Question: How can I simulate a natural looking tree?

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enio.san
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Joined: 06 May 2012, 03:54

Question: How can I simulate a natural looking tree?

Post by enio.san » 06 May 2012, 15:46

Hi everyone!

I have modeled this tree (attached). And I was trying to find a way to have it simulated, just like Maya's Paint Effects does (very naturally) with its trees, with wind forces, turbulence, etc.

Is there any way you guys would recommend to make look like that?
For any help, many thanks!!

e.
Attachments
xsi_tree.jpg

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Hirazi Blue
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Joined: 04 Jun 2009, 12:15

Re: Question: How can I simulate a natural looking tree?

Post by Hirazi Blue » 06 May 2012, 20:27

I'm hardly an expert, but I did a quick internet search and I think your best bet is creating a totally new tree from scratch using the free and/or commercial version of T-Gen 2, as it offers its own set of built-in animation/dynamics features.
Taking an existing tree and adding simulation/animation to its branches would involve much work, I'm afraid & hardly anyone mentions how it should be done on the different forums...
Sorry ;)
Stay safe, sane & healthy!

Chris_TC
Posts: 411
Joined: 22 Mar 2010, 17:43

Re: Question: How can I simulate a natural looking tree?

Post by Chris_TC » 07 May 2012, 18:18

Hirazi Blue wrote:Taking an existing tree and adding simulation/animation to its branches would involve much work, I'm afraid & hardly anyone mentions how it should be done on the different forums...
Nvidia has tons and tons of cool articles. This is how procedural tree animation is done in Crysis:
http://http.developer.nvidia.com/GPUGem ... _ch16.html

This kind of stuff should translate well into ICE.
Last week I made a premodeled grass field (geometry blades, imported as obj) move surprisingly believably, just by using a turbulize node and fading out its strength along the Y axis. A tree is more involved of course.

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ace63
Posts: 176
Joined: 07 Jun 2009, 12:30

Re: Question: How can I simulate a natural looking tree?

Post by ace63 » 13 May 2012, 18:01

Just a note: Although T-Gen is a great tool for creating trees, the dynamics features are just deformers, they can not be animated properly other than animating the strength of the deformation itself.
So no believable spring effects etc..

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