Tree Generator Plugin

[dbritton]

dbritton,Mar 19 2004, 02:15 PM]Here's my second attempt at a tree with Marcel's great new plugin.  I had to use render lock mode to render though.  v11 Beta 3 "goes away" when I try to do a final render.  That also happened with my first tree attempt.  There, however, I couldn't even get a render with render lock.

 

Re: my earlier post concerning Beta 3's inability to render my first two attempts to use hair with Marcel's tree plugin: I wanted let everyone know that v11 Beta 4 renders those projects just fine.

 

 

Dave

[mtpeak2]

Is anyone have problems with treeez plug-in in beta4? AM shuts down to desktop after using wizard.

[ZPiDER]

Is anyone have problems with treeez plug-in in beta4? AM shuts down to desktop after using wizard.

yup, happens to me too ..

i'll ask hash about it ..

[mtpeak2]

Is anyone have problems with treeez plug-in in beta4? AM shuts down to desktop after using wizard.

yup, happens to me too ..

i'll ask hash about it ..

Thanks Marcel.

[Srmjr]

Here is an OS X Beta version of the TreeeZ plugin for those that want to give it a shot. You will need Beta 3+ to use it. And I haven't debugged why yet, but it causes A:M to crash on exit. Oh well, you were quitting anyway right? Between Marcel and I, one of us will have this fixed by the next release.

Greg, it looks like you are going to have to Beta test after all...

Unzip it into your HXT folder.

Have fun, 

Randy

 

*sigh* well here's another reason why I'm gonna have to get Panther.

 

Sterling

[gra4mac]

Looks like the treez are slowing down a bit. I was hoping some of the Mac users would show some stuff, but so far nothing. Personally, as a Mac user who really wanted to play with treez, I was hoping to get the treez plugin for V 10.5 not the OSX version. Fussy. The thing is, the OSX version is really slow on my machine and the interface flickers generally making it a pain to work with. Randy, if you are there, I'd get down on my kneez and eat all my peez if we could pleez get treez for the OS 9.2 version?

[JTalbotski]

I tried to use the treez plugin with the OSX beta, but the beta has some issues and none of the plugins will load into A:M. Otherwise I would have posted something.

 

Jim

[JohnArtbox]

http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?act=A...e=post&id=24474

Rendered in Beta 1....tomorrow...when I can think straight...I'll work out the lighting saturation

Thanks to Jim Talbot for the Jane character on the CD which I modified

[JTalbotski]

Very nice! The trees look great with your architectural model and Jane.

 

Jim

[dbritton]

http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?act=A...e=post&id=24474

Rendered in Beta 1....tomorrow...when I can think straight...I'll work out the lighting saturation

Thanks to Jim Talbot for the Jane character on the CD which I modified

As usual, great stuff John.

[Dude/Georg]

A little WIP of a scene I'm working on:

 

I love this plugin and I love the new hair.

 

Perhaps it will be a cool pic in some days...

[gschumsky]

Greg, it looks like you are going to have to Beta test after all...

 

Have fun,

Randy

You know I just found out about it today...wahhh!!! Been busy trying to put together a video game company.

 

Okay, time to spend a little "quiet time" tonight with my Mac and treez.

 

Thanks Randy!!

 

(Hopefully I'll get better results than the other guys).

[gschumsky]

Okay I seem to be missing something here. (Treez for OSX)

 

Made a base spline.

Made non rendering splines for end points, and one that is a grid.

Make a new action (cuz I can't get any wizards to work in the modeling window).

control click in the action window, select treez, it thinks, and then crashes AM.

 

Anyone know what I'm doing wrong (mac guys??)

[JTalbotski]

Hi Greg,

 

You should download the project file that Marcel posted. It has the correct groups and group names already created that allows the plugin to work. As of right now, you can't just create the tree without the correct groups and names already in the model file.

 

You can delete the target shapes and create new ones to create different looking trees.

 

I got a nice looking tree with delicate looking end branches that I like. I will post a pic soon, but can't get hair to render with any version of A:M right now. Grrrrr.

