xfrog + after effects + shine plugin
I love xfrog, sure its really designed to make 3d trees for other 3d graphics applications, but I use it to do abstract doodling. I'm addicted to wireframe graphics. I think I get it from all those years of watching japanese animation - the early years. Stuff they made back in the late 70's and 80's in where in their special little anime scifi worlds they had to create various visualizations of the future, the bad guys, and grand plan.
Its funny though. Here's this application that can do soooo much and I skin it down to just basic wireframes. I do the same thing in Poser. I love the boxed robot look. Seems more authentic then to try to pull off the realistic feel that your brain never accepts cause its not real. Course animation is getting better these days so the mind is accepting more and more.
What I do is make an abstract 3d model in xfrog, then change its defining parameters over time. Then i save the image sequence out, import that sequence into after effects, apply a filter of my chosing and continue to alter the sequence until I stumble onto greatness.
From there I export out again to the avid, apply music, sync up the pieces i think go together sound and music wise and fashion a name for this "thing" and crank out a video.
xfrog is one of those tools that totally relaxes me, its weird, i guess its like a painter and his color or something, you just forget about anything else and roam the canvas and see what it can make for you.