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Make a vine grow
About Truespace Archives
These pages are a copy of the official truespace forums prior to their removal somewhere around 2011.
They are retained here for archive purposes only.
Make a vine grow // TS6 and Older
Post by 1image // Feb 11, 2006, 3:07pm
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1image
Total Posts: 38
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Hi all didn't see or wasn't shore about where to ask for 6.6 advice so i put it here untill someone tells me otherwise.
I want to make a vine grow up a tree and was wondering what was the best way to go about this. I need the vine to have leaves and flowers grow out of the vine when the vine matures. The purpose is to animate it and also have a still of the finnished product.
All ideas and mentions of tut's welcome. |
Post by chamaeleon // Feb 11, 2006, 7:22pm
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chamaeleon
Total Posts: 74
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I doubt you'll find a 1-2-3 step-by-step guide for this problem using trueSpace. :) So, just to throw some ideas around .. Apply a animated transparancy map on an object where the UV coords are such that a growing white area from bottom to the top (or top to bottom) turn appropriate faces visible over time (simple test attached).
Another option might be to script the transparency using ShaderLab in the same fashion (but a little more work).
Yet another option might be to create an object programmatically (possibly using the Mesher Python extension I created once upon a time), and moving points along one or more curves. Trickier, I imagine.
I realize there are shortcomings, but they may be more or less severe depending on the viewpoint and how close the camera has to be, etc. Perhaps others can chime in with much better ideas. :) |
Post by 1image // Feb 11, 2006, 11:29pm
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1image
Total Posts: 38
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thanks Chameleon, i'm not shore of how to go about an animated transparency map. I was thinking something along the lines of "procedural something" but wasn't shore. I don't think i'm all that ready for coding yet.
I spose if i had the vine all ready made and hid it under the ground pulling and twisting it up per key frame i might get the result i'm looking for but also alot of hard work which i'm becoming used too.
Any and all suggestions welcome. |
Post by chamaeleon // Feb 12, 2006, 8:15am
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chamaeleon
Total Posts: 74
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Not sure if there really is any ready-made procedural method for you to use. Can't think of any tool at the moment. If Macro/Sweep worked over time it would be a way, but I don't think it does anything beyond creating the final geometry. I'm attaching a new avi which is ever so slightly more realistic than my first example, and the scene files I used. You will have to eye-drop inspect the vine object to see the transparency map used, and if you want to change the avi used. |
Post by 1image // Feb 12, 2006, 11:00am
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1image
Total Posts: 38
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Thanks chamaeleon, i really appreciate the effort you've gone to to help.
There's only one thing i don't understand how do you animate the map, like get it to show a bit at a time. I saw the second scene file with the plane and camera placement is it just a simple matter of tweaking that or is the map what you work with.:confused:
In any case i like what you've got and hope you'll bare with me on this one so i can learn what it is your showing me :) . |
Post by chamaeleon // Feb 12, 2006, 11:40am
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chamaeleon
Total Posts: 74
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Hopefully the image attached will help you a bit. Basically, you select transparency map transparency (5), then you select an AVI that gradually goes from completely black to white. My sample scene is just a white plane and a black background. The plane is then animated to move up into view for a camera (sort of like an inverse vertical blind). Ok, that's the AVI. Select Anim (4) and unselect Filter/Flt. Click the Material animation button (1) and add "keyframes" at frame 0 and, say, 119 (gives you 4 seconds of animation at 30 frames/s) using the record button (2) and the frame area (3).
Ok, this gives you the material. Now you need an object to apply the material to. You'll have to create your vine in such a way that UV textures are such that, if you look in the UV mapping editor, the bottom UV coordinates are the ones you want displayed first and the top are the ones that should be exposed last (since in my case the white area moves from the bottom to the top). Given a properly UV mapped object you should now be able to just render your scene and the "vine" will be exposed over time, sort of like growing. From my version, you can see that it doesn't really stand up to close-up scrutiny. Until the entire object is exposed, you can see that it looks like a tube with an opening in it rather than a solid object. Clever camera work can hide this perhaps, and if the vine is thin enough or whatever, it may not be an issue.
