Often not only just a species has to be modeled, but rather an individual plant with a particular shape. Examples here are trees growing along a wall or plants deformed under the influence of wind. In both instances, the overall shape of the plant has to be influenced in such a way as to yield […]
Category: Digital Design of Nature
Examples
After we have described the components and the options of their combination to the p-graph, three examples are used to show how plants are modeled. A sunflower, a rhododendron, and a chestnut tree exemplify the potential of the numerous combination possibilities of components as well as the power of the overall approach. To model a […]
Combination of Components
For the production of plants, the components are linked by the user to form the p-graph. The user then defines the respective parameters of the components. To construct a p-graph, the components are selected from a graphical toolbox and linked to the already produced components. Three types of links are available: ■ Child link: This […]
FFD and Hyperpatch Components
Both components belong to the group of components that influence the global shape of a plant. With both, a freeform deformation (FFD) can be defined that works either on the geometric data or only on the underlying shoot axes. Two types of deformation definitions are utilized. While the FFD component functions Dx(x), Dy (y) and […]
Hydra and Wreath Components
The hydra component multiplies all components attached to the p-graph and places them in a star-shaped arrangement. With the hydra component, the user can define the number and size of successors, the opening angles of the star, and the turning of the successors with respect to the direction of the centerline. In Fig. 6.5a the […]
Horn Component
The geometry produced with the horn component is used as the basis for all types of stems, branches or trunks, and it can additionally be used for the rendering of other organic objects (see [150, 219]). Occasionally, it is termed a generalized cylinder and is developed from the triangulation of tube primitives, as shown in […]
Surface of Revolution Component
This component generates an additional geometrical primitive: a surface of revolution. The user can edit the silhouette as a polygonal curve as well as determine the resolution in the direction of rotation. Since this type of editing needs a special dialogue, the component was separated from the base component. Leaf Component Leaf components are needed […]
Camera Component
The camera component is the root component of every plant description, thus it must always be the first element in the structure tree. It accommodates all parameters that are needed for viewing the model. These are, for instance, the position of the camera’s coordinate system and the opening angles of the camera (together they determine […]
Algorithmic Multiplication
If a multiplication component is part of a p-graph, then during the production of the i-tree the corresponding subtree is generated as many times as is indicated by the corresponding parameter of the multiplication component. Hereby all copies of the child components are connected with the copy of the multiplication component. During production of the […]
Rule-Based Object Production
Interactive Modeling The previous chapter demonstrated that rule-based procedures are a very powerful method for the production of a variety of plants. Nevertheless, there are many alternative modeling procedures. On one hand, this is due to the wide range of modeling requirements; on the other hand, it is because the controlling mechanisms of the L-systems […]