ZenGrove
Grow a plant, one node at a time.
Grow a plant, one node at a time.
Explore all 45 ZenGrove nodes for Maya with illustrated settings. Shape Cross Section profiles, create multi-way Splits, find properties and build procedural plants.
Output
Builds connected structure and foliage as Maya geometry. Choose final mesh detail and lighter preview settings.
Branches · Growth
Result
Fast Instances speeds up large direct-mesh collections with groups of 128 connected instances. Edit the source mesh to update the groups. On Output, leaves remain individually selectable; component edits to generated leaves affect their group, while hierarchies use ordinary instances. Converted duplicates do not benefit from Fast Instances.
When Avoid Leaf Collision is enabled on an incoming Leaves or Leaf Volume node, this output checks the combined foliage before applying preview limits. Skip can reduce the final leaf count. Check the build status for rotated, skipped or unresolved leaves. Active Dynamics and leaf avoidance cannot be used together in this version.
Setup
- Output Name
Gives this tree, collection or output a recognizable name.
Geometry
- Radial Segments
Sets fallback tube sides for branches without their own resolution.
- Length Spans
Sets fallback length spans. Zero keeps generator spans. Resolution overrides take priority.
- End Caps
Closes free branch tips and the bases of parentless branches.
Uv & Textures
- UV Scale
Scales output UVs, changing texture size on the geometry.
Preview & Safety
- Preview Quality
Chooses preview detail. Lower quality helps quicker adjustments; High uses more detail.
- Preview Distribution
Distributed spreads the preview across the crown. Random samples randomly. Full requests all placements, subject to preview limits.
- Preview Instance Limit
Limits placed objects shown in a preview.
- Preview Triangle Budget
Limits asset triangles in the preview. Heavy source meshes fit fewer placements within the budget.
- Fast Instances
Speeds up large collections of direct mesh assets by sharing shapes in groups of 128. Leaves remain individually selectable. Edit the source mesh to update every group; component edits on generated leaves affect their group only. Hierarchies use ordinary instances.
Export
- Instance Assets
Uses shared Maya instances in the final build. Off creates separate copies. Previews always use shared instances.
Advanced
- Preview Geometry Vertex Limit
Stops a preview if estimated branch geometry exceeds this vertex count.
- High Geometry Vertex Limit
Limits estimated branch-geometry vertices in a High build.
- Foliage FX Vertex Limit
Limits foliage vertices created for leaf droop or transferred normals in High builds.
What is ZenGrove used for?
Explore all 45 ZenGrove nodes for Maya with illustrated settings. Shape Cross Section profiles, create multi-way Splits, find properties and build procedural plants.
Which host application does ZenGrove support?
ZenGrove is built for Autodesk Maya and is distributed through AO Studio Tools.
Where can I download ZenGrove?
Download the current AO Studio Tools package from https://aostudio.tools/getthetools.html and install it through AO.Hub.