Abstract
We present a method for creating geometric models of dendritic forms. Dendritic shapes are commonplace in the natural world; some examples of objects exhibiting dendritic shape include lichens, coral, trees, lightning, rivers, crystals, and venation patterns. Our method first generates a regular lattice with randomly weighted edges, then finds least-cost paths through the lattice. Multiple paths from a single starting location (or generator) are connected into a single dendritic shape. Alternatively, path costs can be used to segment volumes into irregular shapes. The pathfinding process is inexpensive, and allows user control through specification of endpoint placement, distribution of generators, and arrangement of nodes in the graph.
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Xu, L., Mould, D. (2008). Procedural Natural Phenomena from Least-Cost Paths in a Weighted Graph. In: Braz, J., Ranchordas, A., Araújo, H.J., Pereira, J.M. (eds) Computer Vision and Computer Graphics. Theory and Applications. VISIGRAPP 2007. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 21. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-89682-1_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-89682-1_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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