System overview
A dynamic vegetation system using Pivot Painter data and velocity vectors so grass responds naturally to character position and movement.
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2025 Β· Material / Pivot Painter
UE5 Foliage Wind System
A dynamic vegetation system using Pivot Painter data and velocity vectors so grass responds naturally to character position and movement.
- Year
- 2025
- Type
- Material / Pivot Painter
Overview
What I built and why.
A dynamic vegetation system using Pivot Painter data and velocity vectors so grass responds naturally to character position and movement.
My responsibilities
My contribution.
- Pivot Painter wind animation
- Character-driven vegetation interaction
- Render Target motion trails
- Houdini-authored pivot and vector data
Technical breakdown
Tools
Technical stack.
- Unreal Engine
- Houdini
- Pivot Painter
- Render Target
- Materials
Process gallery
Images and their original notes.
01
Dynamic Vegetation System
This project is an exploration of dynamic vegetation to add dynamic and realistic wind-driven grass materials to game environments. The dynamic material is built based on Pivot Painter workflows and Unreal Engineβs Content Examples. I am generally satisfied with the final result.
The material takes velocity vectors as input. In its current state, the grass can interact with character position and movement, allowing it to be pushed aside naturally. By using a Render Target to record character movement trajectories and velocity vectors, the system has the potential to support more advanced interactions, such as responding to gameplay abilities. Houdini was used to add pivot data and X-vector information to the meshes, which are then utilized in Unreal Engine material nodes to achieve the wind animation effect.
Grass static meshes are sourced from a Fab Marketplace vegetation asset pack β Temperate Vegetation: Optimized Grass Library.