Download Tree Maya Model
Dawn Summerville
depends on the kind of tree and on the tools you have at your fingertips. The tree below is a mixture of several techniques: polymodeling, procedural modeling (for example with Xfrog or GrowFX) and then particles or similar (I used Mograph from Cinema4D).
In case of a tree with simple outlines and if I dont get to close, this is sometimes already enough.
If you want to get closer, or if the outline of the real world leaves is complex, then you still can make use of opacity/alpha maps. In above example I used this mixture.
I can't just duplicate it because the script needs to generate the tree from scratch. Unfortunately, I cleared my history because it was messy, so I am looking for a way to generate the MEL code given just the geometry.
It is slightly unfortunate that you deleted the history. If you had not then you could have just built a script out if the history tree. But all is not lost, still i will explain how you can do this in case you do remake the history at some point.
The complexity of your history is never really a issue, at least when modeling. I would advice to not delete any history until your sure its of no use. Having a 1000 node history is not in any way slowing you down since most of it is inactive. Its only a problem once you enter animation even then its not necessarily a problem at all. Since the history deletion is a bit destructive its a good idea to save the scene when you are deleting big areas of history. So rule of thumb do not delete history and use the freeze transformation operation unless its really necessary (and it may be you never actually do this).
Another side remark: Copying stuff is still valid, unless like in this case there is a artificial limitation. The only time when this limitation is valid is if this is homework (in which case you may want to demonstrate that your willing to follow instruction). Doing a copy does not detract in any way the end result. Copying is mel (and all maya ascii files are mel of sorts).
You can reduce the problem to a normal rigging operation. What you do is you rig the tree that you built with bones, clusters and possibly blend shapes. Then just randomize the channels of your rig on each copy operation. The neat thing here is that the script can be easily extended with different base trees, or just about anything, just by making new separate rigs.
This might feel like something outside the scope of the assignment. However a good MEL programmer does not really separate tasks. Using a node to do something is just as valid, if not more valid, as writing everything in code. Something like this demonstrates really thorough understanding of maya use and maya programming. On the other hand not all users are as enlightened (most are not).
Chunk your result into pieces. Then randomize the chunk positions with L-system like rule based generator. It may seem counter intuitive to use a L-system with hand modeled pieces when the entire thing could be generated with a L-system. But clunking allows for a very simple l-system to be built. The end result also retains the artistic integrity of the original in some ways that might be much more pleasing.
Cheat, well i would actually argue that in CG there's no such thing as cheating. Just copy the same tree about, alter its rotation ans scale. And randomize new shaders to your model (swap different leaf textures different color etc). When combined with even slight amount of rigginng approach can totally hide the fact that there is just one tree. Copies dont have to be all that exact they might be shaped with a lattice or something. This is actually pretty efficient, most people wouldn't notice.
When you model something manually maya records this quite efficiently. The history can be turned into a script with little or no effort. The best kept secret. If you save this kind of scene as maya ascii then the maya ascii file is (almost) just mel and you can repeat this by adding variables to the stream to instrument it to mel. Beware tough that not all tools build meaningful history so point tweaks should be done on clusters instead on manual point tweaking that ends up in the shapes tweak array.
I've written a free tool to make custom editable tree supports for FDM printers, using Autodesk Maya. I've had mixed luck with automatic tree support solutions (such as in Meshmixer and Cura) and have found this to be a good solution in some cases. You can adjust the supports after creation, including changing their thickness, bending them around, etc. There's a button to import a fake Prusa print bed (for sizing purposes) and even a 1 click STL exporter that will rotate your models to be Z up and export the model and supports to different files, if desired. Let me know if you can think of any other useful features you'd like to see.
One thing I forgot to put in the video....there's a box to export your tree supports separately from your model. If you do this, you can change the infill and perimeter settings for the supports in Prusa Slicer, thus using less plastic for the supports.
The first step in the process is to use the SpeedTree Modeler to create the model you wish to use in Maya. This can be as simple as opening a library model or as complex as creating a tree from scratch. The model should include material assignments, correct uv coordinates, and everything else you need to see the model exactly as it should appear in Maya. The goal is to replicate the model exactly as it appears in the Modeler in Maya. This includes features such as detail mapping, branch intersection blending, and wind.
Here is a quick update on what happened with my morph target process:
I have successfully managed to use fbx file exported from Maya and import objects and their morph targets in Blender. Then I used a JSON exporter and loaded the models in my three.js scene.
However, I had to reconsider the use of JSON loader (I might put the reason under a different topic). This encouraged me to go back to @donmccurdy 's reply and use the gltf loader (this and the fact that in the newest three.js r90 there are more examples of its use). I did that in the same way as the JSON - model and animate in Maya, then fbx export to Blender and finally Blender gltf export to the three.js scene. It might seem like a lengthy process but it is simple and it works for me - the morph targets work in the browser. I was thinking of trying the maya to gltf exporter but in the status I read: Exports the position, rotation and scale of nodes, but no animation yet. Code for exporting blend-shape deltas exists, but is not fully working yet.
Before starting the actual modeling process of the different trees in the scene, I am going to research into various methods that can be used, to learn more about ways of creating trees, and experiment with them to decide whether these methods would be suitable for my project. There is a possibility that more than one of these methods might become useful because the trees in the scene have various purposes; some of them are far away in the background, and some are in close up shots, and that means that some of the trees needs to be quite basic, mostly for the purpose of showing a silhouette of the tree, and some of the trees have to be quite detailed for close up shots.
I have a few different approaches in mind for the tree modeling. One of them is to begin with polygon modeling in Maya, and I have already tried to create a few basic meshes by simple extruding functions. The image below shows a few tree meshes created in Maya.
Then I can import these basic meshes, created in Maya, into ZBrush to create more natural geometry deformations using various sculpting tools that are available in ZBrush. Also, the tree bark texture could be created with a specifically made alpha brush, and then baked into a normal map. Another option for the tree texture that might be better though (more economical by using smaller texture) is to create a high quality tile-able tree bark texture, and use it as a colour map, and to create a normal map of it in Photoshop using a little plug-in called nDo. I am going to analyze various possible texturing methods later during the project.
There are a few other options, rather than modeling from scratch in Maya. To begin with, I am going to look into the Maya Paint Effects and experiment with it and try to find out if this method would be useful in my project.
Then I am going to look into ZSpheres, and a possibility of creating basic tree meshes this way. I am also going to investigate other potential methods as well, for example, using a MEL script in Maya.
For the purpose of finding the best ways of creating the trees I am going to begin the research by experimenting with Maya Paint Effects, and determine whether this could end up being one of the methods to use.
First, I had to gain an understanding of the Paint Effects and how they work, and therefore I began by going through a tutorial about it, available in Maya Help documentation. After trying out a few random brushes, I opened the Visor panel that had all the brushes; and more than a dozen of different trees in the tree folder. I have experimented with some of the trees, by selecting them and then painting on the scene. The first impressions about the Paint Effects method is that it is very easy to use, however, the polygon count is very high, and the trees are quite standard looking. Then I learned that these brushes have attributes that can be altered to create more diverse looks, and a few of them has been applied, scale, gravity etc. Apparently, such effects as turbulence can be used to create animation for the branches, for example, to simulate wind. My first conclusions are that these trees would be good to use in the background, the only concern is the high polygon count, and I am going to try solving this issue.
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