Greeble

For the objects used in studies of object and facial recognition, see Greeble (psychology).

Greebles, also called greeblies (singular: greebly)^[1] or nurnies, are small relief details used to give visual complexity to a model. The act of decorating a model with greebles is known as greebling. While greebling originated as a technique in filmmaking, it is commonly used in model-making, toy design, and kitbashing.^[2][3]

A cube and its greebled version

The term "greeblies" was coined by George Lucas in the 1970s to describe details on model ships used in the production of Star Wars.^[1] Ron Thornton is credited with coining the term "nurnies" to refer to CGI technical detail that his company Foundation Imaging produced for the Babylon 5 series,^[2] while the model-making team of 2001: A Space Odyssey referred to them as "wiggets".^[4]

In science-fiction model design, greebles are used to imply mechanical function without necessarily having any real purpose. They may also serve to create an illusion of scale.^[5] In the production of Star Wars, many ship models began as simple shapes that were given visual complexity by attaching greebles taken from commercial model kits.^[3] Greebling is a common aspect of Lego model design.^[6][7]

Gallery

• 
  Greebles on a Lego spaceship model
• 
  A film model of the mother ship from Close Encounters of the Third Kind

See also

• Architecture of Star Wars
• Technology in Star Wars
• Bump mapping
• Diapering
• Fractal art
• Horror vacui