F12 releases The Grove 2.3 for Blender and Houdini
The Grove’s new web demo. Version 2.3 of the tree-generation software for Blender and Houdini users adds the option to draw trees directly into a scene, plus support for Houdini Indie.
F12 – aka developer Wybren van Keulen – has released The Grove 2.3, the latest version of the software for generating biologically plausible tree models for use in VFX, animation and games.
The update makes it possible to draw new trees directly into a scene, adds support for subdividing branches, and a new export mesh structure that plays nicer with real-time apps.
In addition, the Houdini edition of The Grove now supports Houdini Indie.
Mimic the growth forms of real trees
The Grove takes a parametric approach to generating trees, with controls that mimic the factors determining the forms of real plants, resulting in more realistic-looking models.
Once the overall form has been set, The Grove fills in details using ‘Twigs’: instanced geometry representing not only actual twigs, but leaves, flowers and fruit, sold separately to the core app.
The resulting textured geometry can be exported from the user’s host software in standard file formats, including FBX, OBJ and USD, for use in other DCC applications.
Users can also generate wind and growth animations, exportable in Alembic format.
Since The Grove 2.0, the software – originally a Blender plugin – has become a standalone application, with integrations for Blender and Houdini.
The Grove 2.3: plays nicer with real-time apps
Key changes in The Grove 2.3 include the option to use the Draw tool to draw entire trees into a scene – either on the ground plane, or from objects – rather than drawing branches onto trees.
Users also get a new Subdivide option for smoothing the curves of branches that have been grown from node to node, increasing polygon count, but improving the silhouette.
Texturing workflow has been improved, with The Grove now automatically scaling repeats of bark textures around the circumference of a branch, rather than requiring manual input.
There is also a new option to split meshes along the length of a branch and separate the end cap geometry, matching the mesh structure used by real-time engines and web frameworks like three.js and webGL. The mesh structure should also play nicer with tools like Rhino.
Performance improvements include a 75% reduction in the volume of growth simulation data generated, at the cost of limiting the tools that can be used while recording a timelapse.
Now works with Houdini Indie
In addition, Houdini users get support for Houdini Indie, the much lower-cost edition of the software for artists and studios generating less than $100,000/year in revenue.
The Blender edition now supports Blender 5.0, the latest stable version of the software.
Pricing and availability
The Grove 2.3 is compatible with Blender 4.2+ and Houdini 19.0+ on Windows, Linux and macOS.
The software comes in three editions. All of them include the Blender plugin, but only the Studio edition includes the Houdini plugin.
The Starter edition costs €99 (around $114). The Indie edition costs €199 ($228). The Studio edition costs €799 ($916). Individual Twigs cost €9.69.
Read a full list of new features in The Grove 2.3 on the product website
Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.