 

Jim

[JTalbotski]

Got a render, yeah!

 

Here's an attempt at a willow tree. Great plugin, Marcel! And thanks for porting it over, Randy!

 

Jim

[JTalbotski]

And here's a render of the tree without any foliage.

 

Jim

[Zaryin]

Hey Jim, are you using that cone from the project file for the target groups? Or are you creating your own?

[JTalbotski]

No, I deleted the target patches and added my own. Here's a capture of the target I created. It's just a lathed spline that makes a dome shape. Then I dragged random cp's around to add variation and get rid of any symetry. Then I ran the treeez plugin.

 

Jim

[gschumsky]

And here's a render of the tree without any foliage.

 

Jim

What did you use for the texture on the tree?

[gschumsky]

Hi Greg,

 

You should download the project file that Marcel posted. It has the correct groups and group names already created that allows the plugin to work. As of right now, you can't just create the tree without the correct groups and names already in the model file.

 

You can delete the target shapes and create new ones to create different looking trees.

 

I got a nice looking tree with delicate looking end branches that I like. I will post a pic soon, but can't get hair to render with any version of A:M right now. Grrrrr.

 

Jim

Okay, I have the project. So, I'm guessing after deleting Marcel's base and target, all I have to do is add a new base, assign it to the group named "base" in the pws, and just leave the rest alone, correct?

 

Also, once the model is made in the action window, can I save that as a completed model, or do I just drag the tree model into the chor and add the action (so if I have a number of trees, I have to do this for each one..)?

Thanks.

[gschumsky]

No, I deleted the target patches and added my own. Here's a capture of the target I created. It's just a lathed spline that makes a dome shape. Then I dragged random cp's around to add variation and get rid of any symetry. Then I ran the treeez plugin.

 

Jim

One last stupid question:

 

How do I get it to render so the targets (and patches) don't render?

[ZPiDER]

Okay, I have the project. So, I'm guessing after deleting Marcel's base and target, all I have to do is add a new base, assign it to the group named "base" in the pws, and just leave the rest alone, correct?

 

Also, once the model is made in the action window, can I save that as a completed model, or do I just drag the tree model into the chor and add the action (so if I have a number of trees, I have to do this for each one..)?

yes. but if you delete the old "base", the groups "level0" through "level20" will be empty. this means, that no new cps can be added by the plugin (this is being fixed in a:m - thanks dan!).

so if you want the plugin to assign the cps to the levels (to be easily able to assign hair), you'll have to add cps of the base to each level you want filled. selecting one cp is sufficient (have a look at my example project to see how i did it .. difficult to explain (for me) but actually very simple ..)

 

the model is actually created in the MODEL. the action is just used to get the curve controls (and soon the target surface animation).

so you can just select your tree, copy it and insert it into a new model in your desired project.

[ZPiDER]

No, I deleted the target patches and added my own. Here's a capture of the target I created. It's just a lathed spline that makes a dome shape. Then I dragged random cp's around to add variation and get rid of any symetry. Then I ran the treeez plugin.

 

Jim

One last stupid question:

 

How do I get it to render so the targets (and patches) don't render?

1: dont use4 patches for the "target". splines are enough, you can just draw a freehand spiral object and get great results. this spline of course wont render

 

2: delete the target surface after tree generation (OR: copy only the tree object into a your desired project)

 

3: give the target surface transparency and/or a leaf texture if you are after that kind of look.

[JTalbotski]

And here's a render of the tree without any foliage.

 

Jim

What did you use for the texture on the tree?

I just used a group color and added some roughness to it.

 

To keep the target patches from rendering, I just selected a spline of the target patches, hit "/" to select all connected, hit the period key to select the compliment, and copied that and pasted into a new model. I found that trying to select the target group and deleting it also deleted some of the tree itself, so copying it to a new file was safer.

 

Jim

[gschumsky]

Okay, I have the project. So, I'm guessing after deleting Marcel's base and target, all I have to do is add a new base, assign it to the group named "base" in the pws, and just leave the rest alone, correct?

