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GRIDCORE

GRIDCORE is a procedural design plugin for Cinema 4D, focused on layout generation and real-time art direction.
Built for motion designers, concept artists, and art directors.
More than a geometry generator, it transforms simple geometry into expressive procedural design language.

GridCore is built to explore, validate, and refine.

Throughout the creative process, designers are constantly exposed to visual noise.
Geometry, lighting, textures, existing design language, and countless visual decisions all compete for attention. Our eyes naturally become drawn to these details, making it increasingly difficult to judge the underlying composition.
Visual noise is not the enemy of design, it simply arrives too early. Before a design language has been proven, excessive visual information can distract us from the qualities that matter most: composition, hierarchy, rhythm, proportion, balance, and negative space.

GridCore removes that noise temporarily, allowing designers to explore ideas in their purest form.
If a composition is compelling when built entirely from simple boxes, its design language is fundamentally strong.
Only then should those cells evolve into production assets.
The goal is not to remove visual noise forever. It is to create a moment where design language can be evaluated on its own.  
A layout should stand on its own before anything else is added. Everything that follows is the reward for proving that the layout works.

Current Capabilities

  • Advanced Procedural Grid Generation
    Generate highly varied, non-uniform grid layouts inspired by architectural subdivision. Control iterations, spacing, aspect ratio, layout complexity, and subdivision styles while maintaining a clean procedural workflow.

  • Real-Time Art Direction Workflow
    Every parameter updates interactively inside Cinema 4D, allowing rapid exploration and refinement without destructive modeling.

  • Adaptive Height Architecture
    Generate layered compositions through procedural height generation with Hero structures, Height Variation, independent random seeds, and controllable visual hierarchy.

  • Procedural Taper System 
    Shape layouts through two procedural taper workflows. 

Preserve - maintains the original architectural language by reducing height while preserving every Design Cell.

Erode  - introduces selective procedural erosion, allowing Design Cells to gradually disappear only after their remaining height has been fully consumed.

  • Art-Directable Erosion Controls
    Coverage and Bias provide predictable control over procedural erosion. Both controls are available only in Erode mode, keeping the interface focused and context-aware.

  • Intelligent Top Cap Preservation
    Top surfaces are procedurally preserved or removed based on the final erosion result, allowing layouts to transition naturally between solid structures and fully eroded forms.

  • Procedural Bevel System
    Apply non-destructive bevels with adjustable width, segments, adaptive scaling, Hero influence, randomization, and multiple bevel profiles while maintaining procedural editability

  • Design-Driven Default Layouts
    Carefully tuned subdivision algorithms generate visually balanced layouts immediately, reducing the need for excessive parameter tweaking before achieving production-ready results.

  • Stable Animation Workflow
    Slider animation, procedural noise, and animated parameters remain stable throughout the procedural pipeline without breaking topology.​​

  • Non-Destructive Procedural Workflow
    Every stage of the layout remains fully editable. Height, taper, bevel, subdivision, and overall composition can all be modified without committing geometry.

  • Built for Visual Development & Motion Design
    Designed specifically for concept artists, motion designers, and art directors to validate design language before introducing production assets. Every composition is first evaluated using minimal Design Cells, allowing designers to focus on composition, hierarchy, rhythm, balance, and spatial language before visual complexity is introduced.

Current Stable Version

GridCore 1.0.15 — Height Architecture

New Features

  • Height System V2

    • Rebuilt procedural height generation with improved distribution and stronger visual hierarchy.

    • Increased Random Height range to create more dramatic architectural variation.

  • Hero Height System

    • Introduced Hero Height controls for creating dominant landmark structures within procedural layouts.

    • Supports procedural hero distribution without manual editing.

  • Height Seed

    • Added an independent Height Seed, allowing height variations to be regenerated while preserving the underlying layout.

  • Vertical Taper

    • New procedural taper system that removes geometry progressively from the bottom upward.

    • Enables architectural towers, pillars, particle structures, and futuristic skyline silhouettes.

  • Taper Variation

    • Added per-block taper variation for more organic and less repetitive procedural structures.

  • Keep Top Cap

    • Preserves top surfaces while tapering, allowing panel-style and architectural workflows.

  • Improved Default Layout Generation

    • Restored Divider-inspired subdivision characteristics with stronger variation in cell sizes.

    • Improved procedural spacing and visual rhythm.

  • Iteration Improvements

    • Better subdivision behavior with more natural procedural layouts.

  • Animation Stability

    • Fixed geometry flickering during Slider X/Y and Noise animation.

    • Eliminated disappearing blocks and unstable topology updates.

  • Real-Time Procedural Workflow

    • All major parameters update interactively without rebuilding or baking geometry.

Changelog 

GridCore 1.0.17

Added

  • Refined Procedural Taper System

  • Improved Erode mathematical model

  • Coverage and Bias now control erosion strength instead of direct deletion

  • Smooth Coverage falloff

  • Taper Variation expanded to a 0–2 range

  • Dynamic UI for Erode-specific controls

  • Preserve mode remains fully backward compatible

Current Development
GridCore 1.0.18
The next development phase focuses on transforming GridCore from a procedural box generator into a true Design Cell framework.

  • Commit to Geometry

Single Mesh

Individual Objects

Instances

  • Primitive Design Cells

Box

Plane

​Cylinder

Sphere

...

  • Growth Direction

Upward

Downward

Bidirectional

  • Design Cell Framework expansion

  • Production-ready layout workflow

Long-term Roadmap

1.0.x

Core Geometry

  • Layout

  • Height

  • Style

  • Animation

  • Selection

  • Bake

1.1

Surface Language

  • Edge Damage

  • Surface Wear

  • Panel Details

  • Micro Surface Noise

  • Material ID Generation

1.2

Architectural System

  • Facades

  • Roof Profiles

  • Window Rhythm

  • Building Types

  • Terrace Generation

2.0

Motion Design Framework

  • Field Driven Generation

  • Audio Reactive Systems

  • MoGraph Integration

  • Camera Driven Effects

  • Advanced Procedural Animation

//RAYZORSTUFF//
3D ILLUSTRATION, STYLEFRAMES, COLOR GRADING AND MORE.

© 2020 RAY TIANYI TAN

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