Brycetech: Bryce has a Woodie Part3

There are two shape menus in the tree lab. These will allow you to apply basic presets to the tree you are creating. Simply pick the desired menu (for the tree and the leaf).

Remember, no one said you HAVE to choose the same name from both dropdown menus. Applying one tree and a different leaf can give an interesting degree of variety. There is no set law that says a pine has to be triangular or a maple has to be oval. Some of the best images have trees that break the standard expected appearances.

However, if you use the exact same settings with a different tree shape, you will get an entirely different looking tree. Keep this in mind when trying to create your own trees. If you can not get the exact appearance to work using one preset shape, try a different one.

Gravity:

This slider will determine how much the limbs bend as a simulation of the effects of gravity. Low values will have no effect on the tree, high values will make the limbs arc downwards.

Randomness:

This slider controls the random appearance of the trees created. No two trees appear the same in nature. This slider will determine how much different each tree appears from another even if it is of the same species. The only way to get an identical tree from a previous one is to duplicate or copy/paste it in the main window.

Leaf Scale:

This slider controls the size of the leaves on the limbs of the tree. Low values result in very small leaves. High values result in very large leaves.

The size of leaves aids in simulation of the size of the tree itself. More about this later in the tutorial.

Leaf Numbers:

This slider controls the number of leaves applied to the limbs of trees. Low values result in low numbers of leaves. High values result in higher numbers of leaves.

In general the scale and number of leaves will be used to help simulate the size and health of a tree. If you have a large tree, you would use a low scale and a high number. If you have a small tree. You would use a high scale and a low number. However, you can of course use the scale and size as you think it appears best.

Leaf Distribution:

These controls allow for the different arrangement of leaves on a tree's limb. There are 5 different types to choose from. Depending on the species of tree, the arrangement will be different. However, you can copy/paste a tree and then edit the duplicate to simulate multiple distributions at the same time. You may want to make the tree trunk invisible (in the material lab).

Stacked: With this option the leaves are placed opposite one another on a limb.
Staggered: With this option the leaves are staggered up the limb.
Spiral: With this option, the leave are applied around the limb.
Bunched: With this option the leaves are applied to the tip of the limb.
Coniferous: With this option, the leaves are placed along the branch up its center as well as on the end.

Realism

It is necessary to alter the material of the trees to add realism to their appearance. For instance, with the leaves...simply enter the material lab.
Once into the material lab click the button that will take you into the material editor.
Once in the DTE, you can now change the colors to whatever you want. One good option is to use various shades of the same color.
Have you ever heard the saying that all Bryce renders look like Bryce renders? The reason that is true is because Bryce deeply saturates the colors it uses. However, you can take control of this. Once you have chosen a color, hold down the Alt key and click the color swatch. You will get a menu like the one to the right. Choose the HLS setting.
Drag the S slider to the left to reduce the saturation of the color. This can help greatly in reducing the amount of touchup you do to renders.
Additionally, when creating trees...you must take the size of the tree into account. If you have a very large tree, you can not use the default settings given you by Bryce. If you do, trees with bark will appear odd as the bark has too low of a frequency. To change the bark frequency, enter the material lab and select the control indicated to the right. Try various settings until you get a bark texture that is properly sized for the size of the tree.
Additionally, it will be necessary to change the size of the leaves for various sized trees. A 40 foot tree may have the same size leaf as a 10 foot one in the real world, but the settings in Bryce are based on tree scale, not an actual size of the leaf. Therefore, a 40 foot tree in Bryce would most likely look better with a leaf scale of one, while a 20 foot one may look better with a scale of 4 or 5.

Site Note:

This is not meant to be an all inclusive instruction on every possible way to have made the final image or produce the desired results. Bryce offers zillions of wonderful ways to replicate, multireplicate, reposition, etc. in its powerful interface. Experiment!