User Manual

Minimum Depth Map Light Distance
This control is active when an image is connected to the shadow’s Depth Map input. The slider
is used to control the amount that the depth map contributes to the Light Distance. Dark areas
of a depth map make the shadow deeper. White areas bring it closer to the camera.
Z Map Channel
This menu is used to select which color channel of the image connected to the node’s Depth
Map input is used to create the shadow’s depth map. Selections exist for the RGB and A,
Luminance, and Z-buffer channels.
Output
This menu determines if the output image contains the image with shadow applied or the
shadow only.
The shadow only method is useful when color correction, perspective, or other effects need to
be applied to the resulting shadow before it is merged back with the object.
Common Controls
Settings Tab
The Settings tab controls are common to all Effect nodes, so their descriptions can be found in
“The Common Controls” section at the end of this chapter.
Trails [TRLS]
The Trails node
Trails Node Introduction
The Trails node is used to create a ghost-like after-trail of the image. This creates an interesting
effect when applied to moving images with an Alpha channel. Unlike a directional blur, only the
preceding motion of an image is displayed as part of the effect. Since the trail effect is based
on an image buffer, it requires you to play or activate the pre-roll for some number of frames
before you see the effect.
Input
The two inputs on the Trails node are used to connect a 2D image and an effect mask that can
be used to limit the area where trails appear.
–
Input: The orange input is used for the primary 2D image that receives
the trails applied.
–
Effect Mask: The blue input is for a mask shape created by polylines, basic primitive
shapes, paint strokes, or bitmaps from other tools. Connecting a mask to this input
limits the area where the trails effect appears. An effects mask is applied to the tool
after the tool is processed.
Chapter – 88 Effect Nodes 1961