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Build Tree node

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MaximeHerpin edited this page Apr 6, 2018 · 5 revisions

The Build Tree node is the equivalent of the material output node in cycles. It take the resulting tree of all the nodes before, and creates a representation of it in the 3d view.

build tree

Parameters

visualisation

There are two possible values: Preview and Final.

Preview

preview

The preview mode builds the tree using curves, like the sapling addon.

Pros:

  • It is fast, So it is better to use the preview mode when tweaking the parameters of the tree.
  • The resolution can be changed after the tree is generated, inside the curve data panel of the properties window.

Cons:

  • The branches are not really connected, so the tree doesn't look good when it is near the camera.
  • The Tree is not unwrapped, and the auto-UV option inside the properties windows isn't so great.
  • The tree is not an object, so you can't edit the vertices, add a displace modifier, and there is no vertex data. *The resolution is the same for all branches, which is a waste of resources since the smaller branches don't need a high resolution.

Final

Final

The Final mode builds the tree as an object, connecting all the branches, and subdividing the branches according to their radius. The maximum number of subdivisions is controlled with the resolution_level parameter.

Pros:

  • The branches are connected, meaning that the tree looks good even in close-up, and the modifiers don't make seams !
  • The trunk and the big branches can be subdivided to any level without touching the smaller ones, keeping the vertex count reasonable.
  • The tree is unwrapped.
  • The tree can be sculpted, and it doesn't need dyntopo to look good so the vertex data is preserved.
  • The tree comes with a vertex group where the weight corresponds to the radius of the branches, which can be used within a displace modifier.

Cons

  • The generation is slower, which is why it's better to only chose Final once you are satisfied with the rest of the node tree.

Seed

The seed controls the pseudo-random list that the addon uses. Two different seed will result in two different trees.

Scale

Resizes the tree after its generation.

Armature

armature

An armature is created (but not applied as modifier).

There are two parameters controlling the armature creation.

  • min_armature_radius: All branches that have a greater radius than the parameter will host a bone.
  • min_length: If a branch has a shorter length, the bone covering it will span over one more branch.

Create_particle_emitter

Any decent tree deserves leafs or twigs, unfortunately the blender hair particle system isn't very friendly with python, and there is no practical way to change the hair directions with a script. The solution is to generate a particle emitter object and control the faces of this object and not the particles.

There are three parameters controlling the particle emitter.

  • max_radius: All branches that have a smaller radius than the parameter will be able to instantiate a particle.
  • particle_proba: Probability for each branch to instantiate a particle.
  • dupli_object: The twig or leaf object to instantiate. To create a twig, refer to this page.

Material

Choose the material to apply on the tree. To import the procedural bark materials, refer to this page.

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