A promise of rain

[zaxxon]

All foliage modeled in Speedtree.  Mitchell-Netravali pixel filter, rendered at detail 1, AA - 12, OC .8. Here in Northern California a historic drought is unfolding; rivers have run dry and groundwater reserves are just about tapped. Too large a population, too many giant agri-corporations planting the wrong crops in the wrong locations, an environmental disaster in the making...

Comments and critiques are welcomed.

[yossam]

Hope you get some relief soon...........if I could I would gladly send some of our rain your way. All it's done for the last six weeks. Great pic...........


Which version of Speedtree do you use? Been looking at it..............

[cyphyr]

Beautiful, moody and great attention to detail, no real crits, well ok then, maybe introduce some variation in the leaves tone from red to gold. Love the dried sticks

[Lady of the Lake]

Great image.   I love all the dead sticks also.

[zaxxon]

Thanks Yossam, appreciate your offer to send rain... I'm using  Speedtree Studio 7, I started with ST Architect then upgraded to Studio. The upgrade was only the difference in the retail pricing between the two. Studio offers the ability to hand draw trunks and branches, and quad poly output. Virtually everything I've done so far is within the capability of the Architect version, still looking to utilize Studio's additional features. Be nice if TG offered FBX, or even MDD file support  to take advantage of the wind animation in ST, perhaps someday. I'm also messing with The Plant Factory demo, I suspect that TPF is capable of creating more exact foliage models, but so far it's more technical and hard to generate any sense of 'artistic flow' in the work process: a much steeper learning curve as well IMO.

Cyphr: Thanks! The Oak is my newest tree and I probably should have mixed in some other tree species to broaden the image palette, There are two leaf textures on the Oaks; one golden and the other a mix of green and gold (sorta of a progression look).  I tried some samples with the mix favoring the green/gold, but it kinda crept away from my concept of the image. BTW, the god-rays were inspired by your splendid skies!

[choronr]

Your plant work and details are superb. This is a fine composition.

[cyphyr]

I'm sure you know this but for everybody else ... if you separate out the leaf model from the trunk/branches model and do two identical populations you can tint the leaves via the Colour node in the population tab. Mix a low scale red/yellow power fractal (tree scale) with a large scale power fractal (forest scale) and you will have variation right across the whole population.
(Note if you don't separate out the leaves from the branches/trunk the tint will cover both).

Oh and thank you 

[zaxxon]

Cyphyr: I'm aware of that  technique, and used it on the grasses and some of the tree trunks. My mixing of the leaf colors was from PS and the ability to mix the leaf populations and textures directly in Speedtree. Lot's more control at the tree building level; leaf pruning, leaf orientation (by leaf type population), etc. Also, the 'sticks' are supposed to be root structures. I'll post up another image with that area enlarged. My first attempt to show the kind of underlying tangle of roots that comprise the gully washed surfaces in dry places. I hope to create some 'debris' populations of twigs and misc. items you'd find in areas like that. Fun stuff to play with.

Bob: Gracias Mi Amigo!

Lila: Thanks for the kind words!

[Kadri]

Nice image.

[masonspappy]

Nice Modeling and great atmospherics

[zaxxon]

Thanks Kadri and Masonspappy!

This is a close up of the gully section with the root structures. A WIP for sure for the model, but moving in the direction of what I'd like to show. The complexity and variety in Nature seems endlessly recursive, fun too.

[choronr]

I really enjoy your work, the details are so interesting. The light and point of view makes me feel I want to go hiking ...very good.

[Dune]

Extraordinary render, Doug. A lot of work has gone into it and you can see it. I love the subtlety of it all. Downloaded it to my screensaver favorites folder.

There's one minor thing (I hardly dare say it); the ground is quite 'flat' here and there. You can see it centre below in the crop you posted. On the whole it is of no importance, but for really large renders a tiny fractal or some small fake stone might break that flatness, and make it from 'rock' into soil.

[mhaze]

Beautiful and moody piece.

[zaxxon]

Thanks Mick!

Wow! Thanks again Bob!

Dune: yeah. I saw that as well, especially close up (damn, zooming in really makes you honest!). I have 4 populations of stones, but need to tweak their proportions and coverage, maybe add another. Also, this is a World Machine heightfield and I have the displacement set very low so perhaps some tweaking there as well. I'll push on a little further with this image to see if it can be better viewed up close. I'm very (very) pleased by your comments - thank you!