 

Also, once the model is made in the action window, can I save that as a completed model, or do I just drag the tree model into the chor and add the action (so if I have a number of trees, I have to do this for each one..)?

yes. but if you delete the old "base", the groups "level0" through "level20" will be empty. this means, that no new cps can be added by the plugin (this is being fixed in a:m - thanks dan!).

so if you want the plugin to assign the cps to the levels (to be easily able to assign hair), you'll have to add cps of the base to each level you want filled. selecting one cp is sufficient (have a look at my example project to see how i did it .. difficult to explain (for me) but actually very simple ..)

 

the model is actually created in the MODEL. the action is just used to get the curve controls (and soon the target surface animation).

so you can just select your tree, copy it and insert it into a new model in your desired project.

Aha!

 

That's why I saw just the one CP light up when I clicked on the different levels in the PWS...makes sense now.

 

Question: What happens if you add more or delete levels? Will the treeZ generate more or less branches (yes I know it does this based on target CP's, but what will happen otherwise)?

 

 

And, thanks for the info on the model. Simple and should have thought of that, but being at my current day job (until we get the game studio off the ground) and using an old Dell drains any creativity from me...no matter how simple something is.

 

Can't wait to get home and try this on my Mac!!

[ZPiDER]

Question: What happens if you add more or delete levels? Will the treeZ generate more or less branches (yes I know it does this based on target CP's, but what will happen otherwise)?

no the groups are just used for grouping.

no groups will give the same results.

of course you could select the group AFTER growing the tree and delete it to get rid of a level.

but keep in mind, that on unbalanced trees this might not work as expected, because:

 

an extremely imbalanced tree:

 

tree:

 

1

|/ 2

|/ 3

|/ 4

|

 

in this case the whole tree (except the base group) will be part of level0 because all cps are somehow part of a level0 group and a:m can of course not distinguish which branch ins actually meant.

 

the branches actually meant are these:

 

1

|/ 2

/ 3

/ 4

 

the others are just guilty by association.

 

so applying a hair material will actually let it grow along the whole tree.

a simple solution to this problem would be a modification of the plugin to add an additional spline ring for each main branch. that way unsuspecting intermediate branches wont be caught (if anyone would like this, it would be easy).

 

the other way to work around it will soon be available:

the tree will automatically have a decal applied that can e.g. control hair density along its lenghth.

[gschumsky]

Question: What happens if you add more or delete levels? Will the treeZ generate more or less branches (yes I know it does this based on target CP's, but what will happen otherwise)?

no the groups are just used for grouping.

no groups will give the same results.

of course you could select the group AFTER growing the tree and delete it to get rid of a level.

but keep in mind, that on unbalanced trees this might not work as expected

 

 

so applying a hair material will actually let it grow along the whole tree.

a simple solution to this problem would be a modification of the plugin to add an additional spline ring for each main branch. that way unsuspecting intermediate branches wont be caught (if anyone would like this, it would be easy).

 

the other way to work around it will soon be available:

the tree will automatically have a decal applied that can e.g. control hair density along its lenghth.

Well, the funny thing is if I take your project in AM beta for OSX, it works without modifying anything. If I create a new project, add splines for the base and then the branch targets, and call the base "base", without the group levels, it crashes (but then OSX beta is just that). I should try it out on my crappy PC (yes, it is just crappy, not because it's a PC, although... ) and see what happens.

 

The extra spline sounds like an interesting idea.

 

Wow, the decal for density sounds cool too. Would be nice if it could be a randomly generated one.

[JohnArtbox]

Just another TreeZ pic.

[KenH]

If you squint while looking throught the magnifying glass, it looks like a photo! Nice.

[Zaryin]

Hey Jim, I found that if you select the target patches, then move them away from the tree, then group select with the cursor you can delete it without deleting any of the tree.

[JohnArtbox]

Thanks Ken

Zaryin: I just name the target group foliage, then after I've run the TreeZ plugin I select the group and hit delete.

[Guest Rogelio Guzman]

Hello everyone,

 

Here is my second attempt with the plugin. I used the the hair material for the leaves and the apples, unfortunately the apples become very flat when I render to final.

