Greeble

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A cube (left) and a greeble version of the cube (right)

Greeble is a term that found its way into computer graphics . It denotes an added detail that makes the monotonous surface of an object appear visually more interesting. The function of the greebles is to increase the impression of complexity so that the viewer's gaze - out of interest in the special - stays on it. Such modified surfaces also make an object appear larger, since greebles are perceived as smaller details of a larger object. These details can consist of simple geometric solids such as cylinders , cubes or other Platonic solids , which in combination create detailed, but meaningless surface structures.

In the case of special visual effects in films, greebles are used, for example, to design the surface of spaceships, the skin of prehistoric animals or to make buildings look strange and “organic”.

Etymology and greeble-like terms

The currently first documented use of the term "greeble" comes from the employees of the special effects group, which worked for the film Star Wars ; Industrial Light & Magic later emerged from this group . They described this design method as the "guts out" ( guts on the outside ). The plural of Greeble is Greebles ; Adding greebles to an object is known as greebling .

Nurnie has a similar meaning, and it is believed that Ron Thornton introduced the term to refer to a CGI detail that his company Foundation Imaging used for the Babylon 5 science fiction series .

As early as 1968, during the production of 2001: A Space Odyssey , so-called wiggets were applied to the surface of spaceship models without the aid of computers in order to create the special effect of size and complexity.

Applications of Greebles

In non-virtual applications, greebles can consist of very different materials, for example wood or plastic parts; some model kits use components with a greeded surface. When working on Star Wars , the original Imperial Star Destroyer consisted of a plywood frame that was clad with polystyrene elements. Structural cuts in the polystyrene alone made the ship look bare . Therefore kits were bought and pieces of them were applied to the surface of the ship either directly or after being cut to size. The ultimate effect was that these surface changes made the ship appear more real and believable to the viewer . The greebles themselves served no other purpose than to fill the empty surface (although later by "technical illustrators" or in "Star Wars special literature" some of these greebles were assigned a special "technical function").

Another example of the use of greebles was the Battlestar Galactica model for the original series in the 1970s, whose fuselage was designed using parts from various kits - including those of the Apollo orbiter, the Saturn rocket, F-16 fighter jets and different tanks - were used.

In these first applications, greebling was mostly used in the design of huge, flying cities comparable spaceships. At Star Trek you can find this technology in the cube-shaped ships of the Borg and the equipment and accessories of the Borg drones also followed the same principle.

Greebling - Automatic greeble generation

In 3D computer graphics , greebles can be automatically inserted using special software in order to avoid the time-consuming manual creation of a large number of precisely defined geometries. Automating this tedious, repetitive process is particularly worthwhile when there is no high level of control required or when the greebles are not shown very closely in the final version of the graphic.

Most such computer programs work with the subdivision of the total area to be processed into smaller sub-areas, then create new details in them and repeat this process of selection, change and renewed selection in recursion until a previously determined "level of detail" is reached. Similar algorithms are used in the creation of fractal surfaces.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Future-Past Interview by Charles Adam who describes Ron Thornton as the originator of the word "Nurnies"

Web links