Edited to add, that the transparency avi should have at least as many frames as you intend to use for your material as trueSpace doesn't scale the avi up or down if less or more frames are available in it.
2nd Edit: I guess I didn't need ot mess around with the animated material aspect, but that the animated transparancy map was sufficient. Oh well. :) One less step to worry about. It may be necessary to offset the transparancy animation in time though, if it should start immediately, by having a plain, black texture for some amount of time perhaps (haven't tried doing it that way). |
Post by jamesmc // Feb 12, 2006, 12:27pm
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jamesmc
Total Posts: 2566
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!!!
I would have never figured all that out. :)
Here's my version.
Made a tree stump in tS 6.6. Saved it as a png.
Opened up tree in Pshop pro, resized, cropped so it would be more suitable to animation frames. Saved it to a GIF format.
Opened JASC Animation Shop as a GIF file. Once in JASC AS, I can export back to Paint Shop Pro and update with vine graphics growing.
- Draw a sprig in PS Pro and export back to Animation Shop
- Copy that frame and paste after the current frame
- Select the new frame, export to PS Pro, add another sprig, leaf
- export back to Animation Shop.
You keep doing this until you have a vine with leaves growing up the tree.
I could have taken my time and done it properly, but just wanted to show the way I do it. :)
I figure that a nice vine that shows with smooth transitions would take about 30-40 frames. So a bit of work, but not bad.
This animation is seven frames, so kind of jerky.
JASC Paint Shop Pro and Animation Shop use a OLE function, so they both can be open at the same time. This alows one to make modification to an animation frame and update it back to Animation Shop.
I didn't use 3D leaves or sprigs, just 2d. That little orange blob is an undefined ladybug. :)
http://img122.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tree9vh.gif
Of course if you want this for a game, then you would to use an avi and import as a texture I suppose. Dunno not there yet as only using tS6.6 about a week or 10 days. :) |
Post by 1image // Feb 12, 2006, 2:59pm
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1image
Total Posts: 38
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Thanks guys, i'll give chamaeleons idea a go as i don't have all the post proccess tools available.
I will report back gentlemen in the near future :) |
Post by chamaeleon // Feb 12, 2006, 5:04pm
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chamaeleon
Total Posts: 74
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I couldn't resist making one more version. |
Post by 1image // Feb 12, 2006, 10:39pm
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1image
Total Posts: 38
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Your a classic thanks mate :) |
Post by W!ZARD // Feb 16, 2006, 10:29pm
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W!ZARD
Total Posts: 2603
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Hi Col - I only just found this thread. There used to be a free (or maybe shareware or time-limited fully finctioning demo) program called (I think) Plant Studio. I found it all a bit confusing at the time but IIRC it could create quite realistic looking plants that actually 'grew' over time in the same way real plants do.
It was some time ago I'm afraid and I no longer have the link but you could try google. If my failing memory serves me right this app would put out a 3DS model of a plant at each stage of growth which you could import into tS and keyframe the visibility of each successive model.
It might be difficult getting the vine to grow around your tree but this should work well for simpler things like opening flowers and so on. There seemed to be quite a lot of parameters one could play with and I was able to make some unique plants with it but theres a chance it could be just what you're looking for.
I dunno if this will be of any use to you at all but it's worth checking out |
Post by 1image // Feb 17, 2006, 12:12am
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1image
Total Posts: 38
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Thanks stephen i'll have a google and see what i can find. Man i've been so busy with the new course i'm doing, weve only been at it for 2 weeks and have already done 2 in camera ( no editing ) shoots. We've just been introduced to the world of production and i'm starting to wonder what i've got myself into, it's all good though, there very strong on composition. |
Post by 1image // Feb 17, 2006, 12:40am
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1image
Total Posts: 38
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yepp you were spot on, i'll have to play around with this one for a little while and see what happens,ta. |
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