Houdini 20.0 Nodes Geometry nodes

L-System geometry node

Creates fractal geometry from the recursive application of simple rules.

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About L-systems

L-systems (Lindenmayer-systems, named after Aristid Lindenmayer, 1925-1989), allow definition of complex shapes through the use of iteration. They use a mathematical language in which an initial string of characters is matched against rules which are evaluated repeatedly, and the results are used to generate geometry. The result of each evaluation becomes the basis for the next iteration of geometry, giving the illusion of growth.

The L-system SOP lets you simulate complex organic structures such as trees, lightning, snowflakes, flowers, and other branching phenomena.

Placing an L-System in the viewer

To...Do this

Place the L-System anywhere in the scene

  1. Click the L-System tool on the Create tab.

  2. Move the cursor into the scene view.

    Note

    You can hold Alt to detach the L-System from the construction plane.

  3. Click LMB to place the L-System anywhere in the scene view and press Enter to confirm your selection.

    If you press Enter without clicking, Houdini places the L-System at the origin.

Place the L-System at the origin

Press ⌃ Ctrl + LMB on the L-System tool on the shelf.

Note

L-systems can be moved once they are placed by either dragging them in the scene view or changing the values in the parameter editor.

Default L-Systems can be chosen from the Gear drop-down menu at the geometry level.

L-System Handles

The L-System does not have its own rotation parameters; however, you can rotate it at the object level using the handles in the scene view or by adding a Transform node at the geometry level.

Note

The origin of the L-System is at the base of the tree, not the middle of the object.

Fractal properties

There are several factors which combine to organize plant structures and contribute to their beauty. These include:

  • symmetry

  • self-similarity

  • developmental algorithms

With L-systems, we are mostly concerned with the latter two. Self-similarity implies an underlying fractal structure which is provided through strings of L-systems. Benoit Mandelbrot describes self-similarity as follows:

“When each piece of a shape is geometrically similar to the whole, both the shape and the cascade that generate it are called self-similar.”

L-systems provide a grammar for describing the growth of self-similar structures in time. L-system rules determine the underlying structures of growth in a way that is analogous to the way that DNA is thought to determine biological growth. This growth relies on the principle of self-similarity to provide extremely compact descriptions of complex surfaces.

Rewriting

The central concept of L-systems is rewriting. This works by recursively replacing an initial state (the initiator) with rewritten geometry (the generator), reduced and displaced to have the same end points as those of the interval being replaced.

In 1968, Astrid Lindenmayer introduced a string rewriting mechanism termed “L-systems”. The grammar of L-systems is unique in that the method of applying productions is applied in parallel and simultaneously replaces all letters in a given “word”.

The simplest example of a rewriting grammar is where two “words” or strings are used, built from the two letters: a and b, which may occur many times in a string. Each letter is associated with a rewriting rule. The rule a = ab means that the letter a is to be replaced by the string ab, and the rule b = a means that the letter b is to be replaced by a.

If we start the process with the letter b (the premise), and follow it through in time, we see a certain pattern emerges by following the rewriting rules:

Production rule syntax

The general form of an L-system rule is:

[left_context<] symbol [>right_context] [:condition]=replacement [:probability]

Where…

left_context

An optional string that must precede the symbol for this rule to match.

symbol

The symbol to replace. For example, if the symbol is A, occurrences of A in the initial string will be replaced with replacement (if this rule matches).

right_context

An optional string that must follow the symbol for this rule to match.

condition

An optional expression that must be true for this rule to match.

replacement

The string that will replace the symbol (if this rule matches).

probability

The optional chance (between 0 and 1) that this rule will be executed. For example, using 0.8 means this rule will execute 80% of the time.

Tip

You can use -> in production rules instead of =. The meaning is identical.

Turtle commands

We can combine this string-manipulation system with a graphics routine that interprets the strings as commands for a drawing “turtle” with a position (XYZ) and heading (angle). By following the commands, the turtle traces out a shape as it moves.

Examples of simple turtle commands:

F

Move forward a step, drawing a line connecting the previous position to the new position.

f

Move forward without drawing.

+

Rotate right 90 degrees.

-

Rotate left 90 degrees.

(In the actual L-system node, the angle of the + and - commands is configurable.)

With these simple rules, we can easily come up with a string that causes the turtle to draw a shape such as the letter “L”. For example, assuming the turtle is initially facing upwards, we would use the following string to create the letter “L”:

Rewriting turtle command strings

By iteratively running a turtle command string through rewrite rules, you can generate surprisingly complex geometry. The power of self-reference in rewrite rules can create extremely intricate figures.

