Add procedural branches to a hero mesh
Add procedural branches to a hero mesh using its spine hierarchy.
Note
This page gives an example of how you could build off of a hero mesh for which you already created a spine hierarchy. Although this example uses bifurcating branches, you can use any other type of generation algorithm to add branches to the mesh.
To get some context with an example of hero mesh type that might apply to this use case, refer to Custom spines sample.
Integrate the mesh into your model
Before you can add branches to your imported mesh:
Make sure you added the mesh to your model's hierarchy.
Use mesh helpers to add a spine hierarchy to the mesh according to your needs.
Add bifurcating branches to the mesh
To add branches that bifurcate from the mesh along one of its spines:
In the Generation Editor, identify the spine-only Branch generator that corresponds to the part of the mesh where you want to add bifurcating branches.
Right-click on this generator and select Add geometry to selected > Branches > Bifurcating.
The Modeler adds a child Branch generator to the selected spine and the bifurcating branches appear along the spine on the mesh.
If the spine that you selected is made of multiple nodes, all of them get bifurcating branches.Adjust the properties of the added Branch generator to change the generation style and the number of bifurcating branch nodes according to your needs.
Adjust the properties of the parent (the Branch generator of spine only type), if needed, to relatively influence the properties of the child Branch generator that you just added.
Add a branch to the tip of a mesh outgrowth
To add a branch node to the tip of an outgrowth of the mesh for which you added a spine:
In the Generation Editor, select the child Branch generator that you created in the previous section, or create a new one starting from the targeted spine.
In the Properties bar, under Generation > Extend parent, set the Type to Any.
A branch node appears at the tip of the parent spine.
If the spine that you selected is made of multiple nodes, each of them gets a branch node at its end.In the Tree window, select a node for which you need to adjust the radius to better fit the mesh.
In the Properties bar, select the Node mode, and under Skin > Radius > Absolute, edit the parent curve, for example, to visually adjust the radius of the node.
If needed, use a stitch generator to blend the texture between the mesh and the procedural branch.
Additional resources
- Add spines to a hero mesh
- Branch generator properties
- Extend parent (in generator properties)
- Nodes