Hi all!

FIRST. let me say thanks for all the help in the past.  Nice to know there are some folks around to help out with the ol' knowledge base...

Is it just the way I make my trees in Tree Lab, or do all Bryce trees have a "hump" in the middle of the trunk?  I've been using a terrain to make the bottom half look more or less "normal", but it's a pain in the rear.  Am I doing something to cause this "hump"?

I'm using Bryce 5.5...

Thanks in advance...

Kevin

Say GreenHawke, welcome back. How about posting a sample pic demonstrating your concern. It may be something fixable within the tree lab which someone may have already tweaked.

I've attached a part of one of my postings here.  As you can see, the tree behind the figure has a "hump" in the trunk.  Usually, I sink the tree deep enough to cover the hump or make a terrain mesh to act as a "sleeve" over the affected area.  But, I would like to use the whole tree and not have to apply a "sleeve".

Thanks!

Kevin

That metaball hump is present on all bryce generated trees as far as I know.  I don't know of anyway to generate a tree trunk without it being there. 

Quote - That metaball hump is present on all bryce generated trees as far as I know.  I don't know of anyway to generate a tree trunk without it being there. 

Bummer!  Hopefully, Bryce 7 will have it beat.  I noticed it before I even started using Bryce.  It's not (that I have noticed) in any other modeling programs.  Problem is, I LOVE Bryce!  Don't want to use any other programs.

Thanks much for the quick answer!

Kevin

LOL!  Okay...  I guess I'll just have to "deal with it"!  :-)

Like I said:  I hope Bryce 7 has a fix for it...

Kevin

This has been around at least since Bryce 5, possibly Bryce 4...there actually was once a freebie that 'fixed' the hump, and was in Freebies here, though I haven't seen it in years....

Quote - This has been around at least since Bryce 5, possibly Bryce 4...there actually was once a freebie that 'fixed' the hump, and was in Freebies here, though I haven't seen it in years....

Bummer!  I try to never do post work (a way of forcing myself to do better work), but that's nearly impossible with the trees from Bryce...

Like I said:  I hope Bryce 7 doesn't have that problem...

Thanks for the input!  It is very much appreciated!

Kevin

There are a few things you can do to make the hump look less intrusive::

• Some of the preset tree shapes have less of a hump than others - try them until you find the best one.
• Increase the trunk thickness and adjust the distribution dials to make the branches break from a poinr as close to the hump as possible - this makes it look more natural
• Adjust the distribution and gravity dials to get some foliage hanging down to break the outline of the hump
• Stick a tiny tree with big leaves roots-first into the hump to look like a branch - again that makes the hump look more like a natural growth bulge
• Put two trees together then adjust their height and rotation until each one's branches are disguising the other tree's hump
• If all else fails use some small trees as suckers or shrubs around the base to hide the hump

Quote - There are a few things you can do to make the hump look less intrusive::

• Some of the preset tree shapes have less of a hump than others - try them until you find the best one.
• Increase the trunk thickness and adjust the distribution dials to make the branches break from a poinr as close to the hump as possible - this makes it look more natural
• Adjust the distribution and gravity dials to get some foliage hanging down to break the outline of the hump
• Stick a tiny tree with big leaves roots-first into the hump to look like a branch - again that makes the hump look more like a natural growth bulge
• Put two trees together then adjust their height and rotation until each one's branches are disguising the other tree's hump
• If all else fails use some small trees as suckers or shrubs around the base to hide the hump

Thanks!  I appreciate the ideas.  It can be pretty hard to make a decent tree sometimes...  ;-)

Kevin

I've usually used the "put more than one tree together" idea. Although, I never even realized there was a hump issue.

Quote - I've usually used the "put more than one tree together" idea. Although, I never even realized there was a hump issue.

Wow...  That is a cool idea, actually!  I hadn't really considered it, though it (along with other suggestions) has been mentioned.  Sounded like a bear to get them to "work" together, but, now that I think about it, I think I'll do some playing around with that idea. 

Really?  You never noticed the "hump" before?  I noticed it before I even played with Bryce...

THANKS for the idea (you and **judyk)!

Kevin****
**

Thanks!   A little more tweaking and they should be super!

:-D

Kevin

Hey Kevin,
That tree looks great and doesn't even look like two trees put together. I forgot to mention something, but it looks like it isn't an issue for you. Sometimes when two trees that are copies are near each other there are holes. Maybe this was fixed from the earlier versions or maybe you made your second tree different from the first. I figured I'd mention that bug just in case it pops up.
Angela
ps yeah, I never noticed it, lol.

No, the bug is still there.  After I attempted to make a couple of tree in  a scene, they had whle sections missing from the base of the main branches.

So, this is not a problem if the trees are not copies of each other?

Kevin

I use postwork to get rid of Bryce's pregnant tree bumps. If you use Photoshop, you can use the "liquify" feature under Filters and nudge the bumps inward. You have to be aware of what the background is and avoid warping it. Working on a duplicate layer you can erase to top layer to get the background back. PSP might have some warping tool, not sure. You can also clone the bumps out

I use an old version of Paint Shop Pro (v3.12).  Been using it for YEARS.  It doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the newer version and other programs have, but it's easy to use!  It has cloning, etc.  I generally use a combo of different stuff to take down the hump, if it's even an issue...

Kevin