As a very simple example of self-reference, consider an L-system with the initial string A and the rule A=F+A. The rule means “Wherever you see 'A', replace it with 'F+A'”. Because the replacement will contain within it the trigger for the rule, each generation will cause the string to grow in a cascade effect:

This generates a growing list of repeated “move forward, then turn” commands. With a turn angle less than 90 and a sufficient number of generations, this L-system will approximate an arc or circle. You could use this behavior as the basis for curling a sheet of paper or curling a scorpion’s tail. Or, you could randomize the turn angle and create a squiggly line, which you could use as the basis for a bolt of lightning.

(Be sure not to confuse the turtle command string F+A with the mathematical statement F plus A. In the context of L-systems, the + symbol means “turn”, not “add”.)

Another example: the following figure is called a quadratic Koch island. Beginning with these values:

Initial string (premise)

F-F-F-F

Rewrite rule

F = F-F+F+FF-F-F+F

Angle

90

…the turtle generates the following for three generations:

Note

The work required for Houdini to calculate successive generations increases exponentially. If you try the island example in Houdini, make sure the Generations parameter is not greater than 3.

Tip

You can press MMB on an L-system node to see the node’s current string. This can be very useful in debugging rule substitution.

Branches

The systems described so far generate a single continuous line. To describe things like trees, we need a way to create branches.

In L-systems, you create branches with the square brackets ([ and ]). Any turtle commands you put inside square brackets are executed separately from the main string by a new turtle.

For example, the turtle commands F [+F] F [+F] [-F] is interpreted as:

  1. Go forward.

  2. Branch off a new turtle and have it turn right and then go forward.

  3. Go forward.

  4. Branch off a new turtle and have it turn right and then go forward.

  5. Branch off a new turtle and have it turn left and then go forward.

This creates the following figure:

Another example: the command string F [+F] [-F] F [+F] -FF creates the following figure:

3D

The systems described so far generate flat geometry.

To move the turtle in 3D, you use the , ^ (pitch up), & (pitch down), \ (roll clockwise), and / (roll counter-clockwise) commands.

For example, the initial premise FFFA and the rule:

A= " [&FFFA] //// [&FFFA] //// [&FFFA]

Does the following:

"

Scale current branch length

[&FFFA]

Pitch down (&) and draw a branch, then insert a recursive copy (A). (Repeated three times with rolls in between.)

////

Roll counter-clockwise four times.

This creates the following 3D figure:

The rule creates three branches at every generation. The pitch down commands (&) split the branches off from the vertical. The roll commands (/) make the branches go out in different directions. (Note the A at the end of each branch that ensures new copies of the rule will grow from the ends of the branches.)

The " command makes the F commands half length in each generation, which makes the branches shrink further out.

Use multiple L-system rules

In the previous section we used the rule A= " [&FFFA] //// [&FFFA] //// [&FFFA].

Obviously this rule has redundancy. Since L-systems are about replacing symbols with strings, we can simply replace the repeated strings with a new symbol, and then create a new rule for that symbol:

Rule 1

A= " [B] //// [B] //// [B]

Rule 2

B= &FFFA

Because the branches are now defined in one place, if you want to change the branch instructions you only need to edit one string.

Note that the two-rule system will take twice as many generations to produce the same result. This is because each generation performs one rule substitution.

So, whereas the single rule A= " [&FFFA] //// [&FFFA] //// [&FFFA] grows by expanding A at each generation, the dual rules of A= " [B] //// [B] //// [B] and B= &FFFA work by alternating between replacing A with " [B] //// [B] //// [B] and replacing B with &FFFA.

Turtle command reference

Normally turtle symbols use the current length/angle/thickness etc. to determine their effect. You can provide explicit arguments in brackets to override the normal values used by the turtle command.

The following list shows the bracketed arguments. Remember that you can simply use the single-character command without the arguments and Houdini will simply use the normal values.

See local functions and variables below for what functions and variables you can use in argument expressions inside the brackets.

F(l,w,s,d)

Move forward (creating geometry) distance l of width w using s cross sections of d divisions each.

H(l,w,s,d)

Move forward half the length (creating geometry) distance l of width w using s cross sections of d divisions each.

G(l,w,s,d)

Move forward but don’t record a vertex distance l of width w using s cross sections of d divisions each.

f(l,w,s,d)

Move forward (no geometry created) distance l of width w using s cross sections of d divisions each.

h(l,w,s,d)

Move forward a half length (no geometry created) distance l of width w using s cross sections of d divisions each.

