This paper proposes a method for modelling compound leaves in plants. The layout of leaf lobes is captured by a branching skeleton generated using an L-system. The leaf margin is then traced around the skeleton. Finally, the surface bounded by the margin can be bent and complemented with a relief, if these features are found in the real leaf.
The paper focuses on the specification and tracing of the margin, and includes references to the techniques described in the literature for performing the other tasks. The margin is defined as an implicit contour - a one-dimensional counterpart of implicit surfaces used previously in computer graphics. Techniques for specifying and tracing the contour are discussed in detail.
Keywords: modelling of natural phenomena, leaf, implicit surface, implicit contour, contour tracing.
Mark Hammel, Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz, and Brian Wyvill. Modelling compound leaves using implicit contours. In Tosiyasu L. Kunii, editor, Visual computing: integrating computer graphics with computer vision, pages 119-212. Springer-Verlag, June 1992. Proceedings of Computer Graphics International '92 (Tokyo, Japan, 22-26 June 1992).