Easy modeling of realistic trees from freehand sketches

Creating realistic 3D tree models in a convenient way is a challenge in game design and movie making due to diversification and occlusion of tree structures. Current sketch-based and image-based approaches for fast tree modeling have limitations in effect and speed, and they generally include complex parameter adjustment, which brings difficulties to novices. In this paper, we present a simple method for quickly generating various 3D tree models from freehand sketches without parameter adjustment. On two input images, the user draws strokes representing the main branches and crown silhouettes of a tree. The system automatically produces a 3D tree at high speed. First, two 2D skeletons are built from strokes, and a 3D tree structure resembling the input sketches is built by branch retrieval from the 2D skeletons. Small branches are generated within the sketched 2D crown silhouettes based on self-similarity and angle restriction. This system is demonstrated on a variety of examples. It maintains the main features of a tree: the main branch structure and crown shape, and can be used as a convenient tool for tree simulation and design.