J(s,x,a,b,c), K(s,x,a,b,c), M(s,x,a,b,c)

Copy geometry from leaf input J, K, or M at the turtle’s position after scaling and reorienting the geometry. The geometry is scaled by the s parameter (default Step Size) and stamped with the values a through c (default no stamping). Stamping occurs if the given parameter is present and the relevant Leaf parameter is set. The x parameter is not used and should be set to 0. Note that point vector attributes in the leaf inputs will be affected by the turtle movements.

T(g)

Apply tropism vector (gravity). This angles the turtle towards the negative Y axis. The amount of change is governed by g. The default change is to use the Gravity parameter.

+(a)

Turn right a degrees. Default Angle.

-(a)

Turn left a degrees (minus sign). Default Angle.

&(a)

Pitch down a degrees. Default Angle.

^(a)

Pitch up a degrees. Default Angle.

\\(a)

Roll clockwise a degrees. Default Angle.

/(a)

Roll counter-clockwise a degrees. Default Angle.

|

Turn 180 degrees

*

Roll 180 degrees

~(a)

Pitch / Roll / Turn random amount up to a degrees. Default 180.

"(s)

Multiply current length by s. Default Step Size Scale.

!(s)

Multiply current thickness by s. Default Thickness Scale.

;(s)

Multiply current angle by s. Default Angle Scale.

_(s)

Divide current length (underscore) by s. Default Step Size Scale.

?(s)

Divides current width by s. Default Thickness Scale.

@(s)

Divide current angle by s. Default Angle Scale.

'(u)

Increment color index U by u. Default UV Increment's first parameter.

#(v)

Increment color index V by v. Default UV Increment's second parameter.

%

Cut off remainder of branch

$(x,y,z)

Rotates the turtle so the up vector is (0,1,0). Points the turtle in the direction of the point (x,y,z). Default behavior is only to orient and not to change the direction.

[

Push turtle state (start a branch)

]

Pop turtle state (end a branch)

{

Start a polygon

.

Make a polygon vertex

}

End a polygon

g(i)

Create a new primitive group to which subsequent geometry is added. The group name is the Group Prefix followed by the number i. The default if no parameter is given is to create a group with the current group number and then increment the current group number.

a(attrib, v1, v2, v3)

This creates a point attribute of the name attrib. It is then set to the value v1, v2, v3 for the remainder of the points on this branch, or until another a command resets it. v2 and v3 are optional. If they are not present, an attribute of fewer floats will be created. The created attribute is always of float type and with zero defaults. For example, the rule a("Cd", 1, 0, 1) added to the start of the premise will make the L-system a nice pugnacious purple.

Local functions and variables

These functions and variables are available in arguments to turtle commands such as F(). These are separate from parameter expression functions and node local variables.

acos(v)

Arc cosine, the inverse of cosine. Returns the result in degrees.

asin(v)

Arc sine, the inverse of sine. Returns the result in degrees.

cos(angle)

Cosine. Takes an angle in degrees.

sin(angle)

Sine. Takes an angle in degrees.

chan(idx)

Returns the value of an animated spare parameter on this node at the current time.

You can add a spare parameter to the node, keyframe it, and then use the animated values to change the Lsystem over time.

Specify the name of the spare parameter using the LSystem channel prefix parameter.

For example, if you add a spare parameter tuple named spare, set the Lsystem channel prefix to spare. Then, to reference the value of spare's first component (at the current time), use chan(0) (this evaluates the channel named spare0). To access the second component, use chan(1), for the third component use chan(2), and so on.

min(a, b)

Returns the lower of a or b.

max(a, b)

Returns the higher of a or b.

in(x, y, z)

This determines if the point (x, y, z) is inside the Meta Test Input.

pic(x, y, plane)

This evaluates the LSystem Picture at coordinates (x, y). These should be in the range 0..1.

plane

Which image channel to get. 0 = luminance, 1 = red, 2 = green, and 3 = blue.

Returns a value from 0..1.

rand(seed)

Same as the rand expression function. You can get a quick random number using rand(i).

a

The LSystem angle parameter.

b

The LSystem b parameter.

c

The LSystem c parameter.

d

The LSystem d parameter.

g

Initially 0. After that it is set to the age of the current rule.

i

The offset into the current lsystem string where the rule is being applied.

t

Initially 0. After that it is set to the iteration count.

x, y, z

The current turtle position in space.

