency mode 122 exclusive 93 iteration 93 exit 69, 132 exporting 134 depth map 134 gradient presets 118
Index
193
exporting 134 lighting presets 162 meshes 69, 169 extending holons 93 extra depth 149 extra metamorphs 93
-Ggain 112 gaussian blur 136 get default creator 80 getting started 80 global pattern 112 glow 154 lighting 154 glowing edges 154 gradient 114 custom 114 custom editor 115 cycle 109 parametric 111 presets 117 randomizing 112 deleting 117 exporting 118 importing 118 renaming 117 gradient rotation buttons 113 gradient strip 103, 105 gradients 128 region method 128 rotating and swapping 113 gray preview 75 guide lines 74
-Ffast preview 143, 145 favorites 157 lighting 157 file menu 69 main window 69 picture window 132 files 69 appending holons from 69 opening parameter 69 saving parameter 69 starting new 69 fill volume 170 filling 135 active picture 135 holes 150 filter 143 lighting 143 pictures 136 mesh export 172 fine depth 149 fisheye lens 83 flame coloring 106 flat edges 149 flip 136 horizontal 136 vertical 136 holons 87 picture 136 free holon 77 frequency 152 iridescence 152 fringe 148 front 154 haze 154 layer 131 moving light sources 146 furthest point 82
-Hhaze 154 height 123 picture 123 heightfields 165 opening 135 saving 134 help 10 using 10 help contents 72 help menu 72 main window 72 hi indicator 126 hiding 78 holons 78 parent shape 78
194
XenoDream v1.5 Help
hints 71 full 71 rendering 119 showing 71 hls and contrast filter 136 holes 150 holon 77 active 77 density 88 opacity 122, 139 parameters 86 position 88 region 129 rotation 87 scale 87 skew 87 volume 88 button 78 list 77, 78 holon sequence 99, 103, 111 coloring method 99, 103, 111 holon step 128 region method 128 holon window 68, 73 holon window zoom 73, 76 holons 74, 77 adding 74, 77 aligning cyclic 91 aligning linear 91 centering 90 cloning 77 copying properties 72 deleting 77 dragging 74 free 77 hiding 78 randomizing 90 selecting 77 selecting in the holon window 73 single 77 total number 77 hue 136 effects menu 136 hybrid 125 rendering method 125
-Iimport palette 69 importing 69 colors 69 gradient presets 118 lighting presets 162 include 97 colors 97 view 97 index of refraction 153 indicators 126 lo and hi 126 info list 78 information 78 about holons 78 inherit 129 region 129 inherit color 100 inherit count 100 inheriting 100 color 100 map from 106 initial color 111 insufficient disk space 133 intensity 146 light source 146 invert holon selection 79 inverting 79 holon selection 79 picture colors 136 invisible holons 78 iridescence 152 isosurface level 172 iteration control 93
-Jjpg 134 opening pictures 134 saving pictures 133
-Kkeep lighting preset window on top 145

