After exporting a mesh from the SpeedTree Modeler, you can use the included Blender Add-on to load it into Blender and recreate the materials as closely as possible.

Open Blender > Edit > Preferences > Add-ons > Install > SpeedTree Blender Add-On

This is located in the SpeedTree Cinema software folder <apps install>/scripts/Blender/SpeedTreeAddOn.zip.

Open your finished tree in SpeedTree Cinema, select your export format and location. Adjust the export settings as needed and hit export. For more help on export formats see here.

Helpful Tip: If you’re looking to do an Alembic export with wind or growth animations included, we recommend using the low or medium resolution version of a tree to help out your computers compute time. In the same spirit, you should aim to be frugal with your frames and sequence duration. Exporting using the Ogawa format with a total size under 2 GB will lower the risk of crashing your applications.

In Blender go to File > Import > SpeedTree (.stmat)

Render with desired settings and composition.

Helpful Tip : Not seeing the new import option? Close Blender and reopen it to confirm changes to your preferences.

1. Import your SpeedTree(s).
2. Duplicate the tree.
3. Vary the rotation of each instanced tree.
4. Create a collection.

Select all trees > Right-click > Move to collection > New collection > Name collection > Create plane > Position and scale > Add material > Set alpha to 0

5. Add and modify the particle system.

Add a particle system modifier > Set to hair > Check advanced & rotation > Set “Orientation Axis” to Object X > Set “Render As” to Collection > Select your tree collection > Check “Object Rotation”, “Object Scale”, and “Pick Random”

6. Adjust settings as desired.
7. Render with desired settings and composition.

If you wish to change how the materials are created, or add completely new material types, the Add-on has been designed to be easily extensible in this manner.