A

The arc length from the root of the tree to the current point.

L

The current length increment at the point.

T

The LSystem gravity parameter.

U

The color map U value.

V

The color map V value.

W

The current width at the current point.

Use modeled geometry in an L-system

Houdini lets you create a copy of some geometry at the turtle’s location using certain commands. You can use this to create leaves and flowers on an L-system shrub, for example.

  1. Connect the output of the geometry you want to stamp to one of the L-system node’s inputs.

  2. Use the corresponding command (J, K, or M) in a turtle command string to insert the geometry.

Input

Turtle command

1

J

2

K

3

M

If you connect a leaf surface to the L-systems input 1 and a flower to input 2, you can use the following to create a bush with leaves and flowers:

Premise

A

Rule 1

A= [&FA [fK]] ///// [&FA [fJ]] /////// [&FA [fJ]]

Rule 2

F= S/////

Rule 3

S= F

Rule 1 prefaces the K and J commands with f (move forward without drawing) to offset the geometry a little bit. Otherwise, the leaf would be attached at its center, rather than the edge.

Symbol variables

Each symbol can have up to five user-defined variables associated with it. You can reference or assign these variables in expressions. Variables in the matched symbol are instanced while variables in the replacement are assigned.

For example, the rule A(i, j)=A(i+1, j-1) will replace each A with a new A in which the first parameter (i) has been incremented and the second parameter (j) decremented.

Parameters assigned to geometric symbols (for example, F, +, and !) are interpreted geometrically. For example, the rule: F(i, j) = F(0.5*i, 2*j) will again replace each F with a new F containing modified parameters. In addition to this, the new F will now be drawn at half the length and twice the width.

Tip

The variables in the predecessor can also be referenced by the condition or probability portions of the rule. For example, the rule A(i):i<5 = A(i+1) A(i+1) will double each A a maximum of five times (assuming a premise of A(0)).

Control length over time

To create an L-system which goes forward x percent less on each iteration, you need to start your Premise with a value, and then in a rule multiply that value by the percentage you want to remain.

Premise

A(1)

Rule

A(i)= F(i)A(i*0.5)

This way i is scaled before A is re-evaluated. The important part is the premise: you need to start with a value to be able to scale it.

Stamp variables onto input geometry

The third argument to the J/K/M commands is passed to the connected geometry.

Tip

You can use this trick to get around the limitation of only three geometry inputs on a L-system.

Create all the different models you want (say, 20 different types of leaves) and connect them to a Switch node. Set the switch node’s Select input parameter to stamp("/path/to/lsystem", "lsys",0).

Connect the switch node to the J input of an L-system node. Now you can insert any of the 20 leaf types using J(L,0,leaf_number).

  1. Create a Circle node and set the number of divisions to stamp("/path/to/lsystem", "lsys", 3).

    Because the default number of divisions is 3 (the second argument in the expression), this creates a triangle.

  2. Connect the output of the circle node to the J input of an L-system node.

  3. In the L-system rules, you can use J(L,0,number) to pass number to the J geometry. For example, J(L,0,4) produces a square, J(L,0,5) produces a pentagram.

Create groups within L-systems

The g command puts all geometry currently being built into a group.

The group name is composed of a prefix set on the Funcs tab and a number. Default prefix is lsys, producing group names like “lsys1”. You can specify the number as an argument to the g command.

For example, g[F] puts geometry from the F into a group (named using ). Otherwise, the default index is incremented appropriately.

The current group is associated with the branch, so you can do things like gF [ gFF ] F to put the first and last F into group 0, and the middle (branched) FF into group 1.

To exclude a branch from its parent’s group, use g(-1).

Edge rewriting

In The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants, many examples use a technique called edge rewriting which involve left and right subscripts. A typical example is:

Generations

10

Angle

90

Premise

F(l)

Rule 1

F(l) = F(l)+F(r)+

Rule 2

F(r)=-F(l)-F(r)

However, Houdini doesn’t support the F(l) and F(r) syntax. You can modify the rules to use symbol variables instead.

