Power and precision are the two words that best summarise FormZ from Auto*Des*Sys Inc. - regarded by many as the premier 3D modeller on the Mac. The product comes in three flavours: modelling only (FormZ), modelling and rendering (FormZ RenderZone) and with a radiosity option (FormZ RenderZone RadioZity).

Fire up the program and you get a view of the modelling area and a range of floating palettes. These cover the main tool set, cursor coordinates, lighting, object and layer management, surface styles, views and prompts. The latter offers a step-by-step walk through of the active tool - and allows keyboard input.

The default modelling view - showing a QD3D rendered model, along with a couple of tear-off menus.

While the program initially defaults to a single window, a quad view is easily requested - and, if you have the screen real estate, there is no problem in having the quad view and other windows open simultaneously. Each window has independent viewing conditions - scale, cursor snapping and rendering type (which includes QuickDraw 3D).

FormZ uses a reference plane system to define the location of the 'third dimension' and the standard Cartesian planes are easily selected from a pop up menu. Arbitrary planes that can lie anywhere in space, can also be defined, saved and recalled at will. While this system is powerful it's sometimes less than intuitive: draw an arc with the 'clockwise arc' tool on the XZ plane - and the arc draws anti-clockwise. Confused? Well in FormZ each plane has a positive and negative side. The 'front' view of the XZ plane actually positions the viewer on the negative side of the plane - yet the tool draws as though it were used on the positive side of the plane. Imagine crayoning a clockwise arc on a sheet of glass - while viewing it from the other side. It's a clockwise arc - but it sure looks anti-clockwise to the user. This is FormZ at its precision best - and intuitive worst.

While very much a Mac program, the FormZ interface doesn't always operate in typical Mac fashion. The default cursor is used for selection only, and surfaces are typically drawn with a click-draw-click action rather than a click and drag. The tool palette is another example - being divided into 'operators' and 'modifiers'. The latter determine how the former perform. Take the rectangle drawing tool: use it with the '2D surface' modifier and you create a flat surface; use it with the '3D extruded solid' modifier and you create a cuboid; use it with the '3D converged solid' modifier and you create a rectangular based pyramid. While these methods can be off putting at first, they are quickly learned and do offer significant additional power. A simple example - you could set up 'snap to grid' - start drawing a cube at one corner - select a menu item, switch off snapping - and finish drawing the cube by clicking for the other corner. The program also has a very powerful preferences set up that covers a host of parameters at both the program and project level. Got a good memory? Some 500 keyboard shortcuts are available - all of which can be user defined.

Clicking on any of the 14 main tool icons reveals a pop out / rip off menu for the row - 117 text labelled icons in total - many of which lead to further multilevel options and dialogs. It's an awesome array of modelling power.

Modelling:

FormZ actually offers two working environments - modelling and drafting. Drafting can be used to construct 2D plans for modelling; or as a place in which 2D sections that have been extracted from 3D models can be further worked upon. While much of this 2D work can be done in modelling, the drafting environment offers extra facilities such as dimensioning, hatching and line weights.

Looking at the main 3D modelling environment, the feature list is substantial, even when summarised - see listing.

As you would expect there's a full set of standard creation, editing and transformation tools. You can work at the vertex, segment, outline, face, object and object group levels - you can even work with holes.

Perhaps FormZ's most significant and fundamental feature is it's use of both surface and solid modelling. Cut a hole through a cube in most 3D programs and you are left with a hollow shell. Do the same thing in FormZ and you have a hole through a solid. FormZ recognises the object's volume. This fundamental feature gives the program unique strength in the construction of complex objects. Even more powerful is the fact that solid objects can be created from surface objects - and vice versa. The user can work in whatever way suits the job at hand.

Objects can be created graphically on screen, or by typing in numeric coordinates in the prompts palette - or by a mix of both. They can also be derived from other objects. The program also features a 'heights' menu, which can be used (optionally) to set the third dimension at a fixed measure - the user draws the 2D profile - and the program extrudes to the set height.

A good illustration of the power available in a FormZ tool is the controlled mesh (c-mesh). This is a tool that will let you build a surface or solid object from a series of splines - with great flexibility. The splines themselves can be one of 10 different types - from simple tangential curves through to NURBS. The structure of both the control net and the spline surface itself can be specified by the user. Once the c-mesh is built it exists as a 'controlled' object and can be re-specified at will - as well as being edited in shape using the control net. Picture 2 shows a helicopter model built using c-mesh modelling.

The basic solid of a helicopter model created as a NURBS based c-mesh	The model after some further work with the boolean and trim tools

FormZ's boolean and trimming operations are another great tool - and a great illustration of the programs quality. Cuts are made cleanly without any distortion or tearing of the surfaces - and, quite simply, they work. In two years of using this program I have yet to have a boolean fail.

