User Manual

Table Of Contents
Combining Multiple Merge3D Nodes
Furthermore, Merge3D nodes can be combined with other Merge3D nodes, allowing you to
create composite 3D scenes made up of multiple “sub-scenes,” each put together within
individual Merge3D nodes.
You can build elaborate scenes using multiple Merge3D nodes connected together.
Lighting Multiple Merge3D Nodes
Once you’ve combined multiple Merge3D nodes, there’s an easy way to control how lights that
are connected to upstream Merge3D nodes affect the results of other Merge3D nodes
connected downstream. Each Merge3D node’s Controls tab contains a single checkbox, Pass
Through Lights, which enables lighting to pass through the output of an upstream Merge3D
node in order to shine onto objects connected to downstream Merge3D nodes.
You can light downstream Merge3D scenes with lights connected to
upstream Merge3D scenes by turning on Pass Through Lights.
This checkbox is disabled by default, which lets you light elements in one Merge3D scene
without worrying about how the lighting will affect geometry attached to other Merge3D nodes
further downstream. For example, you may want to apply a spotlight to brighten the wall of a
building in one Merge3D node without having that spotlight spill over onto the grass or
pavement at the foot of the wall modeled in another Merge3D node. In the example shown
below, the left image shows how the cone and taurus connected to a downstream node remain
unlit by the light in an upstream node with Pass Through Lights disabled, while the right image
shows how everything becomes lit when turning Pass Through Lights on.
Chapter – 76 3D Compositing Basics 1540