Tool to convert opacity mapped faces into geometry leaves

[DJ-Studd]

Thank you for this script. Now my XFrog tree renders in 1/15th of the time.

Here, have a kiss!

-- DJ

Edit: Just having trouble getting my map to appear on the leaves

-- DJ

[joconnell]

Heya DJ - give your leaf object mapping coordinates and collapse it's stack before using the script and the newly made leaf mesh will have proper mapping.

[DJ-Studd]

Thanks Joconnell, I'll try that once I get this tree converted.

Seems to be too big for it, I keep getting an "-- Unknown system exception" message.

-- DJ

Edit: Doesn't seem to like doing this xfrog tree with 17,256 faces. lol.
Might have to try breaking it up a bit.

-- DJ


Edit: 900 nodes in my poly probably doesn't help.... lol...

[DJ-Studd]

Seems to be working now. I've gotten my leaf down to 170ish vertices and played around with the script to disable the screenredraw, that's where it errored.

Worked well, albeit a very big tree. Bring on the vrayproxy!

-- DJ

[DJ-Studd]

"Hmmmm"....


This is what my tree is supposed to look like (As the 3ds model I purchased from X-Frog with turbosquid):



This is what my tree looks like after processing said model with John's script:



Any ideas?

-- DJ

[RErender]

looks like the pivots are in the wrong place.

[DJ-Studd]

Ah thanks, I'll give that a shot.

To me it also looks like the density of the leaves is just waaaay too high, almost like it's duplicating them? Or maybe that's just an effect of the pivots.... here goes!

-- DJ

[priad]

May be linked to the alpha channel.

[joconnell]

Yup - eric is spot on - The pivot of the new leaf object is placed at the center of the leaf that you are replacing so when you're making a geometry leaf object take that into account.

[Da_elf]

maybe its just fall and thats a still image capturing the leaves as they all fall off the tree at the same time

[joconnell]

God farted.

[oconv]

well, here is a little workaround for people having difficulties converting xfrog trees, like me

since the xfrog leaf planes are made of two triangles, the script will put two leaves instead of one. how to get rid of this?

export the leaves as 3ds. import them into accutrans. perform triangles to quad. export as lightscape .lp. (preserves quads) import lp into max.

run the leaf_converter.

many thanks to joconnell for the handy script.

accutrans:
http://www.micromouse.ca

-oconv

[CXStudios]

Or I just convert the leaves to an editable mesh, go to the edge sub-object level, do a select-all, and then do Auto-Edge. With the right angle level this will leave only the outer edges visible. And you don't have to deal with a bunch of different programs

[oconv]

great tip. can't remember ever been working in edge sub-object level before

[chad]

I'm glad you figured it out...I was having the same problem.