ZenGrove
Grow a plant, one node at a time.
Grow a plant, one node at a time.
Explore all 44 nodes with illustrated Maya views and plain-English explanations of every setting. Build trunks and branches, place foliage, shape growth, add wind and prepare your output.
Vortex Force
Steers growth around a Maya target's axis. Add inward pull or movement along the axis for coils and spirals.
Branches
Branches
Affect

- Affect
Chooses which branches are affected. Active Branches uses the latest generated layer. Active + Descendants also includes growth from that layer. Active Generated Hierarchy additionally includes ancestors created by that same generated contribution. Entire Input uses everything arriving here. Attached children follow a moved parent even when they are not reshaped themselves.
Input

- Target
Uses a Maya object's pivot as center and orientation for the axis. Capture Selected assigns it; Create Force Handle creates a movable, rotatable handle; Clear removes it.
Distribution

- Force Ramp — Start %
Sets where the force starts along a branch. Zero is base and one is tip.
- Force Ramp — Full Strength %
Sets where the force reaches full strength. It ramps between Start and this point, then stays at full strength.
Deformation (1)

- Strength
Sets how strongly growth circles around the axis.
- Strength Randomness
Varies force strength between branches.
- Axis
Chooses the target object's local axis that growth circles around.
- Direction
Chooses clockwise or counterclockwise rotation, viewed from the positive end of the axis toward the center.
- Radial Pull
Positive values pull toward the vortex axis; negative pushes outward.
- Axial Flow
Moves growth along the axis while circling. Zero circles in place; positive and negative spiral in opposite directions.
- Range
Sets distance from the vortex axis over which it acts. Zero gives unlimited range.
Deformation (2)

- Distance Falloff
Constant keeps influence even across the range. Linear fades evenly with distance. Smooth gives a softer fade.
- Max Bend
Limits total force-driven turning along a branch, in degrees.
Advanced

- Seed Offset
Changes this node's random variation. Keep the seed and settings unchanged to reproduce the same result.
What is ZenGrove used for?
Explore all 44 nodes with illustrated Maya views and plain-English explanations of every setting. Build trunks and branches, place foliage, shape growth, add wind and prepare your output.
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.