Module 4 - Emma Sun

Modeling Approach - Part 1

Step 1: Apply Adaptive Panels to the Surface

1. U and V are the number of points in the grid. Thus, the grid number is the number of u or v points minus 1.
2. In the family types, I chose the 4-point seamless panel since it can change the heights, which will be changed accordingly by color later.
3. The “AdaptiveCompnent.ByPoints” combines the coordinates of the point and the type of panels and add them to the surface.
4. The initial heights of the panels are set to 0.5.

Step 2: Import the Image and Apply it to the Panels

The Structure is a great fit for many patterns. It could be applied to different patterns on different festivals. Following are some examples.

Following is the code:

1. In Step 1a, I first imported image from my PC. Then, use “Image.Pixels” to break the image down into uv grids.
2. In Step 1b, a “List.Transpose” was added to flip the direction of the image by 90 degrees and to test which image direction works better with the structure. There are two options, with option 0 is the original list, and option 1 the transposed list. The user can change the option in the boolean “Original or Transpose” code block. True is original and false is Transpose.

3. In Step 1c, the colors from the image override the panels origin color.

Step 3: Mirror or Flip the Image

1. There are 4 options that the image can orient, 3 of them are shown in Step 2a.
1. The first is the original orientation in Step 1b.


b. The second flipped the image left and right (horizontally).



c. The third flipped the image back and forth (vertically).



d. The forth flipped the image both horizontally and vertically.

2. The user can use the integer slider to choose which orientation they like in Step 2b.

Step 4: Embossed or Debossed Effect of Thickness of Panels based on Color

1. I used “Color.Hue” to scale the list of colors on each panel. Then, they are scaled to thicknesses from 0.5 to 5.

2. The thickness of the embossed panels is computed as “Standard Thickness + Color Thickness”. The user can use the number slider to adjust the standard thickness. The deboss panels work the same way.

3. The flip parameter is set to false here since the thickness is toward outside in default.

Step 5: User Choose between Embossed or Debossed Effect

1. Users can use the integer slider to choose embossed effect (0) or debossed effect (1).

Modeling Approach - Part 2

Step 1: Evaluate the Directness of the Surface Panels to the Sun

1. Create an equivalent custom node using “Panels.BySurface_U_V”. The node is a copy of the original panel system from Module 3, with the same surface, u, v, and family type. The family type is initially set to Seamless Panels and later changed to “Rect_Panel with Resizable Opening”.

2. Compute the surface normals for each panel using the “Surface.NormalAtParameter” function, with u and v values of 0.5, shown in “Step 2a”.
3. Flip the vectors with a negative z-axis value to make sure all the normal vectors are pointing outwards, shown in “Step 2a”.
4. Create a vector pointing toward the Sun to calculate the directness.
5. Take the dot product of the vectors with the direction of the sun. If the vector value is bigger (approaching to 1), the directness is strong, and vice versa. Since there are negative values, we normalized it in range between 0 and 1.

Step 2: Use Color to Indicate the Directness of the Sun

As shown, at 3 pm, the west side panels are red while the east side is blue. Also, the red panels in the north are wider spread than those in the south, which makes sense since the sun is at the south west side.

1. The color is set to blue and red to indicate the directness between the surface and the Sun. If the directness is larger, the color is red, showing more heat.
2. Change the panel color to blue and red using “Element.OverrideColorInView”.

Step 3: Adjust Panel Geometry Based on the Directness of the Sun

1. The panel type is set to “Rect_Panel with Resizable Opening”.
2. The openings of the panels are set to range from 0.02 to 0.49, scaled from the directness between the Sun and the Panels’ normal directions.
3. Three parameters are changed, the opening in 2 directions, and the panel thickness. The panel thickness has a base value of 0.5 and added a thickness of opening value times a scaling factor. The hotter (larger directness value) it is, the smaller the opening and the thicker the panels are.