3D Practice - Foliage

Continuing with Chapter 2 of 'Game Environments and Props' by Michael McKinley my next foliage task was to create a tree. This incorporated a very similar approach to before which helped cement the techniques used into my mind. The techniques used a very effective and efficient in creating quick props and items for 3D environments. Again, foliage is not going to be used much in my environment (maybe plant pots etc) but seeing how it has done has enhanced my knowledge of techniques that can be used in Maya and Photoshop.

Project: Creating A Savannah Tree

The Steps

1. First I created the tree trunk. I created a polygon cylinder and deformed it. After this I created the branches using the CV curve tool.
2. Creating the smaller branches was done with curves also except this time, using a NURBS circle to create the radius for the branches.
3. The leaves were created in bulks to save time. Each bulk of leaves was duplicated and altered to maintain a random effect. In order for less polys - a snapshot of these bulks were created and then applied to a plane and the plane was used as the main leave geometry.
4. The same process was used to create the filler leaves. This really helped to quickly bulk out the tree.
5. Next I created the bark in Photoshop. The leaves and branches were just coloured through Maya.
6. The last part was correctly UV mapping the tree trunk in order to allow the bark too look accurate and appear seemless.

Learning Outcomes

I haven't learnt much more than I did in the previous part of the chapter. This is due to the tasks carrying out similar procedures however there is one part I would like to write about, due too it's usefulness and efficiency.

Using a Snapshot as a Texture

Using a snapshot as a texture

A very useful technique was used to create the leaves on the tree. As oppose too modelling each individual one which would require lots of memory and would be incredibly costly, a technique was used that not only sped up the process but only required a plane to show a whole bunch of leaves. To begin with you create a small branch covered in leaves. You then set up the top view camera to only view a certain size plan in your scene. With this plane you would capture an image shot of your branch and leaves. With this image, you then create a plane of the same size and apply this image to the plane. With this complete you can add extra edges to the plane and move the vertices slightly in order to give the impression of depth.

Personal Notes

Even though my environment will not need much foliage if any at all, this chapter has still shown me some essential skills in Maya and in Photoshop. I must comment that all the settings used in Photoshop cannot necessarily be learnt. They are tampered with until the artist feels it looks right. The best I can take in with regards to the Photoshop sections is the understanding of different features so that I can apply these to my designs later. It is now Monday and I am a bit behind on what I wanted too complete over the weekend. This means I am behind on the week. I will be looking to have caught up by the end of this week. Here's what I am wanting to have completed by Sunday night:

1. Finish Case study and blog a summary of it
2. Carry out Chapter 3 of Game Environments and Props + blog post
3. Carry out a few research blogs using journals/internet
4. Have a meeting with a lecturer
5. Draft my Research Proposal using Student Handbook

The next few weeks I am going to be focusing a lot on hand in materials so this week I am looking to get some ideas in my mind ready to start bringing things together in the next few weeks.