For the F turtle symbol, the first four parameters are length, width, tubesides, and tubesegs. The last parameter is user-definable. We can define this last parameter so 0 is left, and 1 is right:

Generations

10

Angle

90

Premise

F(1,1,3,3,0)

Rule 1

F(i,j,k,l,m) :m=0 = F(i,j,k,l,0)+F(i,j,k,l,1)+

Rule 2

F(i,j,k,l,m) :m=1 =-F(i,j,k,l,0)-F(i,j,k,l,1)

After two generations this produces: Fl+Fr+-Fl-Fr There should not be any difference between this final string and: F+F+-F-F

Another approach is to use two new variables, and use a conditional statement on the final step to convert them to F:

b

ch("generations")

Premise

l

Rule 1

l:t<b=l+r+

Rule 2

r:t<b=-l-r

Rule 3

l=F

Rule 4

r=F

The produces the following output:

Generation

String

0

l

1

F

2

F+F+

3

F+F++-F-F+

Limit L-system growth inside a shape

The L-system node’s meta-test input lets you generate rules that will cause the system to stop when it reaches the edges of a defined shape, like a topiary hedge.

  1. Create a metaball or merged metaballs that define the volume in which the L-system can grow.

  2. Connect the metaball node’s output to the Meta-test input of the L-system node.

  3. Use a conditional statement (:) with an “in” test. For example:

Example

Premise

FA

Rule 1

A: in(x,y,z) = F [+FA] -FA : 80

Rule 2

A: ! in(x,y,z) = A%

  • This L-system checks to see if the next iteration of growth will be within the Meta-test bounds, and if not it prunes the current branch.

  • Rule 1 executes 80% of the time when the branch is within the meta-test boundary.

  • Rule 2 executes when the branch is not within the meta-test boundary (the ! negates the in(x,y,z) condition). The % command ends the branch.

Note

If the L-system start point is not inside the metaball envelope, it will stay dormant. Once you have set up your L-system and metaballs, make sure you transform them together so the L-system is not accidentally moved outside the metaball.

Arrange geometry instances with L-systems

L-systems can be a powerful tool for arranging modeled geometry. By using an L-system as the template input to a Copy SOP, you can place a copy of a model at every point of the L-system.

For example, you could use the “arc approximation” L-system from the L-system basics (premise=A, rule=A=F+A) to arrange a series of spheres in an arc or circle. This gives you parametric control of the bending and spacing of the arc of spheres.

Further reading

If you have any serious interests in creating L-systems, you should obtain the book:

The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants by Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz and Aristid Lindenmayer (1996, Springer-Verlag, New York. Phone 212.460.1500. ISBN: 0-387-94676-4)

It is the definitive work on the subject. It contains many L-systems examples along with ideas and theories about modeling realistic plant growth.

Speed up calculations

Modeling something like a whole tree as single large L-System may cause collision resolution calculations to be single threaded. The wire solver will look for pieces of wire objects that can be solved independently and divide the work among the available cores. One large connected L-System means the work cannot be divided into smaller work units.

Try using a Wire Glue Constraint DOP to constrain a point on the L-System where the branches join together near the root of the tree (constrain the point to its world space position). This will cause the wire solver to see the separate branches as distinct pieces that can be solved independently. Since the constrained point will not move, any motion on one of the branches will not affect the other branches. If possible, reducing the number of points in the wire object should also speed up the calculations.

Parameters

Geometry

Type

The type of geometry to create as the turtle moves.

Tip

You can create a tube path from a skeleton L-system using a Polywire SOP.

Skeleton

Draw polylines.

Tube

Draw tubes.

Generations

The number of times to repeat the rule-substitution. If you specify a fractional number and Continuous angles and/or Continuous length are on (below), Houdini scales the geometry generated by the last substitution to give smooth growth between generations.

Start Position

This is the starting point position for the turtle.

Random Scale

If non-zero, randomly scales all the lengths specified by F and other similar turtle functions.

Random Seed

The seed to use for the random number generator. By varying this on a L-system using random rules (Ie: random scale, ~, or probabilistic rules) one can generate different instances of the L-system.

Continuous Angles

If set, the angles rotated by the last generation’s turtle operations will be scaled by the amount into the generation.

Continuous Length

If set, the lengths taken by the last generation’s turtle operations will be scaled by the amount into the generation.

Continuous Width

If set, the widths generated by the last generation’s turtle operations will be scaled by the amount into the generation.

Apply Color

If set, the L-system will output a color attribute on each point. The color value will be found by looking up into the Image File at the current U & V positions. The current U & V is altered with the ' and # turtle operations.

Image File

This is the image file which is used for the Apply Color operation. The image files used by the pic() expression is under Funcs tab.

UV Increment

These determine the default U and V increments of the ' and

  1. turtle operations.

