Spoken text

After we learned how to use the transformation tools of the 3D Toolbar in the previous unit, the remaining elements of the 3D Toolbar will be depicted in this unit.
From that button, different primitive objects like a cylinder, a box or a parallelogram can be inserted into the model.
We’re going to test this by picking a cylinder. But before, we’re deleting the starting bud from the example model.
As you can see, this object can be manipulated like all model objects by the attributes in the Attribute Editor or by the transformation tools in the 3D View. If we’re adding a cone, it becomes obvious that the creation of complex 3D structures is easy to achieve. After all, the modeled plants also base on these primitive objects. The geometric units F, which are used for modelling the branches, are nothing more than cylinders.

The buttons beside the last viewed button can be used to insert a surface in form of a torus, a curve and a simple patch, which represents a plane. The option “Polygon” doesn’t work in the current version of GroIMP.
The last feature gives the opportunity to insert one or more light sources which will be added to the existing light source of the model. The light sources can be moved to any position so that the lighting of the object – or the model – can be varied, which is being shown here exemplarily. Furthermore, it’s possible to change the lighting mode – for example to a spot or a point light – , and to change the lighting colour.
The option “Sky” inserts a sphere which creates a sky as a background. This background acts as a light source, but it’s not yet visible in the OpenGL and the Wireframe view.

The functions of these objects may be not clearly visible for the moment. But many possible options to alter the attributes of these objects offer a wide field of applications. For example, a soil could be depicted by a textured patch.

Beside the integration of these objects from the 3D Toolbar, it is also possible to integrate them by the Menu Bar  Objects.