Withering fruits: vegetable matter decay and fungus growth

Abstract

We propose a parametrised method for recreating drying and decaying vegetable matter from the fruits category, taking into account the biological characteristics of the decaying fruit. The simulation addresses three main phenomena: mould propagation, volume shrinking and fungus growth on the fruit's surface. The spread of decay is achieved using a Reaction-Diffusion method, a Finite Element Method is used for shrinking and wrinkling of the fruit shell, while the spread of the fruit's fungal infection is described by a Diffusion Limited Aggregation algorithm. We extend existing fruit decay approaches, improving the shrinking behaviour of decaying fruits and adding independent fungal growth. Our approach integrates a user interface for artist directability and fine control of the simulation parameters.