Categories
AS3 Custmm Grumm Extending Flash Grumm Urban papercraft

Custmm Grumm – AI 2 Array

Another experiment towards Custmm Grumm. This time my task was to export/import an Illustrator file to Flash…

Yeah, yeah; I know: you say “import to stage” … correct! 😉
But what I need is the shape converted to code (coordinates in the x-direction and y-direction)..
Ha, you stopped grinning!

Well the first part is correct.
You need to import the file to the stage and give every imported shape it’s own layer.
This is something that you don’t want to do by hand (I didn’t want to 😉 ), so I wrote a jsfl that fixes that for you (read my post about it here: object-to-layer-jsfl)

After that you need to extract the values (x and y-positions form the corners of the shapes) of the files. Some thing, you don’t want that to do by hand: I have written a jsfl who does that. (read more about that here: shape-2-array-jsfl )

If you use these two scripts, you get: all imported shapes in different layers, and you can extract all values.
Example of the array:
[as]
var shapeArrayz:Array = new Array ();
shapeArrayz[0] = [[20.05,169.5,0] , [62.425,169.5,1] , [104.8,169.5,2] , [104.8,169.5,0] , [104.8,211.85,1] , [104.8,254.2,2] , [104.8,254.2,0] , [62.425,254.2,1] , [20.05,254.2,2] , [20.05,254.2,0] , [20.05,211.85,1] , [20.05,169.5,2]];
// etc…
[/as]
This array off point can be used to generate the shape you just “traced”.

Generated shapes from an Array

This script (below) is used to generate the points (every line has 3 points, the beginning, the end and one inbetween), and the generated shape on the right side (no points, only the shape):
[as]
var shapeArray:Array = [];

// visualize the points
function createPoints2 (_pointArray:Array) {
shapeArray = [];
var point:MovieClipInLibraryWithLinkageName;
for (var i=0; i<_pointArray.length; i++) {
point = new MovieClipInLibraryWithLinkageName();
point.x = _pointArray[i][0];
point.y = _pointArray[i][1];
var switchExpression:uint = _pointArray[i][2];
switch (switchExpression) {
case 0 :
//trace (0);
point.alpha = .5;
shapeArray.push ([_pointArray[i][0],_pointArray[i][1]]);
break;
case 1 :
//trace (1);
point.scaleX = point.scaleY = .5;
break;
case 2 :
//trace (2);
point.alpha = .5;
point.scaleX = point.scaleY = .3;
break;
default :
trace ("Not 0, 1, or 2");
}
addChild (point);
}

}

// draw the new extracted image
function drawArray (_arr:Array) {
// trace ("drawArray ");
var _shape:Shape = new Shape();
_shape.graphics.lineStyle (1, 0x333333, 1);
_shape.graphics.beginFill (0xcccccc);
_shape.graphics.moveTo (_arr[0][0], _arr[0][1]); // starting point
for (var i=1; i<=_arr.length; i+=3) {
_shape.graphics.curveTo (_arr[i][0], _arr[i][1] , _arr[i+1][0], _arr[i+1][1]);
// _shape.graphics.lineTo (_arr[i+1][0], _arr[i+1][1]);
}
_shape.graphics.endFill ();
this.drawContainer_mc.addChild (_shape);
}

// jumpstart everything
function init (){
for (var j=0; j<shapeArrayz.length; j++) {
// trace(shapeArrayz[j])
createPoints2 (shapeArrayz[j]);
drawArray (shapeArrayz[j]);
}
}
init ();

[/as]

Update #1: I previously used point_mc in the code. That was a movieClip in the library with a linkage name. I changed it in the code, I hope that helps.

Eventually I will use the points, and generated shapes to modify the shape (move a point, create a new shape) and/or to add points.

Categories
AS3 Custmm Grumm Grumm Urban papercraft

Custmm Grumm – Selection tool

Custmm Grumm is a project that I will be working on in my spare time.
I will try to build a online tool for creating custom skins and modifying a Grumm.
It’s will be created in Flash (AS3).

The first research I did is selection, and how it works with shapes.
What it does:

  • select an item with one click
  • select an item by dragging (mouse down, mouse up)
  • select multiple items with dragging

What it doesn’t do:

  • shift add a selected item to the current selected items
  • shift click/drag deselect items

A direct link to the file: selectionTool v01

Categories
AS3 Custmm Grumm Grumm Urban papercraft

Custmm Grumm – The project

This will be my most ambitious project in my spare time: Custmm Grumm!

Custmm Grumm

What is Custmm Grumm?

When I created Grumm, I had no plans with the moody fellow. But after I got invited to participate in a book about papertoys I started to think about the future of papertoys (and Grumm).

Two of those thoughts about the future is the base of this project: you should be able to modify/create a papermodel without expensive software or specialized knowledge.

