i hate modeling trees

[Master25]

ok i have been trying to find a way to make semi low poly trees so that i dont crash my computer when i want a huge forest. this is using tree cage plugin. anyone know of a better way to model low poly realistic trees.

[+++MART+++]

There was a small program generating trees but I can't put my hands on. I'll let you know when i find it.

[etyrihje]

I spent last night searching for the same, I need some low-poly-tree-like-plants for a garden myself... sadly I found nothing, will try to look again tonight, lets share what/if we find something.

[Gettarobox]

i take it you didn't get the Vue 5 LW bundle? It exports its trees at about any level of detail you need.

[MooseDog]

http://www.newtek-europe.com/uk/community/lightwave/tracey/3.html

At the bottom of this page you'll see a zip file you can d-load that contains some free low to mid poly trees.

To quote the author's technique "Perfect for background and midground forests. It uses pyramid-shaped clip-mapped polygons arranged in clumps around a simple trunk". Very cool technique and thx to a great artist!

[Gettarobox]

you could 1)make a couple of textures (png or tga) of branches with alphamaps
2) map each texture to a single polygon in modeler
3) make a simple trunk out of a cube using magic bevel
4) copy and move the single poly branches into place along the trunk (you can stretch and scale these to make it more random
5)texture the trunk

I think you could make a layer with a bunch of copies of the tree and then deform the whole layer with a procedural and make the whole wooded area less uniform.

:jam: :rock: it seems there's never just one way to do things in 3D.
:jam: :rock:

[kilvano]

Used the TreeCage plug in combined with Sasquatch. It also work with sasLite.

The TreeCage plugin takes a while to get used to but its really effective.

http://balo.com/tutortree01.shtml#

Each tree worked out about 6000 polys.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a292/kilvano/tree.jpg

[trentonia]

Dheck out this thread. Quick and easy trees. The mocel is available somewhere on the thread for download. http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38469&highlight=trees

[iggy21]

Id suggest making a standard trunk, then using a green blob and jitter it, then add a Clip map to it using Procedural, Veins... it workd best for me.

Its around 3500 polys, but you can go alot less and still look decent

http://show.imagehosting.us/show/1090830/0/nouser_1090/T0_-1_1090830.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/index.php?action=show&ident=1090830)

[Master25]

i got some thing that kinda works for trees that are not to close.
this is using tree cage and some of the images from Moosedog's link.

[hard8]

I had a hard time making realistic looking tree for an model I was building that required about 300 individual trees.

What I ended up doing was using alpha mapped photos of real trees and applying them to sprites. I then made them targeted to the camera so they always faced the camera when it moved. After that I made a copy of each sprite, made them invisible to the camera and targeted them to the main light source so they cast shadows.

They look abosolutely real and the camera is able to move through them without losing the illusion. I'll post a pic when I get back to the office.

[hard8]

sorry... kinda of a boring model. Industrial design is not the most exciting work but it pays well.

[iggy21]

Does the shadow technique work with multiple light sources? Like a street lamps?

[hard8]

it does, but you must make a sprite for evey light source. It can get real expensive if you are raytracing or using radiosity.

[Master25]

these trees are the trees from the link that trentonia gave.
they are rediculusly low poly and as long as u dont need to interact with them they are great.

the car is in there because this was the reason i started the thread in the first place.

[criodesign]

There was a small program generating trees but I can't put my hands on. I'll let you know when i find it.

I had a program called TreeFactory...Mc'nTreeFactory, or something similar.
It work very well, it really an old program but You can create a lot of different tree.
Bye

[Safe Harbor]

This is a plugin for LightWave that is REALLY easy to use and fast...

http://www.sharbor.com/products/DYNN0280003.html

[+++MART+++]

I'm coming back with the program: it is named Plant studio 2

http://www.kurtz-fernhout.com

Very good and easy to use.
Good luck

[badpineapple]

http://www.onyxtree.com/
OnyxTree makes incredible trees. It ain’t free, but you deffinitely get what you pay for.

[Gettarobox]

looks like the ground is too reflective on the last pic. trees are looking better though.