VRML is the Virtual Reality Modeling Language, a 3D graphics format and language. For more info, see my main VRML page.
Below are some VRML models that I (Jed) created (with revisions by others as noted). All of them are freely distributable.
(Last item added: 14 December 1998.)
Contents
Items on this page:
- 3D manipulator
- Initials block
- Bouncing ball
- Film-leader countdown
- Magritte’s non-pipe
- Juggling demo
- Rotating spotlight
- Möbius strip
- Metadata node
3D manipulator
A PROTO of a VRML 3D manipulator, originally created by me but thoroughly revised and fixed and turned into a PROTO by Vladimir Bulatov. This widget roughly mimics part of the behavior of the DynaBoxTM* manipulator in the Cosmo Worlds authoring tool.
To use the manipulator, drag one of the faces of the cube. The cube and the sphere inside it then move parallel to the cube face that you dragged.
The other two spheres in the scene don’t do anything; they’re only there to provide a scene through which to move the manipulator.
Preview image
Live demo
Initials block
A VRML rendition of a Douglas Hofstadter-style carved block of my initials: JEH.
Preview image
Live demo
Bouncing ball
A VRML bouncing ball, hand-coded in 1996, which I believe to have been the world’s first VRML bouncing ball. To start the ball moving, click it. As is traditional in animation, the ball stretches as it falls, and squishes as it hits the surface; then it bounces back up to its original position, where you can click it again.
This ball was later a partial inspiration for Sam Chen’s far superior “Boink.”
Preview image
Live demo
Film-leader countdown
A 3D version of the familiar film-leader countdown; created in under two hours from concept to completion, using Cosmo Worlds.
To start the countdown, click the ball.
Preview image
Live demo
Magritte’s non-pipe
A 3D version of Magritte’s painting “The Treachery of Images.” This doesn’t have any animation, but you can drag it to view it from different angles.
Preview image
Live demo
Juggling demo
A juggling demo; click the left-hand yellow button to start, then alternate sides, clicking the button with the color of the club resting above it. Not a robust I/O model (because this was done with no scripts!), but could be useful in learning the rhythm of juggling. If you get into weird states, just reload.
Preview image
Live demo
May be more visible in full-screen mode.
Rotating spotlight
A banner showing a rotating spotlight that highlights some text, created entirely in Cosmo Worlds. (Except that in 2023 I manually changed the starting camera position so it wouldn’t be so close to the text.)
Preview image
Live demo
Möbius strip
An attempt to create a Möbius strip using a VRML extrusion. The ends don’t join properly, but it’s an interesting experiment. I’m not certain whether I created this or not.
Preview image
Live demo
Metadata node
A straw-person prototype of a Metadata node, including a test. (Bring up the JavaScript console in your browser, and click the sphere; if “New title” appears in the console, everything’s working.) Created mostly in Cosmo Worlds. (No preview image because there’s nothing to see.)
Live demo
* DynaBox was probably a trademark and Cosmo was probably a registered trademark of Cosmo Software. Cosmo was originally part of SGI, then was sold to PLATINUM technology; then PLATINUM shut down Cosmo; then PLATINUM was bought by Computer Associates; then CA was bought by Broadcom. Does that make Broadcom the owner of these trademarks? Who knows. I’m pretty sure that nobody has used these trademarks since the late 1990s.
If you want to see a bunch of other nifty VRML models, take a look at Vladimir Bulatov’s website.