Papertoys are, more then vinyl toys, difficult to customize. You need knowledge of image or vector programs link Photoshop or Illustrator. Besides the knowledge of these programs, you also need the program them selfs, which is not cheap. Another bump in customizing is the flat version of the model: the simple papertoys are not that difficult to understand, but the more complex models with more parts, it’s difficult to know which part goes where and how it will look.
It would be nice that you could create a custom skin and modify the model yourself.

Creating a custom skin for a model is done before: papercritters but modifying the model to isn’t.

I will try to make Custmm Grumm in Flash (AS3) so that it’s possible to create a custom skin and modify the model (with some restrictions of course)…

I had a discussion about this project on Nice Paper Toys if you want to know some more about the rocky start of this project.

Categories
Design Grumm Urban papercraft

GrummBunny: a custom by NiceBunny

Update #1: I still haven’t got the time to build it myself, but you can download GrummBunny it now on the Grumm homepage.

I haven’t got time to build it myself 🙁 , or create a downloadable template, but I had to share this with you.

The first custom Grumm in 2008
and more will follow!

NiceBunny has create a custom Grumm: GrummBunny
GrummBunny: a Grumm custom by NiceBunny

It now part of a bigger family:

Do you want to create a custom Grumm: I would be honored :). You can download the blank Grumm template, or get inspired by Grumm The Screamer Red which you can download.

NiceBunny can be found in a lot of places:
http://www.nicepapertoys.com/profile/NiceBunny (the social network create by NiceBunny)
http://www.nicebunny.com/
to name 2

I will create asap a download link
Visit the Grumm homepage for GrummBunny!
Or for you lazy bastard:

(The .ZIP file contains a .PDF)

Categories
Design Grumm

Son of a Grumm – part 2



Son of a Grumm, originally uploaded by Matthijs Kamstra aka [mck].

A image that I made to promote Grumm and Son of a Grumm in particular on mySpace.

It seems to be working: the group of digital friends is slowly growing 😉

Read more in a previous post or about the Urban Papertoy book

Categories
Design Grumm Urban papercraft

Son of a Grumm

Matt Hawkins started a book about papertoys which will be publish early 2009 (read more about this in a previous post).

I contributed Son of a Grumm, which is an exclusive custom Grumm design, to this book.

This is: Son of a Grumm

Son of a Grumm

If you curious about the first half of the papertoys for the book (working title ‘Urban paper’), goto the Custom Paper Toys-account at Flickr.

if you want to more about Grumm visit it’s homepage and perhaps make a custom.

Categories
Grumm Urban papercraft

Paper Toy Book preview

Update #1: I got the complete list of paper toy designers from Matt Hawkins


Paper Toy Book preview, originally uploaded by Custom Paper Toys.

Last year I was invited to joint a group of 24 of the most talented paper toy designers in the world. Matt Hawkins (you know him from his site Custom Paper Toys or his contributions to Paperforest) started a book which will be publish early 2009.

On the image you see the first half of the papertoys:

Just visit flickr and see the notes on the picture, so you see who made what….

My toy is the one with the gun: I call it Son of a Grumm.
When I have my own pictures of it, I will post it here

Categories
Design Grumm

Grumm homepage update

I just updated the new Grumm homepage:

New Grumm homepage design

For the people that don’t know who Grumm is: read something about this moody piece of paper.

And if your not doing anything, read everything 😉 , build Grumm the Screamer Red and be one the 10464 people who downloaded it (and, I hope, put it together) or create a custom design and send them to me. (with 9039 downloads you expect a lot of customs…. 🙁 )

Grumm the Screamer Red

Show your appreciation for Grumm by sending money, beer, holiday trips, cars, Flash books, fan-mail, transparant gifs your pictures and custom designs of Grumm to me. I love it, and will place them on the Grumm homepage to see or download.
Categories
Design Grumm

Grumm gets noticed…

I mention before that I got noticed by happysucks.com with a number 10 position for Grumm: in there post about “Paper Toy for Adults“.

This article is also read by one of my favorite papercraft sites Paperforest which triggered an avalanche of links to Grumm.

And to put some icing on the cake: one day later I got a post from boingboing!

This all happened without my knowledge: I was on a 3 week holiday in Thailand.
So I want to thank everybody who downloaded Grumm, linked to my site, made Grumm and customized Grumm.

Here some other nice articles about Grumm: urbanretrolifestyle.com, welikeplay.org.

Categories
Grumm Urban papercraft

Top 10 notation for Grumm

For a while you can download Grumm on this blog.

Grumm is a paper toy / papercraft / paper model or what ever you want to call it.
Because I’m swamped with work (started a new job) I haven’t got time to spend on Grumm and the promotion of it.

But even without that, Happy Sucks noticed Grumm:
they (??) created a Top 10 Paper Toy for Adults:

Grumm is placed at number 10, and I seem to be in good company:

  1. PP BEAR
  2. Spikey Baby
  3. Mask Hoody
  4. Mr. Robot
  5. Card Boy
  6. Brick Boy
  7. Hand Holders
  8. Big Chief
  9. Nice Bunny
  10. Grumm

Some on this list also can be found on this site

So thanx for the nice top 10 spot!