Rotating instances, keeping global vector direction

[archaeotect]

Is it possible to scatter a plant with the usual random rotation (using ForestPack or manually), but still have some paths of all instances keep the original global orientation (while only the rest of the plant rotates)? For example a field of randomly rotated sunflower plants with the flower heads still all pointing towards the sun?

 

I thought vector direction modifier plus handpicked global vector (point helper) would do the trick, but when I instance and rotate my plant the vector seems to rotate with each instance.

 

Maybe a target point or a wind modifier would keep a global direction, no matter how the instances are rotated?

[ptrain03]

I am not sure this exact thing can be done. The growFX model is already calculated before it is placed into forest pack and proxied. Rotating the proxie in Forest Pack wouldn't cause the Grow FX object to correct itself because the instruction happens outside of GrowFX (I think).

 

One thing you might try is making several sunflowers with different body rotations withing Grow FX and then assign no rotation within Forest Pack. This should give you sort of the same effect.  

[archaeotect]

Thanks ptrain03!

 

I feared as much. The problem with the workaround is that random rotations are so powerful at masking repetition.

 

I'm working on a wild, dense field of reeds. The feathery pannicles should all point away from the wind (more or less), but stems and leaves should not appear too orderly. Well, I guess I'll need more base models then.

[archaeotect]

I found a nice fix (at least with ForestPack):

 

1. Use the Wind Animation modifier & Wind helper to create the directionality for the pannicles, but make the wind affect leaves and stems, too.

2. In ForestPack use Animation > Random Samples. Forest Pack will sample different frames of the wind animation, adding variation without  changing direction of the applied force. You can control the variation by how many frames you choose to sample and how much the plant sways between those frames.

3. Optionally you can still add a small amount of random rotation in Forest Pack, maybe +/- 20°.

 

You get quite a lot of variation out of single GrowFX object this way.