Data files - https://oregonstate.box.com/s/h64vg0sa5ttyqx5hocgpcak77mkzsj6b

Blender Orchard Generator Addon

Installation

1. Download the addon files from the orchard_generator directory:

   • Go to this link.
   • Copy the URL and go to download-directory.github.io.
   • Paste the URL to get the zip file of the addon.

2. Open Blender.

3. Go to Edit -> Preferences -> Add-ons -> Install... (top right).

4. Choose the zip file you just downloaded and ensure the addon is toggled on.

5. To use the addon, press N to bring up the sidebar in the View3D menu, and it should be there.

Alternative (Highly recommended for development)

1. Download the Blender Development Visual Studio Code Extension by Jacques Lucke.
2. Have all the addon files in a workspace and simply follow the extension guide and you are good to go.

Usage

Setting Up the Render

1. Loading Properties:

   • If you want to load properties from a JSON file, enable the Load Properties from JSON
     option and specify the path to your JSON files directory. Then, in that directory, you should
     have a gui_parameters json file with all the parameters from the panel that you want to manually specify (see example below). You also need a other_parameters json file with parameters as specified in the example below.
     
     Otherwise, specify them in the Orchard and Image Render panels.

2. Specifying Paths:

   • Set the Texture Path and Tree Files Path to the respective directories containing your textures and tree models. Also, set the Images dir Path if you are taking images of the trees.

3. Setting parameters:

   • Set all parameters as you desire in both the panels

Rendering

1. Clean Blender Data:

   • The script starts by cleaning Blender data to ensure a fresh start.

2. Creating the Camera:

   • A camera object is created and optionally follows a sine wave path if Render Camera is enabled.

3. Loading Trees:

   • Trees are loaded from the specified directory.

4. Tree Placement:

   • Trees are placed on a grid with slight random noise for realism.

5. Texture Application:

   • Textures are applied to the trees. You can choose between random textures or a specific realistic texture in the json file other_parameters.

6. Rendering Posts and Wires:

   • If enabled, posts and wires are rendered along with the trees.

7. Rendering Sky and Sun:

   • The sky and sun are rendered based on the specified properties.

8. Rendering Ground:

   • A ground plane is created and subdivided with a displacement modifier to create a bumpy terrain. Textures are applied to the ground plane.

9. Polygon Clipping:

   • Objects outside the specified polygon coordinates are removed after rotation if Polygon Clipping is enabled.

10. Taking Images:

    • Images are taken if and only if Take image is enabled. They can also be taken by pressing the TAKE IMAGES button.
      
      The formatting for how the images are stored should be tweaked to fit your needs. Currently the
      files get overridden each render

11. Dumping Properties:

    • All properties are saved to a JSON file in the `dumps' directory with a timestamp for future reference.

JSON Configuration

The addon can load all the gui parameters from a JSON file. The file will look something like this:

Example JSON File

{
    "tree_file_path": "path to tree files dir...",
    "texture_path": "path to textures dir...",
    "json_files_path": "path to json files dir...",
    "load_props_from_json": true,
    "random_textures": false,
    "plane_unevenness": 2.5,
    "polygon_clipping": false,
    "tree_rows": 1,
    "tree_columns": 1,
    "orchard_yaw": 0.0,
    "tree_angle": [
        0.30000001192092896,
        0.0,
        0.0
    ],
    "num_sun_positions": 1,
    "wire_spacing": 0.5,
    "render_cam": false,
    "render_wires": true,
    "render_sky_and_sun": true,
    "render_posts": true,
    "render_plane": true,
    "render_polygons": false,
    "orchard_generated": false,
    "snap_image": false,
    "random_tree": true,
    "image_pairs": false,
    "image_dir_path": "path to dir for image storage...",
    "num_images": 2,
    "focal_length": 18.0,
    "aspect_X": 1.0,
    "aspect_Y": 1.0,
    "resolution_X": 1920,
    "resolution_Y": 1080,
    "cam_offset": [
        -3.0,
        2.799999952316284,
        1.5
    ],
    "left_min": 0.0,
    "right_max": 0.0,
    "in_min": 1.0,
    "out_max": 1.0,
    "down_min": 0.5,
    "up_max": 0.5,
    "camera_angle": [
        -1.5700000524520874,
        -3.140000104904175,
        0.0
    ],
    "min_x": -1.5707963705062866,
    "max_x": -1.5707963705062866,
    "min_y": -3.1415927410125732,
    "max_y": -3.1415927410125732,
    "min_z": 0.0,
    "max_z": 0.0
}

The addon can load additional parameters from a JSON file. The file should contain:

• Polygon coordinates
• Grid square coordinates for different tree types
• Random tree and ground texture file names
• Realistic tree and ground texture file names

Example JSON File

{
    "polygon_coordinates": [[x1, y1], [x2, y2], ...],
    "envy_grid_square_coordinates": [[x1, y1], [x2, y2], ...],
    "ufo_grid_square_coordinates": [[x1, y1], [x2, y2], ...],
    "random_tree_texture_file_names": ["texture1", "texture2", ...],
    "random_ground_texture_file_names": ["texture1", "texture2", ...],
    "realistic_tree_texture_file_name": "realistic_tree",
    "realistic_ground_texture_file_name": "realistic_ground"
}

Example dump JSON File name

props_dump_2024-07-17_00-32-32.json

Example image taken in Blender's 3-D Environment

Set sampling rendering to 1

link to download data -https://oregonstate.app.box.com/s/h64vg0sa5ttyqx5hocgpcak77mkzsj6b