The Populate Panel

The Place, Paths, and Urban tabs in the Populate panel contain various tools to populate and dress your Twinmotion scenes.

To open the Populate panel, click Populate in the footer.

Place

The Place tab contains the Paint, Scatter, Spacing, and Area placing tools. Use the Paint and Scatter tools to paint and scatter multiple vegetation assets, such as trees, bushes, and flowers, in small or large areas or surfaces. With the Spacing and Area tools, you can distribute assets randomly or systematically along paths or inside areas you create with splines. All the placing tools can be used with the assets from the Twinmotion Library, or with assets you import into Twinmotion and save in the User library. 

Features

Each placing tool distributes assets in a different way, but they all share the same basic features.

Dropbox

The dropbox is where you can add and remove the assets you want to place. 

To add assets, drag them from the Twinmotion Library into the dropbox. A thumbnail is added in the dropbox for each asset you add.

Dropbox Asset Menu

To open the menu, hover over the thumbnail of an asset in the dropbox and click the ellipsis (...) that appears.

The menu contains the following commands:

Painting, Scatter, and Pen Tools

Use the Paintbrush or Scatter tools to paint or scatter vegetation assets on surfaces in the scene, and use the Pen tool to draw splines that represent paths or areas.

Asset Properties

Certain Twinmotion assets can be customized, such as vegetation, lights, and cars. To customize these assets once they are placed in a dropbox, select them in the dropbox, and then modify their settings in the Asset properties section. Any modifications you do are automatically applied to the assets already placed in the scene.

Paint

Use the Paint tool to paint vegetation assets in specific areas in the scene, such as various bushes and flowers along a path. Select the assets in the dropbox, then use the Paintbrush tool to paint the areas in the scene you want to populate. The assets you add automatically follow the slope and orientation of the surfaces on which you paint. The size of the paintbrush strokes, and the amount of assets that are distributed, are controlled by the paintbrush diameter and the density you select.

Scatter

The Scatter tool is ideal for quickly placing multiple assets randomly in large areas, such as populating a forest with various vegetation, rocks, and ground cover. Select the assets in the dropbox, then use the Scatter tool to click on the surfaces in the scene you want to populate. The assets you scatter on surfaces automatically follow the slope and orientation of the surfaces.

Spacing

Place and scatter multiple assets along closed or open paths by selecting the assets in the dropbox, and then using the Pen tool to draw splines that represent the paths. In the Scattering section, you can modify the distribution of the assets by selecting random seed values, setting the tension of the path, choosing the offset distance between the assets and the spline, and randomizing the placement of the assets along the spline.

For more information on the Spacing tool and how to use it, see Spacing and Area Tools.

Area

Place and scatter multiple assets inside custom areas by selecting the assets in the dropbox, then using the Pen tool to draw splines that represent the areas. In the Scattering section, you can modify the distribution of the assets several ways, for example by selecting random seed values, setting the tension of the segments between spline points, or choosing the spacing between the assets. The Area tool also has a Settings per object section, where you can modify settings per object. 

For more information about the Area tool and how to use it, see Spacing and Area Tools.

Paths

The Paths tab contains the Character, Bicycle, Vehicle, and Custom animated paths tools. With the Character, Bicycle, and Vehicle path tools, create configurable animated paths that automatically populate with moving characters, bicycles, or vehicles from the Twinmotion Library. Use the Custom path tool to design custom paths using static or animated assets from the Twinmotion Library (including the Animator tools), or assets you import into Twinmotion and save in the User library. 

Creating Animated Paths

All animated paths are splined-based, and you create them using the Pen tool. You can create open-ended or closed paths, and modify their shape and contents.

To create an animated path, click the Pen tool, then click in the viewport once and drag the mouse and continue clicking to create the points and segments of the path. 

Character, Bicycle, and Vehicle paths are automatically populated with characters, bicycles, and vehicles once you draw the splines. 

Custom paths are fully customizable, and are animated with static or animated objects you select from the library. Once you create a custom path with the Pen tool, you need to link the objects you want to animate to the path. For more information about Custom paths, see Custom Paths.

Path Properties

To view and modify the properties of an animated path, select the path in the viewport or the Scene graph.

For more information about animated paths, see Animated Paths.

Urban

The Urban tab contains a map you can use to add accurate, real-world context and urban environments into your Twinmotion scenes. You can search for and select a precise location anywhere in the world, then download the geographical data of the area—such as roads, buildings, and trees—in the form of 3D models inside the scene.