Hand draw a branch

Follow these steps to get started with hand drawing.

  1. Make a new scene using the Blank tree template.
  2. In Freehand Mode, go to the Properties window and select Hand Draw.

  3. Hold the space bar and click anywhere on the tree node disk to place a stub. Your scene should look like the following image at this point. Notice the hand drawing indicator on the new generator.

    A generator hierarchy with a Tree generator and Trunk generator. The Hand Draw icon is over the Trunk generator. A trunk is in the Tree Window.

  4. Hold the space bar and hover over the stub. A white diamond should appear at the end like this:

    A generator hierarchy with a Tree generator and Trunk generator. The Hand Draw icon is over the Trunk generator. The trunk in the Tree Window has a diamond on top of it.

  5. While holding the space bar, click and drag the diamond to draw the branch. Release the left mouse button to complete the action.

    A generator hierarchy with a Tree generator and Trunk generator. The Hand Draw icon is over the Trunk generator. The trunk in the Tree Window has been extended into a trunk and a branch.

  6. Hold the space bar again and click the trunk in several places to create new stubs. Feel free to rotate the camera around the model to get the stubs where you want them. The stubs start where you click and point toward the camera. Notice that a new generator is made to house these stubs, again with the hand drawing icon.

    A generator hierarchy with Tree generator, Trunk generator, and Branches generator. The Hand Draw icon is over the Trunk generator and Branches generator. The trunk and branch in the Tree Window now have stubs throughout.

  7. As before, hold the space bar and hover over any stub or hand-drawn branch to reveal the white diamond. Click and drag each diamond while holding the space bar to draw the branches.

    A generator hierarchy with Tree generator, Trunk generator, and Branches generator. The Hand Draw icon is over the Trunk generator and Branches generator. The former stubs in the Tree Window have been extended into longer branches.

  8. Right-click the Branches generator and select Add geometry to selected > Branches > Bifurcating to add some procedural geometry to the model.

    A generator hierarchy with Tree generator, Trunk generator, and Branches generator. A generator that says Bifurcating... also indicates that the generated branches are bifurcating. The Hand Draw icon is over the Trunk generator and Branches generator. The tree in the Tree Window now has bifurcated branches.

  9. Continue by adding more stubs to the ground or any branches (hand drawn or procedural). You can draw part of the stub, rotate the camera, and continue drawing it to change the direction of the branch.