Hand Draw
Branches can be drawn by hand using the mouse or a tablet device. After they're drawn they can be manipulated as Bézier splines and even extended by another hand drawing operation. Hand-drawn branches can originate from Tree node (the disk on the ground) or any other branch node (hand drawn or not). Procedural generators can be added to hand-drawn generators, allowing you to be specific where you need to be and still get the benefits of procedural geometry to fill in the details.
Note
Hand drawing has changed for SpeedTree 8 to reduce misplaced branches and allow for better draw plane manipulation. The new approach is to place stubs and then extend them as much as you'd like as described below.
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| Hand draw a branch | Get started with hand drawing branches. |
| Edit the spine of an existing hand drawn branch | Switch to node-editing mode and edit a hand-drawn branch. |
| Convert procedural branches to hand drawing | Convert a procedural branch to a hand-drawn branch. |
| Work with hand drawn generators in the Generation Editor | Ensure that hand-drawn branches are drawn into the correct generator. |
Best practices
The following list outlines a few things to keep in mind when hand drawing branches.
- The "Spine:Noise:Late" noise works on hand drawn branches. Use this to your advantage! Keep your branch drawing smooth and simple and use noise to rough them up. It's a good idea to use the "Round" preset on the noise profile so that the beginning and end of the branch are right where you put them.
- All of the skinning properties still work procedurally. Radius, displacement, welding, etc. are all manipulated in the same manner as regular branches.
- Forces work…if you allow them! They will, however, pull the branch off of the drawn spline.
- You can move the start position and angle using the Art Director gizmo handles. You can also manipulate the properties directly.
- Hand drawn branches work in the subdivision surface system.