Document: BTO-Trees.pdf Link: https://www.horo.ch/docs/mine/pdf/BTO-Trees.pdf Bryce Tree Objects (BTO) Bryce uses two different files for the Tree Lab: tree presets (TPS) and leaf presets (LPS). These are accessible from the Tree Lab but do not work as expected. Using the BTO files from the Create menu gives better trees. Tree Lab The Tree Lab has two dropdown menus, one labelled Tree Shape and the other Foliage Shape. The respective files can be found under Bryce\Presets\Treeshapes\ and Bryce\Presets\Leaves\. There is a third folder Bryce\Presets\Trees\ and the files in there cannot be accessed from the Tree Lab but from the Create shelf when holding down the [Alt]-key when clicking on the tree thumbnail on the shelf. [Picture] When just clicking on the tree icon, a default tree appears in the workspace and this tree can be modified in the Tree Lab. However, when the [Alt]-key is held down when clicking on the tree, the Open dialogue pops up and any filename.bto anywhere on the computer or the network can be opened. This much is well known like holding down the [Ctrl]-key while clicking in the tree icon opens the Save As dialogue and the selected tree can be saved anywhere on the computer. This tree will be saved with the name given and a bto file extension. Tree Lab Flaw There is a serious flaw in the Tree Lab: the settings are not updated when a new Tree Shape is selected from the dropdown. This fact was brought to my attention when I read the Instancing Lab Tutorial by Peter-Gene Budarick von Ide' aka Kine-magiK, which is available here: http://www.horo.ch/docs/guests/pdf/InstancingLab_Kine_magiK.pdf. He mentions this flaw in paragraph 49 on page 18. This explained why I never found the selected tree shape resemble a natural tree. [Picture] <<<< Page 2 >>>> The Tree Lab screen shot above at left shows a default tree after clicking on the tree icon on the Create shelf. At right, I selected an Acacia for the tree and foliage shapes. The wireframe view at right already shows that this cannot be an Acacia. None of the values under Branch / Trunk have changed, neither has Gravity for the Tree Shape. Though I selected the leaf for an Acacia under Foliage Shape, Scale and Number of Leaves have not changed, neither has Distribution. What indeed changed was the trunk material; the leaf material is randomly set anyway. Make an Acacia tree to an Acacia tree Below at left, I set all values for the Branch / Trunk, Tree Shape and Foliage manually to the correct values and I finally got something that resembles an Acacia. [Picture] We can get to this result much faster by just loading the Acacia.bto file via holding down the [Alt]-key when clicking on the tree symbol on the Create shelf, navigate to Bryce\Presets\ Trees\. The result is shown above at right. All values are correctly set (that's how I knew them) but the label on the dropdowns indicates Default. To "nicify" the Tree Lab, you can select Acacia from the Tree and Foliage Shape dropdowns. This will change nothing except the dropdown label updates. By the way, when you hold down the [Alt]-key while clicking on the dropdowns in the Tree Lab, you can access individual TPS and LPS files anywhere on the computer or network, but also this does not update the values in the Tree Lab. Tree Material and Randomness Whether the tree shape is selected from the dropdown or the tree was loaded as BTO, the wood material (trunk, roots, branches, twigs) get the assigned material. The leaf material is always randomly set. Even if a tree is saved as BTO, when loaded later, the leaf material is replaced by a random one. If a leaf shape is changed the first time using the drop down, the leaf may get another random material. Changing it again does not randomise the material again. Best set all values and shapes before materials are assigned and then leave those dropdowns alone. Each time a tree is loaded, even a saved BTO, its shape will be randomised. The changes are not dramatic in most cases but the resulting tree is slightly different than the previous one. It appears, however, that the shape stays the same if another shape is selected and then later again the same as before. <<<< Page 3 >>>> Treeshapes (TPS), Leaves (LPS) and Trees (BTO) The table shows the installed trees. TPS and LPS are selected from the respective dropdowns in the Tree Lab, BTO are loaded. The list shows at left the filename, at right under Remarks the name as it appears in the dropdowns. Some trees are only available as TPS, some only as BTO and some as TPS and BTO. [Table extending to page 4] <<<< Page 5 >>>> Bryce Tree Objects BTO Using BTOs is the better choice than modifying the default tree. The caveat of using BTOs is that there are 108 in total and you have no idea how they look like until you have loaded one. Below, all BTO trees are shown rendered. Render Setup The tree is in the world centre and shown in the size it loaded. The wood material is the one that came with the loaded tree. The leaf material is always the same - not a good choice for every tree, but the objective was to be consistent. The scene is lit by the Bryce sun and the ambient light is provided by a pure white HDRI with casting shadows disabled (for render speed). It is rendered as backdrop but with low light. The ground plane is default grey but Diffusion was set lower and Cast shadows disabled to get a bit of light from underneath. All trees are at the same distance from the camera. A copy of the tree was moved nearer to the camera and appears at the left frame to show branches, twigs and leaves in more detail. Care was taken to not obscure the shadow cast by the tree. BTO Renders All renders are 600 x 600 pixels and in this size embedded in this document. Use the magnify option in your PDF viewer to enlarge. At right is a Default tree for reference. [Picture at right] Remarks Any BTO tree can be tweaked in the Tree Lab. To save a successful tree, I recommend saving it in the Objects Library. This guarantees that it is not randomised when loaded, wood and leaf materials are retained and the tree can be modified in the Tree Lab anytime nevertheless. Below, pages 6 to 14, the 108 renders. Remember to zoom-in if you want to look at any details. Each render is identified by its BTO filename. As you can see, the trees you get when loading a BTO file are much better and look more natural than if fiddling with a default tree. Because a tree is randomised when loaded, it may look a bit different than the ones shown below. July 2014/horo <<<< Pages 6 to 14 >>>> [108 pictures]