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GLBTop 10 Procedural 3D Generation Tools
0Article by Yuri Ilyin
In a highly generalized sense, procedural workflows in computer graphics have always been around to some extent. But in recent years, they've really started to gain momentum.
There are multiple categories of such tools, very different from each other by any means except for their mathematical basis.
We've tackled the origins of procedural content generation tools before, and now let's look at the top ten of them. Please note that this is more of a list than a rating, and these tools aren't listed by importance. Well, except, perhaps....
1. Houdini
Well, all hail the King: this suite likely sits at the top of any ranking with one notable exception - ease of use.
SideFX Houdini is essentially the ultimate tool for all major areas of 3D production: modeling, animation, rigging, particles, dynamics/physics, lighting, volumetrics, compositing, and rendering - everything is there in full force. Moreover, it's expandable with plugins that can be developed externally.
Unsurprisingly, the crme de la crme of VFX studios use it extensively. Among them are ILM, Pixar, DreamWorks, Illumination Studios Paris, and many more.
There is always a "but," however. It is notorious for its - not just steep but almost incoherent - learning curve.
Houdini is entirely procedural, with operators (OPs) being the basic logical unit (node). So if you're already familiar with the node concept in 3D graphics, it may ease the pain of learning the suite.
And there's a lot of incentive to learn it, starting from the existence of a free tier (albeit limited) and extending all the way to Houdini's ability to work with spatial audio.
2. Blender
A jack-of-all-trades, this free and open source software made a leap of faith into procedural modeling with the introduction of Geometry Nodes.
It previously had a node-based material creation toolset courtesy of the Cycles rendering engine. When the Blender developers introduced the (almost) real-time rendering engine Eevee, they made sure that Cycles and Eevee materials were compatible, despite all the differences.
GeoNodes, however, became the real game changer, as they dramatically altered the way 3D scenes are handled. Essentially, GeoNodes introduced a level of asset modification flexibility previously unimaginable in the Blender context. It's almost as though there's a second suite within it now.
They aren't exactly easy to learn, though. On the other hand, a whole new ecosystem has emerged around them, with multiple GeoNodes-based add-ons, both free and paid, that are quite easy to use and often help with tedious, large-scale tasks.
3. Adobe Substance 3D Designer
Yet another software that sits on the list with authority. Already an industry standard, this is a mighty material creation suite for 3D graphics. Mightily procedural too: every material is a complex set of nodes where various predefined noise textures are wildly warped and blended.
Again, it's not an easy thing to get a firm grip on. At the very least, it's not intuitive, and it requires a lot of learning to comprehend what's what and what happens if.
But those who achieve mastery with this software are capable of creating truly wonderful things.
4. Terragen
A fractal landscape generator with history. In fact, earlier this year marked 20 years since the release of its first stable version, now mostly known as Terragen Classic. Since it's freeware, it gained a cult following among amateur artists.
It has also seen serious use in the commercial world - in films such as Star Trek: Nemesis, The Golden Compass, and in numerous TV commercials and games (for instance, skyboxes for Serious Sam were created with it).
The commercial version has been used in quite a few major film productions, including The Day After Tomorrow, Oblivion, Tron: Legacy, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Terragen is not a Swiss knife - it has a very specific purpose: to create photorealistic sceneries with natural-looking foliage, lighting, skies, and more. And it's really good at it. Judge for yourselves.
Reference: Terragen
5. World Machine
Yet another fractal-based terrain generator, standing out for its erosion and water system capabilities, extremely convincing and naturally looking. It's still based on fractals, although they can be controlled to a significant degree, so it's not only photorealism on the menu, but also something alien and twisted as well.
It's a commercial product but comes with a free tier and reasonably priced variants; the indie license, for example, costs $119.
Reference: World Machine
6. World Creator
Everything said about World Machine's capabilities is true for World Creator as well.
But there's more. For starters, it's entirely real-time, courtesy of a GPU-oriented engine. Users can sculpt terrain by hand and then add algorithm-based features like rivers and erosion. Essentially, it's a hybrid tool that can also handle external assets. The software's gallery features some mind-boggling imagery indistinguishable from photography (especially works by Aaron Westwood), although they're not necessarily direct screenshots from the World Creator viewport. World Creator truly shines when used together with other tools.
Prices start at $149.
Reference: World Creator
7. Gaea
QuadSpinner Gaea is - right - yet another powerful scenery generation tool, counting NASA and Remedy Entertainment among its recent clients. Remedy, for example, used Gaea to create environments for Alan Wake II, and it's strongly implied that it will be used in their upcoming projects as well.
It was also the tool of choice for the developers of Baldur's Gate 3.
Reference: Baldur's Gate 3
As for NASA, Gaea has been used by the Conceptual Image Lab there, no less.
Gaea is a relatively recent player; it only reached version 2.0 last year. It is natively compatible with Houdini and Unreal Engine, allowing assets to be exported directly.
There's a free tier, and the paid versions start at just $99.
8. Mandelbulb 3D & Mandelbulber
Despite being different software packages, these two belong to the same type: 3D fractal visualization software. Both are free and capable, essentially fractal explorers. As previously mentioned, Mandelbulb 3D has a more user-friendly interface than Mandelbulber and includes a wide array of ready-to-use formulas. However, unlike Mandelbulber 2, it lacks GPU-assisted rendering support, requiring a powerful CPU to handle dynamic renders efficiently.
9. Rhino 3D with Grasshopper
This suite is famous for its Grasshopper plugin, which enables parametric and procedural design through a visual interface. The combination is widely used in architectural visualization and industrial design.
While described as a visual programming environment, Grasshopper functions as a node-based tool. It requires no programming or scripting knowledge yet allows designers to build generative forms.
Grasshopper is also said to have a very rich add-on library.
It used to be a separate tool, but in recent versions of Rhino, it has been integrated deeply into the core functionality.
10. Anything else?
In fact, there are numerous procedural-oriented extensions for various 3D and CAD software. Revit, for example, uses a parametric approach which, for laymen, means it can produce complex 3D models and scenes based on sets of rules. Autodesk also offers Fusion and Inventor CAD software with procedural capabilities at their core.
Speaking of Autodesk, 3ds Max, which is pretty much a parametric suite itself, also features procedural-oriented extensions like RailClone.
Unreal Engine, striving to be the engine for everything, from video games to cinematic VFX, includes a Procedural Content Generation Framework (PCG) that "provides technical artists, designers, and programmers with the ability to build fast, iterative tools and content of any complexity, ranging from Asset utilities, such as buildings or biome generation, up to entire worlds."
Unity Engine also has procedural capabilities, though they rely heavily on scripting. However, there's a free asset called Procedural Toolkit with a significant feature list.
Last but not least, several software packages exist for generating entire 3D urban environments. Some are standalone, while others function as plugins or add-ons for 3D suites (like The City Generator available for Blender). But that's a topic for another post, and not necessarily a small one.
Anyway, procedural generation is very likely the future of 3D graphics, unless AI turns it into a Moon scenery: a lifeless wasteland, of course. These tools are generally not easy to master, but they're totally worth it.
And if you'd like to keep an eye on where this future is heading, with new tools, workflows, and creative breakthroughs, make sure to subscribe to the RenderHub Blog.
