3D Asset Details for Grass generator v1

This is a versatile grass and topiary generator capable of generating many varied types and patterns of grass for all your Houdini scenes.

The generator can grow grass on any custom input geometry allowing artists to quickly and easily add custom grass to any scene. Additionally, the asset provides the user with a variety of built in tools to convert, clean, crease, and subdivide the input geometry reducing the need to create a stack of nodes running in to the grass generator. This asset also features a handy polygon counter to ensure that you are always aware of the poly-count of your input geometry to avoid overtaxing your system and slowing down your workflow. For users who wish to use this tool to create topiaries, it also includes a second growth system that entirely changes the setup used to grow the grass that is much better suited to that application while maintaining the customization and versatility that can be achieved with the standard grass-growth setup.

Every element of the generated grass can be controlled directly from the asset interface allowing artists to quickly change:

1.) The number of grass blades.

2.) The distribution of the grass.

3.) The color of the grass (via a standard color ramp with a variety of noise parameters).

4.) The curvature and noise of the grass blades.

Powered largely by VEX, this generator is capable of creating anything from patches of grass to dense fields very quickly dramatically reducing the downtime on your workflow. Dependent upon your system, many growth setups can be created and altered in real-time. To further increase the speed and power of this tool, the asset includes a variety of different output types. The output types currently included are:

Lines : Blades of grass are represented by simple lines. This is the fastest output type.

Polygons : Polygonal representation of grass blades. The user can easily control the polygon density of the blades to ensure the best look for every situation.

UV Strips : Polygonal representation of grass blades with preset UV's allowing the user to use custom grass blade textures (with alpha background). This allows the user to achieve a more realistic look to their grass if they wish to be able to view the grass extremely close to the camera.

In the event that you wish to add additional foliage types, this generator includes a setup that can be used to easily add any additional geometry to your fields of grass. Included with the asset are two, simple flower models. Additionally, however, the user can specify a custom geometry file which allows you to add you own custom trees, flowers, rocks, of whatever else you may wish to add directly from the asset interface. The user can then specify:

Count : The amount of custom geometry files you wish to add.

Scale : The overall scale of the custom geometry file as well as a min and max scale for a more random feel.

Distribution : The positions at which the custom geometry will be added.

It is also possible to use the grass generated by this tool as an input to a Vellum Hair setup for artists who wish to simulate wind on their grass. The generator will, by default, output a point group called "root" which can be used to pin the base of each blade of grass. This group can be turned off from within the Advanced setting if it is not needed. It should be noted, however, that this functionality is only possible when the output type is set to Lines.

More advanced Houdini users may wish to turn on the "Enabled Advanced Parameters" setting from within the Advanced tab. This allows the user to access many features of the tool that are otherwise left hidden to avoid confusion.