Beginning Game Development — Tree Landscape Tool Part II

Crafting Tree Shapes and Colors

5 min readSep 2, 2024

In the previous article, we covered how to position trees on the landscape using grid and random placement methods. In this second part of our four-part series, we will focus on the visual customization of your Christmas trees by exploring different tree shapes and colors. The appearance of the trees is essential for creating a visually engaging landscape, and by varying shapes and colors, you can achieve a unique and festive look.

Overview

Tree shapes and colors play a significant role in setting the scene’s overall mood and aesthetic. Unity’s flexibility allows you to customize your tree prefabs to suit the desired look, whether it’s realistic, whimsical, or stylized. This article will guide you through crafting basic tree shapes and applying a variety of color options to make your landscape more vibrant and festive.

Main Components Covered:
- Tree Shapes: Learn how to start with basic shapes, like a single cone, and explore variations to add diversity to your landscape.
- Tree Colors: Discover how to enhance the visual appeal of your trees using various shades of green and other holiday-themed colors.

Tree Shapes

The shape of your trees can greatly impact the overall look of your landscape. While the classic Christmas tree shape is often depicted as a cone, you can vary the appearance by adjusting proportions, adding multiple sections, or even integrating custom models.

Single Cone Tree

The simplest tree shape is a single cone, which effectively captures the iconic silhouette of a Christmas tree. This basic shape serves as a great starting point and is easy to create and customize in Unity.

Creating a Single Cone Tree:
- A cone shape can be easily created using Unity’s built-in 3D objects or imported as a model from external software.
- Scaling the cone’s height and base radius can help you achieve different looks, from tall and slender trees to short and full ones.

Screenshot of Unity Editor showing a single cone tree shape in the scene view.

Modifying Tree Shapes for Variety

To add more variety to your landscape, consider modifying the basic cone shape by stacking multiple cones of varying sizes or adding other geometric shapes.

Options for Modifying Tree Shapes:
- Stacked Cones: Use multiple stacked cones to create layered tree shapes, simulating branches.
- Cylinder Bases: Adding a cylinder base can give the tree a more substantial trunk, enhancing realism.
- Custom Models: Import custom tree models created in 3D modeling software like Blender for unique and complex shapes.

Diagram showing various tree shapes, including single cone, stacked cones, and trees with cylinder bases.

Tree Colors

Color is one of the most powerful tools for enhancing your scene’s aesthetic. By adjusting the color of your trees, you can create a more immersive and visually appealing environment. In this section, we’ll explore different approaches to coloring your trees.

Single Shade of Green

Using a consistent, single shade of green provides a classic and uniform look to your landscape. This approach is simple yet effective for creating a cohesive scene.

Implementing Single Shade:
- Apply a standard green material to your tree prefab using Unity’s Material system.
- Adjust the material’s properties such as saturation and brightness to match your scene’s lighting.

Random Shades of Green

To add a touch of realism, you can vary the shades of green across your trees, simulating the natural diversity found in forests. This approach breaks the uniformity and adds depth to the scene.

Creating Random Shades of Green:
- Use Unity’s `Random.ColorHSV()` function to generate varying green shades.
- Modify the hue, saturation, and brightness values to control the range of greens.

using UnityEngine;

public class TreeColorRandomizer : MonoBehaviour
{
    public Renderer treeRenderer;

    // Method to assign a random shade of green
    public void AssignRandomGreenColor()
    {
        if (treeRenderer != null)
        {
            // Generate a random green color
            Color randomGreen = Random.ColorHSV(0.25f, 0.4f, 0.5f, 1f, 0.4f, 0.8f);
            Material materialInstance = new Material(treeRenderer.sharedMaterial);
            materialInstance.color = randomGreen;
            treeRenderer.sharedMaterial = materialInstance;
            Debug.Log("Assigned random green shade to the tree.");
        }
    }
}

Screenshot showing trees with varied green shades in the scene, demonstrating the impact of randomness on visual realism.

Adding Snowy Effects and Holiday Colors

Beyond traditional greens, you can add festive touches like snowy effects or holiday-themed colors (e.g., reds and whites) to suit the season.

Implementing Snowy Effects:
- Add a white overlay or gradient to the top of your tree material, simulating snow.
- Use Unity’s shader graph or materials with texture overlays to create realistic snow.

Holiday Colors:
- Experiment with unconventional colors like red, white, or even gold to make your scene stand out.
- Use `Random.ColorHSV()` with adjusted hue ranges to create these festive variations.

Implementation

Step 1: Setting Up Tree Shapes in Unity

1. Create or Import Tree Models: Use Unity’s 3D shapes or import custom models to define your tree shapes.
2. Apply Colliders and Materials: Ensure each tree has appropriate colliders for physics interactions and materials for coloring.

**Screenshot of Unity Editor** showing the inspector view with a tree’s collider and material settings.

Step 2: Customizing Tree Colors

1. Single Shade Application: Apply a standard green material to your trees by setting the material color directly in the inspector or via code.
2. Random Shades: Implement the `TreeColorRandomizer` script shown earlier, attaching it to your tree prefabs and calling it during instantiation.

// Example code to apply the random color script during tree instantiation
TreeColorRandomizer colorRandomizer = treeInstance.GetComponent<TreeColorRandomizer>();
if (colorRandomizer != null)
{
    colorRandomizer.AssignRandomGreenColor();
}

**Random Tree Color Application Process:Color Generation** (Random Color Generator), **Color Assignment** (Assign Random Shade), **Material Application** (Material Instance Creation), and finally **Display Result** (Show a tree)

Conclusion and Next Steps

By customizing tree shapes and colors, you can significantly enhance the visual impact of your Christmas Tree landscape. From basic cones to complex layered models and from uniform greens to varied holiday shades, the possibilities are endless. In the next part of this series, we will explore how to add ornaments to your trees, bringing an extra festive touch to your landscape.