We explore the latest software and hardware tools to see if they are worth your time or money
On the early days, when scattering tools were very much few and far between, artists had to create a whole host of complicated workarounds to create even remotely believable results. Even when scattering tools like Forest Pack hit the market, we still had to follow processes like Peter Guthrie's famous grass creation tutorial to get the right objects to then scatter. I made use of Particle Flow in 3ds Max in those early days and I'm getting the sweats just thinking about it now. It was complex, laboured and unbelievably difficult to get good results.
Early releases of scattering plugins provided the necessary tools to duplicate objects over terrains and various properties could be tweaked to determine the density of the scattering. By adjusting position, scale and rotation, artists could create something that resembled realism. The tools have of course evolved and become more expansive, with new players entering the market at the same time. One of the biggest changes has been the provision of ready-to-go models that can be scattered These include vegetation, grass and flowers amongst others, and the introduction of
