Adding a Plant

One of the key features of Realtime Landscaping Pro is its immense plant
database. Thousands of plants are included that are used in landscape designs
across the world.
To add a plant:
1.
Click the Add Plant button found near the top of the screen under the
Landscape tab.
2.
Click the image of the default plant that appears to the right of the screen,
and then select the plant you would like to use.
3.
Click on your design where you want to place the plant. Hold the Ctrl key
to add more than one.
The picture below shows a landscape design using a variety
of different plants.

Plant Types: Models, Pictures, and UltraRes Plants®
Three types of plants are available: models, pictures, and
UltraRes Plants®.
Plant Models are 3D models used to represent trees,
shrubs, and other plants. They are not as realistic as pictures, but can be
viewed from any angle.
Plant pictures are 2D photographs of real plants.
These are look more realistic at a distance and in screen shots, but since they
are flat they are not as realistic during a realtime walkthrough or in movies.
UltraRes Plants® are an exciting new technology developed
exclusively by Idea Spectrum for our landscape design software. Our artists use
a proprietary computer program to design the "seed" for each plant, and the
UltraRes Plant® Engine grows the plants
dynamically based on the desired age, season, and plant-specific growth
characteristics. These plants are much more realistic and can be viewed from any
angle. However, they do require a more powerful video card due to the additional
level of geometric complexity.
Using the Choose Artwork dialog
The Choose Artwork dialog appears when you want to choose a
plant from the plant selection. Plants are organized by categories, such as
Shrubs, Tropical, and Trees, and also by planting zones, common names, botanical
names, mature ages, and mature heights.

If you want to search for a specific plant, click the
Search button. For details, see Searching for Plants.
Setting a Plant’s Starting Age
The starting age of a plant is set to a default value when
the plant is first added to your landscape design. The starting age can be
changed as needed to modify the height and width of the plant. In the picture
below, a Pyracantha is shown at 3 and 4 years.

The actual age of a plant is the sum of the plant’s
starting age and the Plant Growth setting. For example, if a landscape design
has an existing arborvitae that is five years old, the Starting Age property
should be set to 5 years.
To see how each plant will grow over time, use the Plant
Growth setting. For details, see Setting Plant
Growth.
Note: The plant growth is estimated based on plant growth
formulas, the plant’s mature age, and the plant’s mature height. Since other
factors influence growth, such as soil conditions and climate, it is recommended
to contact your local nursery for more exact sizing information.
Setting the UltraRes Plant® Season
UltraRes Plants® can
change their appearance based on the current season. By default, UltraRes
Plants® use the global season as defined in
the environment settings dialog. However, you can override the season for each
plant as needed using the Season property.
To set the current season:
1.
Click Setting and Environment Settings.
2.
Click the Season tab. The following dialog will appear:

3.
Click the button next to the desired season and then click the OK
button.
Tips:
• Only
UltraRes Plants® with their Season property
set to Use global setting will be affected.
• Not
all plants have a different appearance in all seasons. For example, most
evergreens have the same basic appearance all year.
Below is a Japanese Flowering Crabapple shown in each of
the four seasons:

Automatic Level of Detail
When viewing plant models and UltraRes Plants® from a distance, they automatically show less
detail the farther away they are. This helps your computer run faster when
working with large designs. However when you take a screen shot, create a movie,
or print your design, all plants will be drawn at their full resolution
regardless of their distance to the viewpoint.
Creating Custom Plants
The library of plant models and pictures can be expanded
using the Picture Import Wizard. To create
a custom plant variation based on the currently selected plant, use the Plant Creation Wizard. Note:
Due to their complexity, you cannot currently create custom variations of
UltraRes Plants®.
See also:
Plant Properties Searching for Plants Picture Import Wizard Model Import Wizard Plant Creation Wizard Model Creation Wizard Editing Materials Setting Object Properties Selecting Objects Editing Objects Setting Plant Growth
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