Sapling: A Tree Generator Add-On for Blender (OSX Fix 10 Aug 2011)

[tungerz]

very cool, thanks for the addon

[CG-DJ]

Hey Guys!
Saw this script and thought it looked good, but I can’t find where to download it! You said “download the file above” but there is no file above. Or maybe i’m just not seeing it…that’s possible! But thanks for the help!

Oh Wait, I found it! Silly me! Thanks~:D

[Luthien (Lúthien)]

and I was hoping you’d say where you found it … I’m definitely also being a bit silly because I really cannot find it either :eek:

I did find the SVN browse page, where there is a add_curve_sapling/ directory, and under that there is:
init.py
presets/
utils.py

I’ll look further into those files; but still I suspect that I am looking over something very obvious.

@CG-DJ

Hey Guys!
Saw this script and thought it looked good, but I can’t find where to download it! You said “download the file above” but there is no file above. Or maybe i’m just not seeing it…that’s possible! But thanks for the help!

Oh Wait, I found it! Silly me! Thanks~:D

[redcap]

Read the original post, where it says version to there is a blue hightlighted “here” link. Enjoy

[numby]

No roots?

Take a look at the one I posted and you will see a realistic-looking tree is actually not complex (as all that!) because the logic of program execution branches by itself. If anyone is interested in exploring the mathematics and symmetry of trees using python, get involved! Right now we are attempting to apply the Fibonacci series to get spiral symmetry in the branching.

PS if you want a tree with roots, execute tree-gui twice and create two in the same place, once with height negative. Don’t forget to turn the leaves off for those sections!

[Luthien (Lúthien)]

@redcap

Read the original post, where it says version to there is a blue hightlighted “here” link. Enjoy

Ah, thank you. Got it.
I was looking on http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.5/Py/Scripts/Curve/Sapling_Tree; where I arrived via the downloads link on the Blender main site: Download -> Resources -> Python Scripts -> wiki.blender.org Python Repository
I must admit that I expected to see a link to the .py on that page

[TrumanBlending]

Hi all, sorry I haven’t been active, I’ve been on hiatus till I finished some work that needed doing. Happy to be back, so I’ll try and answer some questions!

@rben13

First, this is a really nice script that has obviously involved a lot of time and effort. Great job.

I do have some suggestions. Hopefully I’m not duplicating others.

1. Allow some control over where the main trunk splits.
2. Add surface roots. (I know, this is hard.)
3. Allow user to specify leaf object.

Thanks for all the hard work.

Hi rben13,
What sort of control are you looking for? At the moment there are two ways to control the trunk splits: Base Splits and Segment Splits. The former controls the first split of the trunk and the latter the splits after that. I’m thinking about roots now, the implementation I’m using is based on a technical paper which didn’t address roots but it shouldn’t be too hard to adapt. Actually having the roots grow on a mesh would be cool! User specified leaf object is planned, just wanted to get the first leaves in a proof of concept. Hopefully I’ll find the time for this soon!

@nemasis

Hey all, I just want to say thanks for this awesome script. Although I seem to get some some weird results depending on the parameters I set. Also if I set a parameter and then revert back to the original, I don’t end up with the same result. Maybe I completely missed something, but was just curious if I did something wrong.

I can post screens if need be. I also understand this is still in development. I am using the latest svn of Sapling and the latest trunk of Blender.

Again thanks for bringing trees to blender 2.5!

-nemasis

Hi nemasis,
This is weird! It should perfectly replicate the tree if all parameters are the same. If you could post a method on how you managed it, I’ll hopefully be able to fix it if there’s a problem.

@numby

No roots?

Take a look at the one I posted and you will see a realistic-looking tree is actually not complex (as all that!) because the logic of program execution branches by itself. If anyone is interested in exploring the mathematics and symmetry of trees using python, get involved! Right now we are attempting to apply the Fibonacci series to get spiral symmetry in the branching.

PS if you want a tree with roots, execute tree-gui twice and create two in the same place, once with height negative. Don’t forget to turn the leaves off for those sections!

Hi numby,
I originally starting trying to build a script similar to yours using some mathematical rules to build the entire tree. While this replicates the natural process of the growing tree and makes for concise code, it is ultimately very difficult for an artist to control the tree shape or replicate a specific tree. Keep up the mathematical investigation!

