Controls / Number of Lines
Sets the number of lines.
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Fusion 3DIntermediate
Ribbon3D
Procedural ribbon geometry
Generates strip-like 3D geometry for bands, trails, swooshes and flowing motion graphics.
Ribbon3D
DaVinci Resolve · Fusion
Generates strip-like 3D geometry for bands, trails, swooshes and flowing motion graphics.
Overview
What Ribbon3D does
Generates strip-like 3D geometry for bands, trails, swooshes and flowing motion graphics.
Mental model
Think of a long strip of paper in 3D whose width, twist and shape can be animated procedurally.
Common uses
Create flowing bands
Build stylized trails
Make 3D swooshes
Create animated light ribbons
Flow anatomy
Inputs & outputs
The port structure shows how this node fits into a Fusion graph.
SceneInput
Incoming 3D geometry or scene branch processed by the node.
Ribbon3D
Fusion node
SceneOutput
Processed 3D geometry or scene data for Merge3D, Renderer3D or another 3D node.
Inspector
Important parameters
Start with these controls before reaching for more complicated workarounds.
Controls / Line Thickness
Sets the thickness of each line in the ribbon.
Controls / Subdivisions
Sets how finely the ribbon geometry is subdivided along its length.
Controls / Ribbon Width
Sets the horizontal size.
Controls / Ribbon Rotation
Rotates the ribbon around its local path/tangent direction.
Controls / Join Style
Chooses how adjacent ribbon segments are joined.
Controls / Miter Limit
Sets a limit for the working range.
Start / X Y Z
Sets the X, Y and Z components of start.
End / X Y Z
Sets the X, Y and Z components of end.
Visibility / Visible
Controls whether the object is visible in the rendered scene.
Visibility / Unseen by Cameras
Keeps the object in the 3D scene while hiding it from camera renders.
The object can still be useful for lighting, shadows or other scene interactions depending on the setup.
Visibility / Cull Faces Front / Back
Controls whether front-facing or back-facing polygons are discarded.
Use face culling to diagnose reversed normals, inside-out geometry or single-sided surfaces.
Visibility / Suppress Aux Channels for Transparent Pixels
Suppresses auxiliary 3D channels where the object is transparent.
This keeps Object ID, Material ID, normals and similar passes clean around fully transparent pixels.
Lighting / Affected by Lights
Controls whether scene lights illuminate this object.
Lighting / Shadow Caster
Controls whether the object casts shadows onto other geometry.
Lighting / Shadow Receiver
Controls whether the object or material receives shadows.
Matte / Is Matte
Treats the object as a matte in the 3D composite.
Use matte objects for holdouts and technical occlusion rather than as ordinary visible geometry.
Blend Mode [Non-Deep] / Hardware
Selects the 3D blend mode for this renderer.
Chooses how the object is combined in the selected 3D renderer.
Blend Mode [Non-Deep] / Software
Selects the 3D blend mode for this renderer.
Chooses how the object is combined in the selected 3D renderer.
Blend Mode [Non-Deep] / Gain
Sets the gain of the effect.
Normals/Tangents / Scale
Sets the display length of the normal and tangent guides.
This affects the diagnostic overlay, not the actual geometry.
Normals/Tangents / Show Normals
Shows Normals in the Viewer for setup or diagnostics.
Viewer guides do not normally change the rendered image unless the control explicitly says otherwise.
Normals/Tangents / Show Tangents
Shows Tangents in the Viewer for setup or diagnostics.
Viewer guides do not normally change the rendered image unless the control explicitly says otherwise.
ObjectID / ObjectID
Assigns the Object ID written to the render passes.
Object IDs provide a clean way to isolate individual 3D objects after rendering.
Material
Sets or exposes the material used by the 3D object.
Settings
Standard Fusion node settings for processing, masks, blending and animation.
Practical setup
A reliable workflow
- 1
Create or import the geometry that Ribbon3D will work with.
- 2
Insert Ribbon3D at the point where the 3D behavior should change.
- 3
Inspect the Ribbon3D result in a 3D Viewer with a simple camera and light before building the final rig.
- 4
Keep transforms, materials and Ribbon3D-specific overrides in clearly separated parts of the scene.
- 5
Merge the finished Ribbon3D branch into the scene and render it through Renderer3D.
Typical node chain
Source→
Ribbon3D→
Renderer3D
Examples
Where this node fits in real work
Core 3D setup
Ribbon3D processes a geometry branch before it enters the main scene.
GeometryRibbon3DMerge3DRenderer3D
Technical 3D workflow
Ribbon3D is isolated in its own branch for easier debugging and reuse.
SourceRibbon3DRenderer3D
Troubleshooting
Common mistakes
Changing several Ribbon3D parameters at once and losing track of which control caused the result.
Approving Ribbon3D from a single still frame without checking motion or representative lighting.
Adding extra controls around Ribbon3D before the basic source, transform and render path is known to work.
Production notes
Practical tips
Name Ribbon3D by purpose when a composition contains several instances.
Use a lightweight preview while tuning Ribbon3D; restore the intended quality settings before the final render.
Related nodes