how would you model a forest of "treetops"?
So im doing a birds-eye view of a forest environment I wish to be presented entirely within max. Ive gone from making a low-poly tree and instancing it all over the environment, to making an even lower-poly tree(essentially a trunk with 3 horizontile planes as leaves), and still, for the amount of tree coverage I want Its just simply way too dense to have individual trees.
So, Im thinking of making a few large "blankets" with tree-tops painted all over them.. and poke the faces in the centers so I can pop them up so its not just flat. This is the only way I can think to portray a thick forest and still be able to present it within max, but Im very worried because I dont think its going to look all too good haha.
What would you guys do?
So, Im thinking of making a few large "blankets" with tree-tops painted all over them.. and poke the faces in the centers so I can pop them up so its not just flat. This is the only way I can think to portray a thick forest and still be able to present it within max, but Im very worried because I dont think its going to look all too good haha.
What would you guys do?
Replies
At a certain distance, the mesh doesn't matter as much as the texture. Just a bumpy plane really.
Add some modeled tree tops here and there to break the monotony/silhouette. Make sure the colors match perfectly with the bumpy mass.
Take a look at how Crysis does their far LOD for their forests. Should give you some ideas.