Procedural Modeling of Botanical Trees

‌Abstract

The exact mechanisms controlling plant growth are a topic of ongoing botanical research. This makes the realistic computer simulation of plants a challenging task. We present a method for generating realistic models of trees and shrubs. This method is based on the biological hypothesis that the form of a developing tree emerges from a self-organizing process dominated by the competition of buds and branches for light or space, and regulated by internal signaling mechanisms. Simulations of this process robustly generate a wide range of realistic trees and bushes. The generated forms can be controlled with a variety of interactive techniques, including procedural brushes, sketching, and editing operations such as pruning and bending of branches. We illustrate the usefulness and versatility of the proposed method with diverse tree models, forest scenes, animations of tree development, and examples of combined interactive-procedural tree modeling.

Brief Biography

Wojtek Palubicki is leading the Natural Phenomena Modeling Group at the Faculty of Mathematics and Compter Science at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan.