Practice order
Test one operation on an understandable source
For a first test, use transparent Text+, a contrasty frame, a gradient or a simple 3D shape. Establish the node's behavior before adding styling and the final composite. These ten base-toolset picks are starting exercises, rather than a ranking of the entire 21.x library.
- Keep the source branch: comparing against it reveals the effect's contribution and allows controlled blending.
- Check RGB and Alpha separately. A bright Viewer does not establish that the layer will composite correctly.
- Inspect motion and the delivery size. A still cannot reveal a flickering grid, unstable threshold or loop seam.
01–02 · procedural structure
Pattern and Microwaves: geometry and directed waves
Pattern creates a self-contained 2D image. Microwaves builds a wave-like or radiating treatment from a source image. This distinction determines the start of the graph before you adjust its appearance.
01 · Pattern — grids and tessellation
Choose Grid, Triangles or Honeycomb, then establish Size, Thickness and Fill. Offset changes the internal pattern phase; a downstream Transform moves the rendered layer. Set colors for a visible background; for a control map, inspect the channel the next node will actually read.
02 · Microwaves — waves from a center
Supply a contrasty title or prepared image. Choose Square, Round or Axial, set Center and Length, then Brightness and the source contribution through Blend Original. Only Edges explores a contour-focused variation; add Glow after checking the underlying pattern.
Background route
Pattern → Transform → MediaOut. To overlay it, send this branch to Merge.Foreground and footage to Merge.Background. Animate only Offset or Transform on the first pass; make sure moving the rendered layer does not expose its canvas boundary.
Light-accent route
Text+ → Microwaves → Glow → Merge.Foreground; connect the background separately to Merge.Background. If the branch will serve as a control map instead of an overlay, inspect luminance before connecting it to the next effect's control input.
Quality check
Inspect line thickness at 100% and after reducing to delivery size. If the grid flickers, first reduce fine-detail frequency; increase Pattern's Super-Sampling only when it improves the edge. For Microwaves, check transparency and enough room for the rays.
03–04 · reveals
Fragments and Grow: image pieces and seed-driven growth
Both tools are easy to explore with a title that has correct alpha. Fragments controls individual pieces and their order of appearance. Grow spreads a reveal from seed points through a selected channel and value range.
03 · Fragments — a mosaic reveal
Start with Channel = Alpha and a wide Channel Low/High interval. Set Size Minimum/Maximum, then establish the Range Fade order and animate Range Min/Max. Keep a fixed random variation before adding Jitter so you can assess the actual reveal sequence.
04 · Grow — a directed reveal
Choose Alpha for a transparent shape or Luminance for a contrast map. Place a seed in an area admitted by Channel Low/High and adjust Grow End. Softness Start/End shape the boundary. A seed outside suitable data or the wrong channel can produce an almost empty result.
A finished title
Text+ → Fragments or Grow → Merge.Foreground; footage → Merge.Background. Check the full shape's appearance before adding Glow. Fragments outputs a 2D image: physical shards with trajectories, collisions and 3D lighting need a different system.
A separate control matte
Feed a contrast map into Grow and its output into Bitmap. In Bitmap, choose an actually populated Alpha or Luminance channel and connect the mask to Merge.Effect Mask. The image being revealed goes to Merge.Foreground, with the background in Background.
What to check
Inspect the beginning, middle and end of the reveal, thin text strokes and Alpha against light and dark backgrounds. If the treatment should be local, mask the blend separately; do not assume a standard Effect Mask changes the growth algorithm itself.
05 · time
Seamless Loop: preparing a repeating range
Seamless Loop joins the end and beginning of an animation using a chosen dissolve interval. It suits noise, abstract backgrounds, screen graphics and soft motion. Widely different object positions can create a double image, so choosing the source segment remains part of the task.
Seamless solves a different problem: matching opposite texture edges. A spatially seamless image does not by itself create a temporally seamless animation.
Provide enough source frames
Build an animated Pattern → Transform branch or choose suitable footage. Add Seamless Loop, set Loop Length in frames and establish Dissolve Length. Read the node's information lines for the required source-frame count and the first frame sampled.
Check the join
Play the result two or three times consecutively. Compare Linear and Smooth, then adjust the dissolve length. If ghosting appears, try a shorter transition or another source segment with more closely matched starting and ending states.
Preserve the loop through to output
A working route is Pattern → Transform → Seamless Loop → Glow → MediaOut. After closing the timing, use static Glow or matching periodic animation. Any new nonperiodic motion after Seamless Loop can introduce another seam.
Export exactly one period
Compare the exported frame count with Loop Length and play the file repeatedly. An extra duplicate of the first frame at the end can introduce a visible pause.
06–07 · digital treatments
Channel Shifter and Sort: channels and pixel order
RGB separation and pixel sorting perform different operations. Establish one on a clean source before adding the other. Pixel sorting rearranges image pixels; it does not alter a video codec's structure and is not technical datamoshing.
06 · Channel Shifter — separate RGB
Begin with small opposing Red and Blue offsets, leaving Green near its original position. Then compare per-channel blur and scale. Alpha has a separate job: shifting it unintentionally can cut off the colored edges of a transparent title.
07 · Sort — rearrange pixels
Choose Horizontal or Vertical, begin with Luminance as the main sorting criterion and establish line length. Add more channels and Range only after that. Noisy moving footage can cause the order to change abruptly between frames.
Blend with the source
Split MediaIn: send it directly to Merge.Background and through Channel Shifter → Sort to Merge.Foreground. Animate the processed branch's contribution with Merge Blend. This keeps the source recognizable and lets you inspect each operation independently.
Limit the area
Connect Polygon or Rectangle separately to Merge.Effect Mask. Animate blend strength for a pulse, or configure Sort's Range for a directed reveal. The compositing mask and the sorting Range provide different kinds of control.
Check channels and motion
Inspect Alpha against a contrasty background, text readability and bright lines. Watch consecutive Sort frames for flicker; compare Channel Shifter offsets at delivery resolution, where a few pixels can materially change the strength.
08–09 · images as data
Rasterize and Relative Transform: using tone and shape
These tasks require inspecting the source channel. Rasterize uses the image to form a stamp pattern. Relative Transform bases a relative transformation on image content; it does not analyze an object's trajectory over time.
08 · Rasterize — halftone and custom icons
Connect the image to Image, begin with Luminance and Circle, then set Grid Size and the difference between Size Black/White. Shape Color = Image follows the source colors. A custom stamp needs a separate RGBA source in External and the appropriate Shape mode.
09 · Relative Transform — an image-based reference point
Start with a transparent title, Center Channel = Alpha and an appropriate Range. Compare Bounding Box and Weighted Pixels centers before setting Pivot, Center, angle and size. Changes in the shape or threshold can move the reference point; ordinary Transform suits a predetermined fixed pivot.
Rasterize's three input roles
Footage goes to Rasterize.Image, an icon with alpha to External, and a local mask to Effect Mask. External color and external shape are selected separately. To derive a mask from the result, add Bitmap after Rasterize; the tool itself outputs an image.
Testing Relative Transform
Use a source with a clearly occupied area and inspect it before and after Relative Transform. The official brief description also mentions a second input for relative distortion; check its availability and role in your build before connecting a reference. Do not use this as a substitute for Tracker or PlanarTracker.
Common problems
Address Rasterize moiré through grid density and stamp size before raising Super-Sampling. If Relative Transform jitters on a noisy source, check the channel, range, stability of the reference area and whether a fixed pivot is the better choice.
10 · spatial arrays
Mapped Duplicate 3D: copies controlled by an image map
Mapped Duplicate 3D builds an array across X, Y and Z. An image can control offset, rotation, scale, probability and the timing of copies. For a uniform row without a map, begin with Duplicate3D; this tool's value is distributing different values across space.
Its output remains a 3D scene. The Map image controls array parameters and does not automatically become each copy's material. If a texture is needed, assign it to the object before duplication through the appropriate image or material input.
Build geometry and map separately
Shape3D → Mapped Duplicate 3D.SceneInput. A contrasty gradient or Fast Noise → Map. For image cards, first connect the picture to ImagePlane3D, then send its 3D output to SceneInput.
Start with a small grid
Set copy counts and array dimensions, then enable mapping for one property, such as Offset using a selected channel. Choose the map-sampling plane and different black and white values. A constant map or matching endpoint values will not show variation.
Add the scene and renderer
Connect the array, Camera3D and required lights as separate branches into Merge3D. Continue through Renderer3D → Merge.Foreground, with footage in the regular Merge.Background. Check the selected camera, framing and Lighting when using lit materials.
Expand after checking
Add Rotation, Scale and Time one at a time. Time requires a source that actually changes over time and has available frames. As copy counts increase, compare render time and memory in your scene: a control map does not guarantee cost-free geometry duplication.
Another route
Modifiers define parameter behavior
Beat, Random, Color Switcher and text modifiers are useful after understanding the image branch. They produce a control value or text; the node owning that control still produces the image.
| Task | Choice and attachment | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Pulsing at a known tempo | Beat on a suitable numeric parameter; BPM or Frames per Beat, then ADSR | Beat start, frame rate and value range; Beat does not analyze audio itself |
| Controlled variation | Random on a parameter with meaningful Min/Max limits | Repeatability at the same settings and frame, without unwanted jumps |
| Palette changes | Color Switcher for compatible color controls | Every palette state and Alpha, especially over footage |
| Terminal-style typing | Write on a text control; configure the cursor and persistent prefix | A stable prefix, legible cursor and readable typing duration in motion |
| Data-driven text or scrambling | From File for lines; Juggle for character mixing; Formula for calculated logic | External-file availability, line or character order and a stable final text state |