Boo version 0.9.8 beta
Copyright 1998 by Levente Levai & Attila Mezei

What is Boo?

Boo is an image morphing and texture generating tool. It lets you stretch your image onto a virtual matter (presently rubber and clay are supported) and lets you deform the matter. Of course the deformation is rendered to the image. Currently the following deformation tools are available:


Using Boo

The main application is pretty straightforwad to use. In the File menu you can save/load a Boo document, create a new one, or import/export an image.

In the top right part of the document window you find the brush editor. Brushes are used to describe the decay of the effect of Rubber tools. By clicking the pencil icon you can select from different editing modes. If your brush is too edgy, smooth it by clicking on the hammer icon. You can save and load your brushes by clicking on the arrow icons.

In the bottom right part of the document window you find the tools palette. Rubber tools are represented by red buttons whereas clay tools by purple ones. Clicking on a button activates the tool. Note that tools know which layer of the matter they modify, so e.g. clicking on Ellipsoid after Translate was selected acivates the clay layer. This means of course that clay must be rendered and this takes some time (during rendering the mouse cursor turns to a ghost). On the right side of clay tool buttons you will find another button. Clicking this button invokes the editor of the tool. In the editor you can set the parameters of the tool. The new settings immediately take effect.

The left part of the document window is occupied by the (rendered) image. Pressing and holding down the left mouse button and the Option key zooms both layers and the image, too. If the image is larger, you can scroll it by pressing Control and dragging the image with the left button. If a clay tool is selected left mouse button plus Shift sets the direction of the light. Note that if the direction of the light changes, the clay layer must be rendered and this takes some time, especially with large images.

Using Rubber Tools

Translate
Similar to Move but results in a more even displacement. Works just like Move.
Twirl
You can twirl the rubber with this tool. Left click selects the center of the twirl, holding down the left mouse button and circling with the mouse pointer around the center sets the angle. Again, results depend greatly on what brush you are using.
UnBoo
Use this tool to undo changes to the rubber layer. Left click on the image and while holding down the left mouse button move the pointer around the area to be UnBoo-ed. Use a smooth brush to partially UnBoo an area.
Zoom
Use this tool to zoom a part of the image. Works the same way as Twirl.

Using Clay Tools

Ellipsoid
Ellipsoid lets you form an ellipsoid surface on the clay layer. In the editor you can set the parameters of the ellipsoid. By holding down the left mouse button you can rotate the ellipsoid around the vertical axis. Dragging a red spot modifies the corresponding axis.
Noise
Noise adds random noise to the clay layer.
Paint
Paint allows you to paint the clay layer using the current brush setting and writing mode.
Scalene
Scalene lets you form a (truncated) scalene on the clay layer. In the editor you can set the parameters of the scalene. By holding down the left mouse button you can rotate the scalene around the vertical axis. Dragging a red spot moves the corresponding vertex. Shift click adds a vertex, Command click removes a vertex (if possible). Clicking on the central spot and dragging the mouse pointer sets the height/depth of the scalene. The same process with Shift hold down sets the ratio of truncation.
Texture
This add-on generates various (random) textures on the clay layer.


Installation

Unzip Boo0.98.zip in any directory. Doubleclick on 'Boo' to start the application.


System Requirements

Hardware

Boo is best run on a fast machine with at least 32M RAM although it also works on a BeBox 2x66Mhz albeit quite slowly. Select a 32-bit video mode before running Boo.

Software

The Translation Kit is used for importing and exporting image files.


Known Bugs and Limitations

This is an early beta version, so the loading/saving routines and file formats are not finalized, therefore save is disabled. However image exporting works. As a demo restriction you can load only those image files which are in the distribution.


Contact Info

Please send bug reports, feature requests, etc to one of the authors:

Maths Wizard, Boo Add-ons:

Application, User Interface, Boo Add-ons:

Have fun!