> What I seem to observe are turbulent wave patterns moving
> the stalks back and forward....
> I am not really satisfied yet with the pattern.

I think the back part might be why you don't like it.
I don't think the wind would make them curve in opposing directions like that.
I'd say that maybe rather than "height", you use the image map as a force-map.
Better yet would be to use the ripple pattern as "real wind" and translate the
infinite pattern through the stationary reed field.
I'm not sharp enough at the moment to suggest exactly how to do that.
maybe grayscale eval_pigment?
Only bend the reed between 0 and the maximum wind deflection.
     Maybe in the advanced version let them spring back less than zero with an
initial absence of wind, with some sort of rapid decay back to zero.
Introduce a random rotation or sideways bend, in the event you'll at some point
animate this.

Very nice so far.  I haven't yet tried my hand with any of the plant macros or
plotting a gazillion objects.
(I'll post my tc-rtc WIP on TINA-CHeP soon...)


>What I did is:
>
> 1) Make an image_map with a more or less turbulent ripple pattern.
> 2) Make a height_field based on that image_map.
> 3) Build a reed stalk with Inverse Kinematic properties (macro with Bend
> parameter).
> 4) Select random locations on the height_field;
See above.

> 4a) calculate the vertical angle between the normal at that location and
> a horizontal plane (using: VAngleD(V1,V2));
Use the magnitude of the ripple pattern to directly increase the BEND

> 4b) calculate the horizontal angle between (arbitrarily) the +z-axis
> direction (direction of primary bending of the reed stalks) and the
> normal of the random location point (using: VRotationD(V1,V2,axis)).
Use some arbitrarily determined vector as your (wind) directional vector.
That way you can have it increase and decrease, and change directions like real
wind does, again with an eye toward possible future animation.

> 5a) bend the stalk with a proportion of the vertical angle (4a);
> 5b) orient the bended stalk by rotating through the horizontal angle (4b);
> 5c) place the reed stalks at the random locations on a flat surface.
>
> The image shows 15000 reed stalks. About 4.5 minutes render time.
>
> suggestions are more than welcome of course.
>
> Thomas

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