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Cosmic Blobs 1.1 teaches kids 3D modeling on PCs and Macs

When did you first learn how to model in 3D? Was it your first job after college? During college? In elementary school? Cosmic Blobs, creativity software developed by SolidWorks Corporation, is giving kids ages 7 to 14 an early introduction to the world of 3D modeling and animation. This summer, SolidWorks Corporation released the Cosmic Blobs Lab Rat Edition, version 1.1, which works not only on the PC, but also on the Mac.

“We wanted to include Mac users because so many kids use Macs at home and in school,” says Scott Harris, cofounder of SolidWorks Corporation and the “blob” mastermind. “Cosmic Blobs falls right in line with the Apple philosophy, and the program’s graphical interface lends itself nicely to the Mac operating system.”

Virtual Clay

The Cosmic Blobs interface speaks for itself. Instead of words or menu items, you’ll discover plenty of sound effects and colorful icons.

Cosmic Blobs works like virtual clay. You start with a primitive lump of material, like a cone, ball, or cube. Then you squeeze, pinch, and stretch it, combining it with other shapes to create a cartoon character called a “blob.” Once a head takes shape, you can continue the creation with a mouth, ears, eyes, and anything else imaginable and then decorate it with colorful decals and scenery. You can even create your own 3D movies by animating your character so that it drives, walks, slithers, or wags its tail.

The self-explanatory Cosmic Blobs interface resembles a chemistry lab with test tubes and beakers bubbling over. There are no menu items or words, but plenty of colorful graphics and sound effects help kids find their way around. If you need additional instructions, you’ll find several tutorial movies and a Help Center in the Getting Started section at the Cosmic Blobs website.

“It’s really fun,” says Lucy Fandel, 12, of Massachusetts. “It’s different because it lets me use my imagination. You can make aliens, people, and animals, and you can change things around, like you can make a turtle with ears.”

3D for Everyone, Even Kids
But why a graphics program for kids? “Dassault Systèmes takes its ‘3D for everyone’ initiative very seriously,” explains Harris. “Cosmic Blobs is the first and only 3D graphics program ever made just for kids. When kids become comfortable with expressing their ideas in 3D, that’s a very good thing for SolidWorks.”

Cosmic Blobs version 1.1 lets you animate characters and save animations as AVI files to share with your friends.

There is no doubt that Cosmic Blobs stimulates young minds. In fact, the process that kids go through in designing a blob parallels the design process of an engineer, including design studies and iterations.

“Design is a matter of figuring out what you want and don’t want as you go along,” says Harris.

Although made for fun, the inner workings of Cosmic Blobs are anything but simple. Cosmic Blobs is a testing ground for a sophisticated new patent-pending surfacing technology. The difference between creating complex shapes in SolidWorks® and in Cosmic Blobs software is explained this way: In SolidWorks, you create a shape like a boomerang by using features such as Loft and Sweep, sketching a 2D profile and sweeping it outward along a trajectory path. In Cosmic Blobs, you create a similar design by starting with a primitive shape, and then stretching or bending it using the shape modeling tools. The Cosmic Blobs design process is more interactive, as if you were modeling from clay.

What’s new in version 1.1

A free expansion pack that comes with Cosmic Blobs version 1.1, “Critter Chaos” includes animal-themed models, textures, decals, animations, and background options.

The original Cosmic Blobs Lab Rat Edition, version 1.0 was released for Windows® in 2004. Cosmic Blobs Lab Rat Edition, version 1.1 offers new decals and textures for decorating the blob, new tutorials, and the ability to save animation files. Starting with Cosmic Blobs 1.1, SolidWorks Corporation is introducing themed expansion packs, which will be available on a regular basis. The first such expansion pack, “Critter Chaos,” is free with version 1.1 and includes animal-themed models, textures, decals, animations, and background options.

Cosmic Blobs 1.1 for Mac runs on Mac OS X versions 10.3 “Panther” and 10.4 “Tiger.” You can purchase the software through www.cosmicblobs.com or Amazon.com. The program sells for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $44.99 USD.

For more information on Cosmic Blobs or to download a free five-day trial, visit www.cosmicblobs.com.