| TREE SPLINE TUTORIAL |
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Keep in mind that this tutorial only pertains to my Forest and Mountain Cover splines. This process may also work with others splines but I don't intend that it be taken as a universal set of rules. I am defiantly not an expert on other peoples creations and am barely qualified to talk about my own work! |
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Not hard to see how this is done. Ref: Image 1 First: Never try to 'bridge' a valley or depression that can be viewed from 'the side as in the image above. If you are working in a valley start the spline at the LOWEST POINT first and draw out the spline UPHILL. (See image 1) Second: With only a few exceptions, Don't lay the spline parallel to the rails. This will only exaggerate any floating that does occur and the 'illusion' will be compromised. (See image 1)
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 Image 1
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Below is the 'Mountain
Cover Spline'
Yellow circle is the starting point, blue circle is the finishing point.
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In the image below the floating trees, which I call 'floaters' are marked in RED.
These are parts of the spline which don't touch the ground. As with any
straight
object laid over an uneven surface, there are points that don't touch. The
trick is to keep the
viewer in a position
that doesn't allow the 'floaters' to be 'seen'. In the image below the
area in the oval is the way the viewer sees the trees from the rails at
the bottom of the hill. If
viewed from the side, or 'up close' then the floaters can be seen. But
these viewpoints are 'backstage' so to speak and shouldn't be considered a
problem. This is after all an illusion! It's not real.
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