[Guest Rogelio Guzman]

here is the image sorry it did not attach

[Guest Rogelio Guzman]

I tried to do some long bushes, what do you think.

 

Thanks

Rogelio

[KenH]

Looking good! There really should be a challange set up to see who can make the best of different types of trees. They'd look good in the Library of the CD.

[ZPiDER]

Looking good! There really should be a challange set up to see who can make the best of different types of trees. They'd look good in the Library of the CD.

yes why not, everybody likes trees.

oh yeah: be sure to save your target surfaces and curves somewhere (like in myproject_beforetreeez.prj). generating again with the next version of treeez will give you some nice additinal things.

and probably even some restrictions may fall (e.g. groups wont need to be predefined and contain a cp to be filled properly anymore).

cheers to dan!

[Rodney]

Is it just my imagination or does the Treeez plugin create trees instantaneously in Beta 5 whereas it took a little longer in earlier versions (v10.5, early Betas).?

[Rodney]

Marcel,

 

I've been wanting to see a Challenge issued in the Forum for quite some time. The trees would be a great beginning!

Can we start a new Challenge topic though... it might get lost here at the end of this 6000+ views, 100+ posts extravaganza!

 

*I'd be glad to set up and issue the Challenge, pending confirmation (with challenge specific criteria) from you.

[gra4mac]

I finally got my first tree made. BTW, Marcel the pluing is great. It has been an interesting ride. I finally got a PC, so I used the PC version in V 10.5,. I've given up on A:M on the Mac. However, I wanted to use v 11 hair and I only have the Mac alpha 8. Also, PS elements doesn't do alpha channels, so I got GIMP on the PC to make the leaf hair. It's not a great tree, but I learned a lot about working in Windows and how to transfer files between Macs and PCs; the best way is to get a USB flash drive.

[mtpeak2]

Marcel's plug-in can even create characters too.

[Rodney]

I recon'd the link... All clear... It's okay to go into the link guys!

Cute!

 

*Had me worried for a moment there though...

[gschumsky]

Also, PS elements doesn't do alpha channels

Actually, I just read somewhere that PS Elements 2 could do alpha channels...

[zebulon]

I just read somewhere that PS Elements 2 could do alpha channels

 

I don't think so but will be interested if it does.

[ZPiDER]

*I'd be glad to set up and issue the Challenge, pending confirmation (with challenge specific criteria) from you.

i'd say you wait with the challenge til i 've included the automatic decaling, maybe also the target animation. trees will be even cooler then

[Rodney]

Will stand by.... awaiting futher orders.

[ZPiDER]

Will stand by.... awaiting futher orders.

get working on salami fever!

[Rodney]

get working on salami fever!

 

A three day break is coming up. I hope to get caught up on everything... (yeah, right)

 

As for Salami Fever... You're wish was/and remains my command.

My brainwashed mind does not remember specifics... for instance... I do not remember any requirements for trees...

 

I'll contact you off-forum at the precise time you surely must have instructed me to contact you.

[zacktaich]

I don't think so but will be interested if it does.

 

Prepare to be interested! All you have to do (in PS elements 2.0 at least) is go to select>load selection then choose Alpha 1. I used to be an elements zealot. Then I finally gathered up the cash and bought photoshop, it was worth it. But you'd be surprised how much you can get for just 99 bucks.

 

Maybe someday I'll make a minitutes that tells you how to do common photoshop things easily in photoshop elements.

 

Zachary Taich

[Rodney]

Guys,

 

We are straying a bit from the topic of trees perhaps but it might be good to note that IRFANVIEW can run many of the available plugins made for photoshop, perhaps all of the free plugins. Some of the latest and those designed spefically for photoshop it will not support of course.

 

With a little enginuity it is not impossible to make leaves worthy of Marcel's plugin from even such simple freeware programs as irfanview. I'm sure there are a host of other programs available to get the job done.

 

So... who has another tree pic to post?

[ZPiDER]

yeah!

this is the first tree generated with a control decal.

i've set it to control the hair length, because v11 doesnt seem to have all properties implemented yet (density would work best for this).