Author Topic: Plants in Corona  (Read 7812 times)

2020-12-13, 12:40:20

Mettigel Hawaii

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Hello,

I am planning a scene with a lots of trees, since I will show a tropical park in my rendering. Do you have any tips where I can find plants? I was wondering wheter it's a good idea to do it in Cinema/Corona, since so far I couldn't find any trees in the library.

2020-12-13, 20:34:40
Reply #1

davetwo

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I believe most people use Forester www.3dquakers.com/forester-for-cinema-4d/

2020-12-14, 01:16:10
Reply #2

frv

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Laubwerk

2020-12-14, 11:27:35
Reply #3

Mettigel Hawaii

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Thanks, those are amazing and I already downloaded the demo of Laubwerk. The full version of Laubwerk and Forester is too expensive to me as I am a student. Are there any further plugins that are cheaper for students or free?

2020-12-14, 14:34:48
Reply #4

Beanzvision

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I would recommend this, it's 100% free and virtually the same as Speedtree. ;)
http://www.evolved-software.com/treeit/treelibrary

Another tree/plant generator:
http://arbaro.sourceforge.net/

Bengamin Jerrems l chaos-corona.com
3D Support Specialist - Corona l contact us
Corona Uploader l Upload
Portfolio l Click me!

2020-12-14, 17:21:56
Reply #5

BigAl3D

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Hi Mettigel.

It would be helpful to see what you're trying to achieve. In the design and graphics world, you will always look for ways to cheat at a look or effect to achieve a final product faster and cheaper. For a tropical scene, you could use actual tree models for closer items and 2D planes for background trees.

You didn't mention if this is an animation or a still. Big question.

2020-12-15, 22:32:27
Reply #6

Mettigel Hawaii

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@beanvision thank you, I will try those trees.

@BigAI3D
I want to get 4 pictures for my architectural presentation board, so it's no animation. I have 2 perspectives from outside of my building and 2 from the inside. the park is not too big, the houses around are visibile at some view points. Also I need bushes and grass.

2020-12-15, 22:58:12
Reply #7

Cinemike

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Don't forget there's a collection of plants in the contents browser of C4D. They need a conversion to Corona, but they come for free.

Then, there is also a surprisingly high number of free models available in the internet, for example at https://free3d.com/de/3d-models/baum or https://c4ddownload.com/category/free-3d-models/cinema-4d-decor-free-3d-models/gardenplant-free-3d-models/ (first google links I got).

Yes, they need conversion to Corona, but that's not as bad as it sounds, and you can add the needed and mostly omitted translucency, you learn some and save money.

CU
Michael

2021-09-29, 15:35:15
Reply #8

glbarns

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Hi there,

I just came across this, looking to how you use the c4d library trees with Corona. How do you do that??

Would be great if you could help.

Thanks

2021-09-29, 22:24:13
Reply #9

Cinemike

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Let me give you an example.

Load the cherry tree model from the content browser / asset browser (depending on what version of C4D you have). It comes with a material for the bark and another one for the leaves. Copy both materials (Edit/Copy in the Material Manager).

Now go to the Corona menu and execute "Convert Scene...". This command does exactly what it says, it converts the C4D materials to Corona materials. But these materials need some work.
Let's start with the bark. Here, the conversion ran almost perfectly. You just need to adjust the glossiness value of 50% to something less wet, like 20%. But that's up to you.

Now to the leaves. Here we will have to do a little more work.

Let's start in the base layer. First thing we notice is a black "Layer" texture. When we open it, it's empty. The Corona material converter has been screwing up C4D layer shaders as long as I can remember. I hope this gets fixed one day. Until then there's a "workaround". We did not copy the original materials for nothing! So it is time to "Edit/Paste" them.
Now that we have the original materials back, we open the C4D leaf material and "copy shader" the intact layer from there and paste it in our Corona material.

The bump channel was converted correctly, we leave it as it is.

The last thing we need to adjust is the opacity. We go to the opacity channel, click on the texture and then click on "Layer Set / Select". We need the alpha channel of the texture, so check that box and click "Ok".

As a bonus, we can now add Translucency, which will often improve the realism of a plant rendering greatly.
Go the the General channel and check "Thin Shell". Now we can activate "Translucency". Increase "Value" to 50%. Copy the color texture from the base layer (it should even still be in our copy buffer) and paste it in the Color texture slot of "Translucency". I often add a little yellow to the texture here, but that's up to you, as much as tweaking any other setting along the way.

Hope this helps.
Michael
« Last Edit: 2021-09-29, 22:28:14 by Cinemike »

2021-10-01, 20:41:34
Reply #10

BigAl3D

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Unless you're getting close and personal, why not leave the materials as C4D materials? Corona will still render them as they are. Will they render faster using Corona materials? Just curious. I might do some testing for myself.

2021-10-02, 11:55:59
Reply #11

burnin

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Using Standard material, some channels  pose a problem. ie Reflectance,  where only roughness applies and Metals (Conductors) can't be reproduced.
Or is just me? I haven't done any deep research... But for plants that would suffice.

2021-10-02, 13:02:20
Reply #12

Cinemike

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I strongly advise against using unconverted tree materials.
Left: The tree with C4D materials "as is".
Right: Basic conversion done (no adaption or extras yet).

You'd still have to adapt the alpha layer in the native material and the layer shader in "Color" is not rendered correctly either. So you better convert manually to proper Corona materials and save your work. It's a few minutes per plant/tree and worth the effort.

« Last Edit: 2021-10-02, 13:09:07 by Cinemike »

2021-10-02, 15:25:01
Reply #13

BigAl3D

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Well alright then. Question answered.

Wait. I spoke too soon. That tree on the left you posted was just too wacky not to try it for myself. I grabbed a maple tree from the content browser. The only other thing I did was add a darker green to the diffuse channel and hit multiply. The green was way too light for my brain to handle.

As you can see, I have three versions here. The C4D tree renders just fine for me. The two Corona trees have some very dark shadows going on the bark for some reason. I'm just saying that in a pinch and when you're using a lot of tree models, and you're on a tight budget, AND you don't have time or the expertise to fix the materials, a C4D version could work. Having said that, many of those trees are not the most realistic looking things. Not enough leaves, too many in the same direction, etc., but at a distance works.

I just noticed that these trees, even the converted ones, are not casting proper shadows. The second image I added a sun object. Previous was just HDRI.
« Last Edit: 2021-10-02, 16:20:37 by BigAl3D »

2021-10-02, 19:53:34
Reply #14

Cinemike

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I am afraid you cheated ^^
Accidentally. Unintentionally ;)

From the 4 maple trees from the asset browser, two come with non-layer color textures, these work and don't render black, The other two don't.

And then there's the alpha layer assignment issue (that sometimes hits).

CU
Michael
« Last Edit: 2021-10-02, 20:01:36 by Cinemike »