Skip to main content

ForestPack 9.3 - Highlights for Artists

ForestPack 9.3 introduces new creative controls for ForestIvy and ForestScatter that make vegetation workflows faster, more natural, and easier to art-direct.

At a glance​

  • ForestIvy: Wind animation with global and per-component controls.
  • ForestIvy: Tapered branches and branch rotation for believable growth.
  • ForestIvy: Extend baselines by painting, no redraws.
  • Scatter: Grayscale-driven distribution maps for natural variation.
  • Scatter: Random scale by Area for local control in a single object.
  • Scatter: Faster viewport area painting with keyboard shortcuts.
  • Scatter Several Stability and performance improvements.

ForestIvy​

Wind animation​

ForestIvy branch and leaf animation Animated branches and leaves

Add motion to climbing plants without rigging.

  • A master switch enables the system across the entire plant.
  • Strength defines global influence.
  • Loop (frames) controls playback rate.
  • Branches and leaves can be adjusted independently for more nuanced effects.
  • A toggle in the Display rollout allows animation preview directly in the viewport. It is off by default for responsive editing, but can be enabled for setup.

This makes it easy to keep stems calm and let foliage flutter for a realistic breeze.

Tapered branches​

Tapered Branches Tapered Branches

Branches can narrow toward their tips instead of staying uniform. In the Branches rollout:

  • Set Min Width and Max Width
  • Adjust Scale Range to define taper distance

Branch rotation​

Use the new Branch Rotation parameter in the Growth rollout to rotate offshoots around the main stem, breaking up repetitive patterns on vertical surfaces.

Extend baselines by painting​

Extending the baselines Extend baselines by drawing near the end

Continue growing ivy without starting over. Enable Paint, click near the end of an existing baseline, and carry on painting.

Forest Scatter​

Grayscale-driven distribution​

Distribution maps using grayscale Distribution maps using grayscale

Distribution images can now be interpreted as density maps instead of simple masks.

  • White = maximum density
  • Black = minimum density
  • Grayscale values = smooth interpolation

Enable Use as Density Map to activate this mode.

Random scale by Area​

Each Area can define its own scale range.

  • Found in Areas → Scale Min/Max
  • Apply variation near paths, edges, or falloffs
  • Keep everything in one ForestPack object

Faster paint/erase​

Hold Ctrl to paint and Alt to erase in Paint Areas. No need to switch tools in the modify panel.

Other fixes​

  • Corona Interactive Rendering avoids unnecessary rebuilds
  • More stable collision checks for large distributions
  • Include/Exclude falloffs no longer interfere
  • Preset libraries with empty geometry layers now load properly