CDL Examples
Ready-to-use CDL expressions for common gemstones, minerals, and crystal habits. Click any example to open it in the Playground.
Gemstones
Diamond
Classic octahedral habit
cubic[m3m]:{111}@1.0 Ruby/Sapphire
Hexagonal prism with pinacoid and rhombohedron
trigonal[-3m]:{10-10}@1.0 + {0001}@1.2 + {10-11}@0.8 Emerald
Beryl structure with prism and pinacoid
hexagonal[6/mmm]:{10-10}@1.0 + {0001}@1.5 Spinel
Octahedron modified by dodecahedron
cubic[m3m]:{111}@1.0 + {110}@1.5 Garnet
Rhombic dodecahedron with trapezohedron
cubic[m3m]:{110}@1.0 + {211}@1.2 Zircon
Tetragonal bipyramid with prism
tetragonal[4/mmm]:{110}@1.0 + {101}@0.9 + {100}@1.3 Topaz
Orthorhombic prism habit
orthorhombic[mmm]:{110}@1.0 + {120}@1.1 + {011}@0.9 Quartz Varieties
Alpha Quartz
Standard low quartz
trigonal[-3m]:{10-10}@1.0 + {10-11}@0.8 Dauphine Twin
Common quartz twin law
trigonal[-3m]:{10-10}@1.0 + {10-11}@0.8 twin:dauphine Japan Law Twin
Heart-shaped twin
trigonal[-3m]:{10-10}@1.0 + {10-11}@0.8 twin:japan_law Amethyst Scepter
Well-developed rhombohedra
trigonal[-3m]:{10-10}@1.0 + {10-11}@0.6 + {01-11}@0.7 Cubic System
Cube
Hexahedron - pyrite, galena, halite
cubic[m3m]:{100}@1.0 Octahedron
Diamond, magnetite, spinel
cubic[m3m]:{111}@1.0 Dodecahedron
Rhombic dodecahedron - garnet
cubic[m3m]:{110}@1.0 Cube-Octahedron
Truncated cube
cubic[m3m]:{100}@1.0 + {111}@1.2 Cubo-Octahedron
Equal development
cubic[m3m]:{100}@1.0 + {111}@1.0 Pyritohedron
Pentagonal dodecahedron
cubic[m3]:{210}@1.0 Hexagonal/Trigonal
Hex Prism
Basic hexagonal prism
hexagonal[6/mmm]:{10-10}@1.0 Hex Bipyramid
Pointed termination
hexagonal[6/mmm]:{10-11}@1.0 Beryl
Prism with pinacoid and bipyramid
hexagonal[6/mmm]:{10-10}@1.0 + {0001}@1.2 + {10-11}@1.5 Tourmaline
Hemimorphic prism
trigonal[3m]:{10-10}@1.0 + {10-11}@0.8 + {01-11}@0.9 + {0001}@1.3 Calcite Scalenohedron
"Dogtooth" calcite
trigonal[-3m]:{21-31}@1.0 Calcite Rhomb
Rhombohedral cleavage
trigonal[-3m]:{10-11}@1.0 Tetragonal
Building Your Own
Combine these patterns to create custom crystal morphologies:
# Start with a base form
cubic[m3m]:{111}@1.0
# Add a modifying form
cubic[m3m]:{111}@1.0 + {100}@1.3
# Adjust relative development
# Lower @distance = larger faces
cubic[m3m]:{111}@0.8 + {100}@1.5 # More octahedron
cubic[m3m]:{111}@1.5 + {100}@0.8 # More cubeTry These Examples
Open the CDL Playground to experiment with these expressions and customize them.
Open Playground