Point Attributes

If the type is Skeleton, this is available. Turning this on will cause the creation of many point attributes to be created to track how each point was generated:

width

The width of the tube that would have been generated.

segs

The number of segments that would be made on a tube.

div

The number of divisions the tube would be divided into.

lage

The vertical increment from the root of the tree. This is affected by the Tube::Vertical Increment parameter. It is similar to arc, but not dependent on edge length.

arc

The arc length from the root of the turtles path to this point.

up

The up vector of the turtle at this point.

gen

The generation that created this point.

Tube

Rows

The number of rows to divide tubes into. A value of 3 will cause the tubes to be swept triangles.

Cols

The number of columns to divide the tubes in. A value of 4 means one F will create 4 cross sections.

Tension

How straight the tubes should sweep to their destination point.

Branch Blend

How much a new branch should inherit off an old branches direction.

Thickness

Default width of the tubes.

Thickness Scale

How much the ! operation will affect the thickness.

Apply Tube Texture Coordinates

If checked, the tubes will generate uv texture coordinates.

Vertical Increment

The amount each tube will increment the V texture coordinate.

Values

Step Size

The default size of a movement, such as F, command.

Step Size Scale

The number used by the " command.

Angle

The default angle for an angle, such as /, command. This also becomes the variable a in the expression.

Angle Scale

The number used by the ; command.

Variable b

The value of the expression variable b.

Variable c

The value of the expression variable c.

Variable d

The value of the expression variable d.

Gravity

The amount of tropism from the T command. Also becomes the value of the expression variable T.

Number Of Variables

This multiparm allows the assignment of an arbitrary number of new expression variables.

Variable Name

The name of the expression variable. This is a single character. Check the Local Variables section to see what variables are already reserved.

Variable Value

The value of the expression variable.

Funcs

Pic Image File

The image file to use with the pic() expression function.

Group Prefix

The prefix used by g command.

Channel Prefix

The prefix used by the chan() expression function.

Leaf Param A

This is the name of the stamp parameter to stamp the leaf with. The value of the stamp comes from the J, K, or M operation. It can be read upstream using the stamp() function.

Leaf Param B

This is the name of the stamp parameter to stamp the leaf with. The value of the stamp comes from the J, K, or M operation. It can be read upstream using the stamp() function.

Leaf Param C

This is the name of the stamp parameter to stamp the leaf with. The value of the stamp comes from the J, K, or M operation. It can be read upstream using the stamp() function.

Rules

Read Rules From File

If this is set, the rule fields are ignored. Instead, the Rule File is read and used as the rules.

Write Rule Parameters to File

This will write all the current rules to the Rule File.

Rule File

The name of the file to use as a source of rules. This file should have one line per rule. Blank lines and lines that start with '#' will be ignored, so comments may be added to the rule file with '#'.

Context Ignore

This is a list of symbols. They will be ignored when trying to determine contexts.

Context Includes Siblings

By default, the context of each branch only includes the symbols in that branch. Any sub-branches or parent branches will be skipped over. Given the rule A>B=F, A[B] will not resolve as B is in a sub-branch. A[Q]B will resolve because the [Q] is ignored. If you change the Context Ignore to have [], this effect is removed and A[Q]B will not resolve but A[B] will. The Context Includes Siblings flag restores the pre-Houdini 10 behavior of context of sibling branches being included. For example, [A]Q[B] will resolve if this flag is set, but not resolve if it is not set.

Premise

The initial state of the L-system. This is the state of the L-system at generation 0.

Rule #

A rule to apply to the L-system. Applying the toggle will disable the rule, removing it from the generation procedure.

Inputs

Leaf J

This geometry is used by the J rules.

Leaf K

This geometry is used by the K rules.

Leaf M

This geometry is used by the M rules.

Meta Test Input

This geometry is used by the in() function to check bounding regions (for topiaries).

Examples

LSystemMaster Example for L-System geometry node

The LSystems SOP allows for the definition of complex shapes through the use of iteration. It uses a mathematical language in which an initial string of characters is evaluated repeatedly, and the results are used to generate geometry. The result of each evaluation becomes the basis for the next iteration of geometry, giving the illusion of growth.

The example networks located in this demonstration should be enough to get you started writing custom LSystem rules.

However, anyone seriously interested in creating LSystems should obtain the book:

The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants, Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz and Aristid Lindenmayer

For a full list of LSystem commands, see the Houdini documentation.

LsystemBuilding Example for L-System geometry node

This example demonstrates how to use the L-System SOP to generate buildings with windows.

See also

Geometry nodes