Thorn tests

One of the main challenges for my project is the generation of growing thorns. My initial plan splits the problem into 3 sections; background, midground, and foreground. Each level of detail presents it's own set of problems.

Background:

The thorns shown in the background require a low level of detail and won't need to be animated. A simple solution to this is the use of alpha planes and matte paintings which are quick and easy, allowing me to focus my attention on the higher detail assets. I put together a very quick and messy example of what the use of alpha planes could look like. By rotating and scaling this single image (below) I filled a large area with thorns without much obvious duplication

Midground:

This will be where the bulk of the thorn generation takes place. These thorns require animation but still a relatively low level of detail, and should work fine with a simple shader as opposed to painted textured. My first test was using Maya Paint Effects, in which the user defines curves which the vines climb up and a series of parameters which control the final geometry. This technique gives me a pretty high level of control and decent results without much time being invested, once the original parameters are set up. However, there are some issues with geometry intersection and it can be difficult to get the right aesthetic. Also, as I have to define each curve separately and define all the keyframes for animation it would be a very time consuming option for covering large areas.

The other technique I intend to implement is a script which will procedurally generate the thorns using l-systems combined with vector tropisms to define the growth patterns. This will allow me to simply select a growth point from which the thorns will grow, attracted to nearby geometry. This will automatically cover large surfaces without my having to define curves or animation keys. The user will be able to define growth parameters and the general direction of growth but the results will be largely controlled by the system. I will be working on this for my masterclass project so all of the research towards it will be found there.

In contrast to the pfx option, the script offers a quick solution for covering large areas, but without the high level of control. The best solution may be a combination of the two, using the script wherever possible but resorting to pfx whenever a higher level of control is needed.

Foreground:

There will be a couple of very close up shots in my animation which will require highly detailed and controlled sections of thorns. For these I intend to use the traditional method of modelling, texturing, rigging, and key frame animating pieces of geometry. To start, I will use the thorn wall from Maleficant as a reference for a design and animation style of these pieces.