Archive notice: This article was originally published on December 10, 2014. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The point cloud can be controlled by hand drawing with a pen tablet based on the height of the individual points in an image. It is even intended to be possible to control the movement of the points in the cloud as in a stop-motion film if the user wishes.
Sparta has an integrated asset store from which point clouds can be downloaded. The point cloud is exported as a cache file, allowing a mesh to be sent to other tools. According to developer Lyouta Koduka, the app can connect to twelve CG software packages, including Maya, 3ds Max, Modo, and Nuke.
Rev.41 has now been released, containing the proxy feature for point clouds from 3D scanners, so that the app is intended to be able to process point clouds containing up to 20 million points. With this feature, Koduka responded to requests from users who want to work with high resolutions such as those from a LIDAR scanner.
Handling 20 Million Point Cloud (For Modeling Artist) from sparta on Vimeo.
In addition, another 19 functions were added and 11 bugs fixed in the new release.
In this video, Lyouta Koduka explains how Sparta can also be used to create fine CG fluids:
Creating Thin Water Film from sparta on Vimeo.
Sparta can be tested free of charge; the basic version of the tool costs 500 US dollars per year, while the version with "Priority Technical Support" is available for 2,000 US dollars per year.
Here is all further information about Sparta.
If you would like to learn more about point clouds with LIDAR scanners and the like, you can take a look at DP issue 07/14, which focuses on this subject.
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