Interactive Design of Bonsai Tree Models

Because of their complexity, plant models used in computer graphics are commonly created with procedural methods. A dif cult problem is the user control of these models: a small number of parameters is insuf cient to specify plant characteristics in detail, while large numbers of parameters are tedious to manipulate and dif cult to comprehend. To address this problem, we propose a method for managing parameters involved in plant model manipulation. Speci cally, we introduce decomposition graphs as multiscale representations of plant structures and present interactive tools for designing trees that operate on decomposition graphs. The supported operations include browsing of the parameter space, editing of generalized parameters (scalars, functions, and branching system silhouettes), and the de nition of dependencies between parameters. We illustrate our method by creating models of bonsai trees.