Blender with Sverchok Plugin
One way of doing parametric design is by using Blender with a plugin called Sverchok. Sverchok adds parametric modelling capabilities to Blender, thus making it more versatile in its possibilities. The combination of Blender/Sverchok is the open source alternative to Rhino/Grasshopper.
- Download Blender for free here: www.blender.org
- Download Sverchok for free here: http://nikitron.cc.ua/sverchok_en.html
Blender
Blender is a 3D-modelling programme that is perfect for designing organic forms without exact measurements. It is often used in animation, simulation, game creation, etc. Although at first glance this software does not seem to be appropriate for our purposes, it can become an asset with the use of the plugin Sverchok. Blender itself has quite a steep learning curve. However, tutorials on the basics and more advanced features of Blender abound, for example on the Blender website (www.blender.org) or on YouTube, for example.
Sverchok
Sverchok is an algorithmic modelling plugin which allows for parametric modelling in Blender with node interface. By using the Sverchok plugin, the user can bypass the Blender interface. Knowledge of the Blender user interface beyond the basics is thus not necessary to be able to use Sverchok and start creating parametric designs. Unfortunately, most of the Sverchok documentation is in Russian, but we hope that more and more will become available in English. Information on how to get started can be found here: http://nikitron.cc.ua/sverchok_en.html