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View Full Version : Modelling A Photo-Realistic Dandelion Flower In Maya

DrEvilBear
05-10-2006, 01:18 PM
Hi Guys

So.... the title pretty much sums it up, I'm required to model a photo-real dandelion (in the stage where you can blow the seeds off) for my next job, and I'm trying to think about the most effective way of doing it, while keeping it as simple as possible (i can imagine poly-counts shooting through the roof) so my machine can deal with the scenes well enough.

There are a lot of posts on this site where people have shown their modelling progress while making such a model, but no-one has gone into any kind of detail of the techniques they used.

The Paint FX dandelion in Maya is not great - gives a nice start, but nowhere near photo-real.

Except for modelling one seed in hi-detail and then instancing it around a central sphere, what kinda techniques might you guys use?

Ps. The model doesn't need to be animated neccesarily - ie. the seeds dont need to blow off, so this may mean the model can be simpler..

Although, if it could be modelled in such a way that the seeds CAN be detached and animated blowing away then i'm sure my clients would love that!

Thanks for any advices you guys might have for me!
Lord McGoat
05-10-2006, 03:10 PM
Well for the middle bit I guess you could just instance the geometry round the sphere, makes sense, and you won't really need many polys per seed. The tip and stalk bit of the seed I imagine would be fairly straightforward and not require many polys. The main tricky bit looks to be the feathery ends of the seeds. I reckon I'd try modelling them out of half-spheres, and alpha mapping them to give that soft look.
DrEvilBear
05-10-2006, 05:25 PM
Lordy Lordy Lordy,

Thanks for the tips dude. I hadn't considered using a hemisphere with alpha'd texture on it for the seed heads - that's a pretty darned decent idea! Maybe create 4 or 5 different one and scatter them all on the inner sphere to give a randomer, more organic feeling model.

Thanks for the advice, I'd still love to hear from other people who may have taken on the challenge of modelling one of these complex plants...

Cheers! :thumbsup:
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