Tree Growth Animation

[Tom]

Hi. 
I would like to ask for an advice for making a tree growth animation in Houdini.

If there are some tutorials or any other kind of materials that could help me, I would appriciate if you could share with them

 

Growth happens for around 2 minutes.

Tree growth will start like a seed (very small/thin trunk) similirat to this animation but without leaves https://vimeo.com/32134340#t=6s

As more branches grow, thicker the trunk becomes.

This animation has to be very art directable, so randomly growing is not an option (except the very last levels of branches).

 

My inital plan is to to manuali draw first 2-3 levels of branches (including trunk) and then run it though some assets that I will build wich does the growth (with all the animation controls and etc).

I have attached concept images that have to be replicated almost 100%.

 

Thanks in advance!
Tom

 

 

 

Edited March 21, 2015 by Tom

[Tom]

This is my current progress:

 

 

It takes 2 files, where each one containts different level of branch curves and does the growth based on them.

Also thanks to Johnny Roek for his example scene, that can be found here https://www.facebook.com/groups/HoudiniFX/1066421030040292/

 

 

 

 

 

Next problem:

I would like to do is create behavior like this.

Where branch that "borns" follows the growth.

 

 

 

I have attached two scene files. One with the progress and one with the follow behavior example.

Tree_Dev_Day1_progress.hip

Tree_Test_002.hip

Edited March 22, 2015 by Tom

[yesyes]

L-systems

[freaq]

tom not sure that actually happens, with trees,
usually the branch spawns and stays at a certain height, although branches that don;t receive any light die off (so lower branches die.)
but the branches as far as I'm aware don't slide up with the tree.

[Tom]

Well, thats the look I need to make even if its not the realistic scenario. 

[CiaranM]

tom not sure that actually happens, with trees,

usually the branch spawns and stays at a certain height, although branches that don;t receive any light die off (so lower branches die.)

but the branches as far as I'm aware don't slide up with the tree.

 

Sure they do. Think about it this way...imagine a big old tree with two main brances (bifurcation). That first branching happened when the tree was a little sapling a few inches off the ground. Now 100 years later the branch point is 15 feet above the ground. The tree is always growing and elongating - it's most clear at the youngest part of the tree where growth is fast, but falls off quickly away from those growth points.