Hope that answers some important questions!

Cheers,
Truman

[Sha]

@TrumanBlending"

Introduction
I have been working on implementing the tree model described by Jason Weber and Joseph Penn into Blender. This model has proven popular and is used in the tree generator Arbaro and the Blender 2.49 plugin Gen3.

Installation Instructions

• Download the above file and place it in your Blender Add-Ons folder (…/blender/2.56/scripts/addons or some such)
• Start Blender and go to FILE -> USER PREFERENCES, in the window that opens click on the Add-Ons tab.
• Click Add Curve in the list on the left.
• Check the box next to the ‘Sapling’ add-on.
• Now in the 3D view, go to Add -> Curve -> Add Tree
• A tree is added and the options are in the tool shelf (T-KEY)
• Have fun playing around with the options!
  Wiki
  http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.5/Py/Scripts/Curve/Sapling_Tree

Tracker
http://projects.blender.org/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=27226&group_id=153&atid=467

Version 0.2
Version 0.2 of Sapling has now been uploaded and can be found here. The following changes have been made to this version:

• Automatic armatures have been added so it is possible to generate an armature and bones for the whole tree easily. This includes the leaves which also have vertex groups to make sure they stay attached to their branches.
• Automatic armature animations have also been included to add wind to a tree automatically.
• GUI updated to make it smaller, a drop down box within the panel now allows access to each section of tree parameters. They are in the recommended order of editting.
• PruneRatio has been added which allows for adjusting the amount of pruning applied.
• A better visualisation of the pruning envelope has been added to make it easier to see the shape that you are forcing the tree to take on.
• Leaf generation has had some corrections which should also speed it up.
• Comments on the code have been added for those interested.
  Cheers,
  Truman

Version 0.1
Hi All,

I have been working on implementing the tree model described by Jason Weber and Joseph Penn into Blender. This model has proven popular and is used in the tree generator Arbaro and the Blender 2.49 plugin Gen3.

I am happy to announce that ‘Sapling’ is ready for a first release (v0.1) and can be found here. This was written using Blender 2.56.6 r36007 (RC2).

In order to use the script follow these steps:

• Download the above file and place it in your Blender Add-Ons folder (…/blender/2.56/scripts/addons or some such)

• Start Blender and go to FILE -> USER PREFERENCES, in the window that opens click on the Add-Ons tab.

• Click Add Curve in the list on the left.

• Check the box next to the ‘Sapling’ add-on.

• Now in the 3D view, go to Add -> Curve -> Add Tree

• A tree is added and the options are in the tool shelf (T-KEY)

• Have fun playing around with the options!
  There are a few things to note:

• You can adjust the quality of the tree at any time using the ‘Preview U’ and ‘Bevel Resolution’ option in the Object Data section of the properties panel.

• The following options are disabled by default to speed up editing:
  [LIST]

• You must tick the ‘Bevel’ box to see the actual tree.

• You must tick the ‘Leaves’ box to generate the leaves.

• You can change ‘Levels’ to see only the level you are editing (and the ones below it).

• You must tick the box ‘Prune’ if you want to enforce a shape on the tree.

• The tree which is created by default is the ‘Quaking Aspen’.
  [/LIST]Also, there are some elements of the model which are not implemented:

• Flaring of the trunk is not yet supported, I am currently looking into this.

• Periodic tapering of the branches is not supported and is unlikely to be due to limitations of using curves for the branches.

• Wind sway is not yet implemented but is the next item on the to-do list.
  The default output of the script, with bevelling and leaves enabled (plus some quick materials) is shown below:
  [ATTACH=CONFIG]136353[/ATTACH]
  This tree has about 180k verts but as described above, this can be adjusted.

If there is enough interest I might create a tutorial explaining all the options and how to use them.

Please feel free to leave any comments and suggestions as well as bugs to I can try to get them out of the way quickly.

Cheers and enjoy,
Truman

One problem ithink u forgot to mention where u download it unless i missed something please help i ask because i can’t find a proper download link for it i even copied and pasted the script title into google and…nothing.

[Meta-Androcto]

hi, here’s the zip file, uploaded to the Projects page.
http://projects.blender.org/tracker/download.php/153/468/27226/16781/add_curve_sapling.7z
truman, you can update the script as a zip here, I understand it’s hard for users to get your script easily.

