Thanks for the kind comments. It seems whenever you start to create natural scenes or elements it certainly triggers a new level of observation of the actual world, the almost obsessive thought pattern of, "now how can I do THAT in my software package". I am definitely viewing trees with a keener eye these days! Also, you really have to appreciate the work of folks like Walli, Robert Czarny, Martin Frost, et al who have modeled actual tree species with such excellence over the years. But now with the advent of tools like Speedtree and The Plant Factory, complex arboreal scenes are within reach, even for non-pro's such as myself .
TheBadger: I love debris! Had the same thought but put it off. Don't know about using ST for that, but T3 and the Distribution Shader seems to work. I cobbled together a quick dead pine needle object and it scattered okay in a test, but I need to play around a bit more before posting anything.
Oshayn: Yup, still working on them. Trying to get a better pine cluster asset (5 needle structure). Creating bark, branch, leaf, needle cluster, frond, assets is a separate endeavor, but there are some nice tools out there to help. Some higher res images are awaiting some more-refined tree sets.
Here's another image with the sample LOW RES conifers that come with the software. The ground cover is Dune's marvelous Heather. The Speedtree crew calls these objects "RT" (real-time). They populate readily into T3 and render fairly quickly. Speedtree objects are procedural and endless variations can be had by pushing the "randomize" button. The possibility to create an endless supply of ugly trees is now at your finger-tips!
Once again, comments welcome.
