Otzarreta Beech Forest: the Kingdom of Dancing Trees
In the heart of Gorbeia Natural Park in Bizkaia, the Otzarreta beech forest rises as a supernatural stage where time seems to have stopped. Its centuries-old beeches, with twisted trunks and branches that intertwine like moving arms, create a unique silhouette against the Basque sky. When mist descends among these arboreal giants, the boundary between reality and imagination blurs, giving the sensation that the trees breathe and move slowly. This forest has inspired numerous legends about Basque mythological beings. 🌲
The Anatomy of an Enchanted Forest
What distinguishes Otzarreta is not only the age of its trees, but their extraordinarily twisted shapes. This phenomenon is due to specific climatic conditions, competition for light, and soil peculiarities. Each beech seems to have its own personality, some leaning like wise old women, others twisting like ascending serpents. The moss covering their bases and the damp leaves carpeting the ground complete a palette of intense greens that transforms with the seasons.
Recreating Otzarreta in Houdini
Capturing the organic and mystical essence of Otzarreta requires harnessing Houdini's procedural power. The approach must combine tree generation with natural variations, terrain creation, and atmospheric simulation to achieve that characteristic mist.
Base Terrain Setup
Start with a Heightfield node to generate the base terrain. Use Heightfield Noise and Heightfield Erode nodes to create gentle hills and natural undulations characteristic of the Basque landscape. Adjust the heightfield resolution according to your scene scale, prioritizing details in areas where the main trees will be. Export the finalized terrain as geometry to proceed with vegetation distribution.
Essential nodes for terrain:- heightfield for the landscape base
- heightfield noise for natural variations
- heightfield erode for realistic wear
- heightfield mask to control specific areas
Procedural Generation of Twisted Beeches
Create a base tree using the L-System or Tree Generator node. To achieve Otzarreta's characteristic twisting, add layers of deformation using Attribute Noise nodes on the growth and branch direction parameters. Experiment with different noise frequencies and amplitudes to vary patterns between trees. Use Copy to Points to distribute instances of your trees over the terrain, controlling density with weight masks.
In Houdini, controlled imperfection is what turns procedural into organic.
Creating the Misty Atmosphere
For the mist that brings the forest to life, use a Pyro container with low turbulence. Configure the density to accumulate between the trees and near the ground. Adjust the temperature to create a smooth upward flow that simulates the natural movement of morning mist. Use the terrain as a collider and add a very subtle wind field to direct dispersion. Render the simulation with a Volume material that allows adjusting light absorption and scattering.
Fog simulation setup:- pyro container with medium-low resolution
- emission source with variable density
- terrain and trees collider
- wind field with smooth noise
Lighting and Final Render
Set up a main directional light with a low angle to simulate morning light filtering through the trees. Add subtle fill lights with bluish tones to illuminate shadow areas and enhance depth sensation. For rendering, use Mantra or Karma with adaptive sampling, enabling depth of field to emphasize the forest scale. Adjust the tree materials for low reflectivity and wet light response. 🌫️
Forest render optimization:- instance identical tree geometry
- use LODs for distant trees
- limit fog volume to visible areas
- render in layers for flexible post-production
When you're done, you'll have a forest that not only looks real, but seems to whisper ancient secrets to you. Or that, or you need a break from the computer. 🍃