[TrumanBlending]

Hi All,

First post has been updated so it’s easier to find the addon and the tracker link is now fixed. Thanks for the feedback on this. Hope you can all enjoy the script problem free now!

@Meta-Androcto

hi, here’s the zip file, uploaded to the Projects page.
http://projects.blender.org/tracker/download.php/153/468/27226/16781/add_curve_sapling.7z
truman, you can update the script as a zip here, I understand it’s hard for users to get your script easily.

Thanks meta! Seems a bit more difficult to manage now it’s a multi-script addon

Cheers,
Truman

[TrumanBlending]

Hi All,

The script has been updated with a few changes;

• Updated to 2.58 API
• Added the ability to start the tree at an angle to the ground via startCurv
• Fixed an issue where, even if the seed value was the same, the tree generated would be different
• Fixed calculation of upward attraction for correct implementation
• Added presets for CA Black Oak and Weeping Willow.

See the first post for the link and let me know what you think!

Cheers,
Truman

[Atom]

Dang, it has a distributed architecture now. I can not just run the script.

[TrumanBlending]

@Atom

Dang, it has a distributed architecture now. I can not just run the script.

Hi Atom,

Yeah, unfortunately it became necessary to split it into multiple scripts. I can’t remember precisely why, I’ll check it out to make sure it’s still absolutely necessary as I agree it’s not ideal.

Cheers,
Truman

[DrBouvierLeduc]

Hi,

Thanks for this great script.
I have a problem with presets : the script seems to look for them in blender’s installation directory (/usr/local/blender/2.58/scripts/addons in my case), although my scripts are located in my home folder ( /home/me/./blender/2.58/scripts/addons)

Here’s the console output :

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/xxx/.blender/2.58/scripts/addons/add_curve_sapling/__init__.py", line 132, in draw
    presets = [a for a in os.listdir(os.path.join(bpy.utils.script_paths()[0], 'addons', 'add_curve_sapling', 'presets')) if a[-3:] == '.py']
OSError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/usr/local/blender/2.58/scripts/addons/add_curve_sapling/presets'

Using ubuntu 11.04
blender 2.58 r37980

[DrBouvierLeduc]

Also I was thinking of something : would it be possible for the script to assign a vertex group to the branches carrying leaves ?
That way it would be possible to manage leaves through a particle system, allowing much more flexibility.

[kaicent]

@DrBouvierLeduc

Also I was thinking of something : would it be possible for the script to assign a vertex group to the branches carrying leaves ?
That way it would be possible to manage leaves through a particle system, allowing much more flexibility.

Hi DrBouvierleduc
I was already trying to achieve this, and some of it is already working great. i am still having some issues but i think i will get to it. i am new to python and i am having some health issues so maybe it could take some more weeks or even months who knows. but if you would like to see some work you can check my Blog http://kaicent.wordpress.com/.
or you could check some older posts i already made in this thread.

greetings Kai-Cent

[StAnonymous]

Having issues installing. I unzip the folder into my Addons folder, but Blender isn’t seeing it.

[TrumanBlending]

@StAnonymous

Having issues installing. I unzip the folder into my Addons folder, but Blender isn’t seeing it.

Hi StAnonymous,

Can you check if there’s an error showing up in the console window? If the console isn’t open you can open it from the help menu. Also, is your addon folder in the normal place or have you moved it? Hopefully we can get it working for you!

Cheers,
Truman

[Ulf_B]

@StAnonymous

Having issues installing. I unzip the folder into my Addons folder, but Blender isn’t seeing it.

Perhaps your unzipping program is set up to unzip multiple files into an enclosing folder like this:

Then you should move the green marked files into the blue folder and remove the red folder.

Afterthoughts:
It has do be the internal Blender “addons”-folder which holds all the preinstalled addons of course. If you copy the unzipped files to a self defined folder like “MySuperDuperScripts” it will not work at all.

The problem is that the usual addon installation procedure by using the preferences panel is limited. It allows to install one python script (*.py) only at a time. However this script uses a folder hierarchy, which can not be imported with the “Install Add-On…” button directly.

[blend_B]

can anyone show examples of trees?