Index
195
-Llayer opacity 140 layers 131 about 131 copying and merging 140 in lighting preview 143 merge mode 140 selecting 138 LED 147 shadow status 147 lens 83 fisheye 83 light color 146 light sources 146 lighting 143 about 143 apply 144 options 145 preset window 161 presets 157 preview 143 regions 158 stop 144 transparent effects 159 lighting ball 146 lighting memory spots 157 lighting presets 120 deleting 162 exporting 162 importing 162 renaming 162 lighting window 141, 143 lightness 136 effects menu 136 linear 91 aligning holons 91 lit picture 131, 138 lo indicator 126 lock all 156 lock buttons 156 lock scaling 170 locking 156 lighting parameters 156
-Mmagnification 82 pictures 136 main window 68 map from 106 metamorph coloring 106 map to 109 background picture 109 coloring 99 custom gradient 114 mapping 93 displacement 93 mapping background picture 109 masking 139, 166 background 139, 166 object 139 maximum 93 iteration 93 memory mapped files 71 memory spots 101 color 101 lighting 157 regions 158 selection 79 shape 97 view 84 memory use 169 exporting meshes 169 rendering 123 menu 131 picture window 131 merge mode 140 merging 140 layers 140 mesh export 69 options 170 rendering 170 simplifying 172 triangulating 172 mesh export window 169 mesh filtering 172 mesh grid size 170 meshes 173 saving 173 meta curve 107 meta pattern 107
196
XenoDream v1.5 Help object size 76 off 112 global pattern 112 old lit picture 153 on 112 global pattern 112 opacity 139 holon 139 layer 140 lighting 159 of holons 122 opening 113 color presets 113 depth map 135 gradient presets 115 lighting presets 161 parameter files 69 pictures 134 random file 80 optimize density 88 options 145 lighting 145 mesh export 170 main window 71 ordered 125 rendering method 125 orientation 83 camera 83 holon 87 other holon 106 overflow 74, 137
metallic 148 metamorph 99 coloring method 99 parameters 97 background creation 110 metamorph coloring method 105 metamorphs 95 randomizing 97 styles 95 method 99 coloring 99 regions 128 rendering 124 metric 172 simplifying 172 mix 100 gradients 100 mode 89 drag rotate 89 glow 154 preview 75 modifier 111 modifying 166 depth map 166 monitoring render progress 137 moving 146 light sources 146
-Nnavigation buttons 141 picture window 141 nearest 91 new file 69 noise 101 removing from pictures number of regions 128 numbers 68 editing 68 numeric controls 68
-P136 palette 75 preview 75 palette preview 103, 105 parameter files 69 opening 69 parameters 86 holon 86 metamorph 97 parametric gradient 99, 111 saving as presets 113 parent holon 77 parent shape 77 hiding 78
-OOBJ format 173 object 81 angle 81 object name 80
Index
197
per holon 129 region method 129 permanent smoothing 150 perspective 104 color 104 PGM format 134, 135 phase 91 Photoshop 134 opening pictures 134 saving pictures 133 pic map 109 picture 109 offset 109 size 123 metamorph coloring 109 picture window 131 pictures 131 about 131 effects 136 opening 134 saving 133 zooming 136 pits 150 plane 90 constraining holons to 90 position 82 camera 82 holon 88 holon parameters 86 POV-Ray 173 presets 117 custom gradient 117 gradient 115 lighting 120, 157, 161 parametric gradient 113 shadow 120 preview 143 lighting 143 options 75 with background 75 preview mode 75 preview toolbar 74 preview window 68, 74 previewing layers in lighting 143 progress 137 rendering 137 progressive mesh 172 prompting to save 71
properties 148 surface 148 protecting lighting parameters psd 134 opening pictures 134 saving pictures 133
156
-Qquick start 80 quitting XenoDream 69, 132
-Rrandom sequence 90 randomizing 167 depth parameters 167 holons 90 lighting 156 meta curve and blend 107 meta pattern 107 metamorphs 97 parameter files 80 parametric gradient 112 starter files 80 range 91 aligning holons 91 recalling 101 coloring 101 lighting 157 selections 79 shape 97 view 84 reflecting 87 holons 87 reflection 153 refraction 153 refractive index 153 region 154 glow 154 lighting preview 158 region lighting memory spots 158 region method 128 gradients 128 holon step 128 per holon 129
198
XenoDream v1.5 Help
regions 165 depth 165 lighting 158 preview 75 regions page 128 relative 100 color editing 100 holon editing 86 removing noise 136 removing XenoDream from your computer renaming 117 gradient presets 117 lighting presets 162 render more 72, 124 render new 72 render size 123 default 71 rendering 119 about 119 batch 127 buttons 72 chaos method 124 hybrid method 125 mesh export 170 method 124 ordered method 125 progress 137 shadows 120 size 123 rendering method 126 rendering page 119 reorient 95 reposition 95 rescale 95 reset view 84 resetting 107 curve and blend 107 resolution 126 rotate by 83 rotating 81, 83 camera 81, 83 gradient 109 gradients 113 holons 87 object 81, 83 rotation 87 holon 87 holon parameters 86
-Ssaturation 136 effects menu 136 lighting 152 saving 101 coloring 101 depth map 134 lighting 157 lighting presets 157 meshes 173 parameter files 69 parametric gradient presets 113 pictures 133 selections 79 shape 97 view 84 scale 167 depth conversion 167 holon 87 holon parameters 86 metamorph 97 scrolling 143 lighting preview 143 picture window 131 select all holons 79 select files 127 for batch render 127 select holons button 72, 73, 89 selecting 72, 73, 77, 78, 79 holons 72, 73, 77, 78, 79 layers 138 light sources 146 selection controls 79 selection memory spots 79 sequence 90 random 90 set default creator 80 shaded preview 75 shading 152 lighting 152 shadow angles 156 shadow ball 120 shadow presets 120 shadows 120 cast by holon 120 lighting 147
17
Index
199
shadows 120 rendering 120 shape drag mode 89 shape memory spots 97 shape page 86 sharpening 152 lighting 152 pictures 136 shininess 148 shorten 147 shadows 147 show picture window after apply 145 showing hints 71 simplifying 172 mesh export 172 size 76 object 76 rendering 123 size of holons 87 skew 87 holon 87 holon parameters 86 slew 112 slope 167 depth conversion 167 smooth mesh 173 smoothing 148 permanent 150 snapshot for reflect/refract 145, 153 soft edges 149 source 155 background 155 depth 165 haze 154 reflection 153 refraction 153 special 97 metamorph 97 spread 152 iridescence 152 start 112 global pattern 112 start render 137 starter shapes 69 starters menu 69 starting 137 rendering 137 starting new files 69
step 128 regions 128 stereo mode 83 stereograms 83 stop render 72, 137 stopping 144 lighting 144 rendering 137 storing 101 coloring 101 lighting 157 selections 79 shape 97 view 84 stragglers 150 style buttons 95 style list 95 styles 95 metamorph 95 surface cleaning panel 150 surface method 170 surface only 122 transparency mode 122 surface properties 148 swapping 105, 113 gradients 105, 113 initial colors and modifiers sync 122 holon opacity 122 lighting surface properties randomizing meta pattern randomizing metamorphs region lighting 158 sync scales 87
103
148 107 97
-Tterminate at 124 TGA format 134 tolerance 166 toolbar 131 picture window 131 standard 72 toolbars 68 transformations 95 translucent 159 transparency mode 122
200
XenoDream v1.5 Help
transparent 75 preview 75 lighting 159 triangulating 172 mesh export 172 true depth 149 tutorials 28
-XXenoDream 10
-Zzero constrained values 90 zeroing numbers 68 zoom 82 camera 82 holon window 73, 76 lighting preview 143 pictures 136
-Uundo 76 last drag 76 undo last drag 89 uniform 122 transparency mode 122 uninstalling XenoDream 17 unlit picture 131, 138 up 112 global pattern 112 shadow angles 156 updating old files 69 use alpha 159
-Vvert 112 global pattern 112 view drag mode 81 view memory spots 84 view menu 136 picture window 136 view page 81 visibility of holons 78 volume 88 holon 88 volume method 170
-Wwave 112 global pattern 112 width 123 picture 123 world space 106 map from 106 wrap 107 gradient 107

