What's the best way to generate trees

[Anonymous]

What is the best way to generate trees and foliage in Archicad? I am using Photoshop at the moment to place trees and foliage as I am not happy with the results I am getting from Archicad.
The quallity, even on high settings (high dpi and high object default settings) is not very realistic compared to everything else that Lightworks renders, also the generating times increase dramatically.
I am using the default trees in Archicad and a downloaded library from the Archicad forum.
My computer specs are
2.6 Ghz processor
1gb ram
320 Gig HD
I am happy enough with the rendering times (with out trees) as it takes about 10mins for a 2000 x 750 (pixels) render at 250dpi

[Dwight]

So the major flaw in having a flat tree photo rotate to face the camera during a flythru is that it only has one sun angle that could anywhere close match the Archicad sun angle - the rest of the frames make it look like a plywood tree. Sort of like a stopped watch is right twice a day.

[Anonymous]

Dwight wrote:
"hen exporting the tree model to 3Ds, the user can constrain model complexity by simplifying the model and flattening leaves.

Since most 3Ds applications use a different XYZ system than Archicad, the tree model may arrive in Archicad laying down. Fix this in the 3Ds import dialog and import again.

In my seminar, [Washington DC, Oct22 - Philadelphia, Oct23 - New York Oct25 - Boston, Oct26] I suggest importing foliage as a separate object from the trunk and branches so that they can be rotated against one another to give more complex iterations [2 objects = infinite variation].

I got the program, I see it may take practice.
Should I wait for the seminar to ask for further exlanation on what you have mentioned above? You think you're going to be reviewing this stuff then?

[Dwight]

This is pretty simple once you get to it, but I will add a short set of illustrations to the seminar just for you.

If you are in a hurry, try searching the Forum archive.

[Anonymous]

Dwight, how well do the trees convert from 3ds, are you able to post a pic of a onyxtree rendered in archiCAD.

Thanks

[Dwight]

Here's an image of a highly-edited tree - leaf size exaggerated - and my special leaf material applied. Be sure to tell them "Dwight sent me" once you buy it.