Lines and Trees

This project was an attempt at generating recursive tree like structures that could be animated in the wind. I completed this project as my final project for Media Arts and Technology graduate class 201B: Computing with Media Data.

The trees are generated using a simple recursive brancing function which decides where to place each node in the mesh. I attempted to add simple spring forces to simulate the effects of wind forces on the trees, which in its failures did create interesting wiggly dancing trees.

Because I wasn't able to get realistic physics for the trees just yet, I also included a more realistic cloth simulation as the ground for the tree to rest on. The simulation uses springs and a verlet integration based solver. Wind forces are simulated using random numbers representing gust durations, direction, and magnitude. The environment also plays the sound of gusting wind with amplitude based on the magnitude of the simulated wind.

Images