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XenoDream 1.

XenoDream v1.5 Help

Part I Welcome to XenoDream

Part II Getting started

7 Frequently Asked Questions ................................................................................................................................... 58

Part III Main Window

XenoDream v1.5 Help 3 Main menu ................................................................................................................................... 69

5 Holon window ................................................................................................................................... 73

6 Preview window ................................................................................................................................... 74

7 Holon toolbar ................................................................................................................................... 76

9 View page ................................................................................................................................... 81

10 Shape page ................................................................................................................................... 86

11 Color page ................................................................................................................................... 99

12 Rendering page ................................................................................................................................... 119

2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC

XenoDream v1.5 Help

13 Regions page ................................................................................................................................... 128

Part IV Picture Window

Part V Lighting Window

Part VI Lighting Preset Window

Part VII Depth Window

Part VIII Mesh Export Window

Part IX Metamorph reference

2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC

XenoDream v1.5 Help 87 Wrap ................................................................................................................................... 188

2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC

XenoDream Software - transcend your imagination today

XenoDream v1.5 Help

1.1 What is XenoDream?

See What's new in this version See Getting Started

for a summary of changes since version 1.2.

to learn about XenoDream and start playing with tutorials.

1.2 Getting help

1.3 What's new in this version

XenoDream v1.5 Help

XenoDream v1.5 Help

The Main window - Rendering page

2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC

XenoDream v1.5 Help

1.4 Uninstalling XenoDream

2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC

XenoDream Software - transcend your imagination today

2.1 Overview: Getting started

explains the unique method of constructing shapes.

illustrate some categories of objects that you can create.

reviews the ideas of 3-D modeling, and what XenoDream does.

Frequently Asked Questions See also Getting Help

provides some answers and techniques.

2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC

XenoDream v1.5 Help

2.2 The XenoDream process

2.3 XenoDream's object modeling

XenoDream v1.5 Help

2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC

2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC

XenoDream v1.5 Help

2.4 Types of objects

2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC

2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC

XenoDream v1.5 Help

2000-2004 XenoDream Software LLC

2.5 About 3-D