No animals were harmed in the creation of this 'skinned mouse' ;) - composited here with the skinning paths used to create it. Click here for a look at the quad view of the skinned wireframe.

While FormZ's key strength is in its modelling, RenderZone offers a pretty good range of control - including tiled UV mapping, decals and depth blur.

It's fair to say that FormZ has a reputation as a 'technical modeller' - great for architectural and product concepts but weak at organics and 'soft' subjects. Well that's true - but changing. Over the course of the last couple of releases Auto*Des*Sys have advanced the organic modelling capabilities of FormZ notably. Smooth meshing, Metaformz and skinning are three key examples. Smooth meshing is fairly self explanatory - polygons are subdivided and shapes blended into a smooth whole. As always the process has a number of controls that the user can play with. Think of Metaformz as 'Metaballs plus' - metaball behaviour, but for any shape, not just spheres. Auto*Des*Sys is pushing the envelope here a little, so this one still has it's rough edges, but is pretty useful as it stands and is a good taste of things to come. Skinning effectively offers a multi-path, multi-profile sweep - and one that can be used in a linear or rotational fashion. This is one of my favourite FormZ tools. It's ideal for a whole range of tough-to-model subjects - animal, vegetable or mineral!

Rendering:

Renderzone and RadioZity rendering is based on the Lightworks (http://www.lightwork.com) libraries. Renderzone offers a good range of rendering types: flat, gouraud, phong, z-buffer and ray-trace along with a good range of materials, lighting controls and presets. Arguably the strongest part of the rendering toolset is its texture management. Textures can be applied down to the individual polygon level - even noncontiguous polygon groups can be covered with one map. An unlimited number of decals can be applied and mixed - and the surfaces on which they project can also be specified. Materials can be applied with parametric and UV mapping in addition to the standard flat, cubic, spherical and cylindrical projections.

Recent additions to FormZ's rendering power have included QTVR output - both object and panorama based; panoramic images; mixed wireframe and shaded renderings (wireframes can even be set to cast shadows); perspective matching to background images; and 'straight up perspective' (vertical lines are kept vertical). But there are some weaknesses in the rendering department: alpha channel backgrounds don't support transparent materials; the surface style defaults leave something to be desired and the procedural surfaces could be improved. In addition to it's conventional rendering facilities, FormZ also offers good eps export - useful for work in Illustrator and Freehand.

Renderzone also comes bundled with FormZ Imager - a useful utility for batch rendering.

Export/import:

Good i/o is a key element of FormZ as it's often used in conjunction with other packages - Electric Image being a prime example. DWG, DXF, IGES, Lightscape, 3DGF, STL, FACT, OBJ, RIB, 3DMF and VRML are currently supported - and as you might expect there are plenty of output options for each. Various amounts of surface and texture map data can be exported dependent on format.

Support:

Purchase FormZ and it arrives at your desk in a substantial box. It's needed. The manuals total well over one thousand pages and include a useful tutorial and a 24page quick reference 'card'! They deliver detailed information well and are usefully illustrated with examples.

In addition to the free support you get as a new user, Auto*Des*Sys* offer an ongoing plan for a yearly fee. This offers full telephone, fax and e-mail support; automatically sent updates and reduced prices on upgrades. The company also host a users forum on their web site (http://www.formz.com). Once a year users receive 'InFormZ' - a full colour magazine of FormZ work that typically includes comments, reviews, tutorials and a glimpse at future plans. Auto*Des*Sys also maintains a presence in a number of its users forums and actively seeks product suggestions - which often find their way into future upgrades. The product is very actively developed and has a track record of at least one significant upgrade a year - in addition to any maintenance patches. Here is a company that listens to its users.

The verdict:

The whole formZ approach is one of precision - from the style of writing in the manuals, through to the way it bevels 3D text and skins object profiles. If this is how you approach your modelling, that's great, if not, you may find the going tough. The interface takes some getting used to; the learning curve can be steep; the spline based tools are limited; the rendering facilities are good but not outstanding; and basic animation is due, but yet to arrive. The negatives are, however, minor compared to the modelling prowess on offer. The bottom line is a simple one: if you a looking for the best polygon based modeller on the Mac, look no further. FormZ is it.

Mike Abbott heads up Vantage Ad & Design Ltd, a UK based studio that works in 3D illustration, digital graphics and design. Serving clients worldwide, Mike specialises in realistic and visualisation work for marketing communications.

Mike Abbott / Vantage Advertising & Design Ltd.
3D illustration, graphics & design
e-mail: mike@mda1.demon.co.uk
Portfolio and web site: http://www.mda1.demon.co.uk