ProceduRule: A Procedural Modeling Tool for Autodesk Maya

This environment automation tool allows users of Autodesk Maya to propagate 3D models along a terrain asset quickly and easily. The user controls how assets will be placed by defining a Rule: this can either be a distribution map (painted directly on the terrain or imported from an image) or a spline (along or around which objects will be placed). Assets can be randomly offset, rotated, or scaled within a min/max range along each axis, and the user can fine-tune the probability of each object being created. Objects can optionally avoid colliding with one another by either comparing bounding boxes or via a more accurate per-poly collision check.

This Case Study explains the features of ProceduRule and the process by which I created the test environment used to showcase the tool. At the end of the document is a tutorial on how to use ProceduRule: it starts by breaking down the various elements of the tool's user interface and ends with a step-by-step walkthrough describing how to generate geometry with distribution map and spline-driven rules.

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