Experiments→Growth Type

Growth Type

Organic simulation, Cinema 4D, X-Particles

Year2024
Category
materialmotion
Tools
Cinema 4DX-ParticlesRedshiftAfter Effects

Growth Type is an organic 3D alphabet: the glyph as colony. An X-Particles simulation is born inside the letter and expands into a dense nodular mass — iridescent copper shifting to purple — that preserves the character's structure as scaffolding while the surface develops its own logic. Made with Cinema 4D, X-Particles and Redshift: four videos of the letter F and 36 characters, A to Z and 0 to 9.

Visuals

F
A — Z
Character A from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character B from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character C from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character D from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character E from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character F from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character G from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character H from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character I from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character J from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character K from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character L from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character M from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character N from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character O from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character P from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character Q from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character R from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character S from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character T from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character U from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character V from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character W from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character X from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character Y from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character Z from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
0 — 9
Character 0 from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character 1 from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character 2 from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character 3 from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character 4 from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character 5 from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character 6 from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character 7 from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character 8 from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background
Character 9 from Growth Type: a 3D letter of iridescent copper with nodular texture, born from an X-Particles simulation, on a black background

Experiment

01
Level —FormalProceduralMotional· Non-reactive process — Free exploration

Formal reference

Futura Book, capitals and digits: Paul Renner's geometric typeface (1927), with simple geometric forms, as the scaffold for colonisation.

Concept

The letter as colonisation substrate. The simulation does not flow over the glyph — it inhabits it. X-Particles generates a dense gas that is born from the text itself, saturates its volume and, meshed with OpenVDB, forms an isosurface with nodular texture. The material — iridescent copper shifting to purple — amplifies the ambiguity between mineral and organic. The letter disappears as silhouette and reappears as internal structure. It is a free exploration: the question is not closed in advance, it takes shape as the simulation shows what it does. Patina Type, its opposite, takes growth to the limit of legibility.

System

The text, set in Futura Book, is the source of a gas simulation (Explosia FX) in X-Particles. The gas is born inside the character and expands within its volume; the OpenVDB mesher turns it into a dense isosurface. The material combines copper metallic reflection with iridescent purple tones. Post-production in After Effects works across simulation planes: macro, detail and full frame.

Process

Text in Futura Book → source polygon → Explosia FX simulation in X-Particles with cache → mesh with OpenVDB Mesher (isosurface) → iridescent copper material in Redshift → studio lighting → variation export → post-production in After Effects.

Constants

—The glyph is the source — the simulation is born from its interior
—A single base typeface: Futura Book
—Isosurface: constant threshold for uniform density
—Material: iridescent copper, no variations between clips
—Black background — the object exists as luminous mass
—Capture: frame 30 of the simulation for all characters (exception: G, frame 27)

Variables

—The letter: each character's structural scaffold conditions the resulting nodular distribution across all 36 characters (A–Z and 0–9)
—The framing: the full letter F, as colonised volume
—Macro — nodular surface with no typographic reference
—Iridescent detail — texture and material as protagonists
—Not explored: variable colonisation density within the same volume — the threshold stayed constant

Output

Specimen A–Z, 0–9 (36 individual renders, square 1920 × 1920 with alpha channel) and 4 video clips of the letter F (vertical 1080 × 1920).

Related

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