Create your own tools in Alias

Michael Guenther Michael Guenther September 21, 2020

1 min read

I’ve been a Dynamo enthusiast for years, so I’ve had the chance to learn the ins and outs of everything that Dynamo can do inside Alias. We know a number of our users might not have that experience and aren’t aware of the many ways Dynamo can make their work easier, better, stronger.

Because Dynamo is so strong with computational patterning, there’s a sense that that’s it, that’s all it does. Dynamo is so much more than that: you can write your own tools, create templates, and solve geometrical issues in Alias, among other advantages. I’m on a mission to share all that Dynamo is and offers, so you can optimize your work with this tool.

While Dynamo’s automation tools can reduce your time needed for patterns and such from weeks to hours, it also allows you to improve your daily modeling workflow, by allowing you to add tools adapted to your special needs.

Video series

Over the next weeks, I’ll be releasing a video series on Dynamo. We’ll start with an overview of Dynamo Player, which came with the Alias 2021.2 release. Dynamo Player allows you to create your own Alias tool windows, using Dynamo scripts in the background. You can use it for typical Dynamo workflows *and* many other areas such as SubD and NURBS creation and modification.

Another area we’ll cover is dealing with a common problem in pattern creation—applying that pattern in a natural way over several target surfaces. I’ve come up with a general approach to this issue, that should solve it in most scenarios. I’ll share it with you, as well as demonstrating how it works in several instances.

We’ll also feature specific problems or missing features in Alias—and how I solve them using Dynamo. These detailed videos will explore how to navigate common roadblocks, use different approaches, and make the most out of Dynamo’s unique features.

You can watch the first video here:

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