sStar

sStar is one of Fusion's Shape generators. The Resolve 21 Shape reference explicitly states that it has no external inputs: the node creates the star path internally and exposes only a Shape output.

The output remains vector Shape data. It can feed sGrid, sDuplicate, sBoolean, sMerge, sTransform, sChangeStyle and other Shape tools; a normal RGBA raster does not exist until sRender.

Points sets the number of arms. Because it changes the radial topology, it is best established before fine-tuning Depth, proportions and animation.

Depth controls the inner radius or arm width. The direction matters: around 0.001 the arms become hair-thin, while Depth at 1.0 raises the inner radius toward the outer radius and approaches a faceted circle. More Depth does not mean a sharper star.

A classic star usually uses an intermediate Depth: low enough for clear valleys but not so low that thin rays become fragile after rasterization.

Solid selects a filled shape. When Solid is disabled, the center becomes transparent, Border Width becomes the visible stroke, and conditional Cap Style, Position and Length controls are exposed.

Border Width expands or contracts the border. It is available with Solid enabled too, but its role is easiest to understand in outline mode.

Border Style controls how path sides join at corners. The documented options are Bevel, Round and Miter; star geometry makes the difference visible on both outer points and inner valleys.

Cap Style applies to the two free ends of an open outline. Flat ends at the endpoint, Round adds a semicircular end, and Square projects beyond the endpoint. Caps become visible only when Length is below 1.0.

Position moves the start/gap around the star perimeter. It is not an X/Y translation control: X/Y Offset move the entire primitive while Position moves the opening along the path.

Length at 1.0 produces a closed outline. Values below 1.0 open the contour, and keyframing Length creates a procedural write-on/reveal around the star path.

X Offset and Y Offset place the whole primitive in normalized frame space. Keep them conceptually separate from Position along the outline.

Z Offset [3D] is present in the captured Resolve 21 Inspector. In ordinary 2D motion graphics it is usually left neutral unless depth-aware Shape behavior is intentional.

Width and Height set horizontal and vertical size independently. Equal values keep the arms equally proportioned; different values stretch the radial geometry into an elliptical starburst.

Angle rotates the entire primitive around its center. For hierarchical motion or orbiting, a downstream sTransform keeps source geometry and parent-like motion separated.

The captured Controls state shows Points 6, Depth 0.5, Solid on, Border Width 0.0, X/Y/Z Offset 0.0, Width/Height 0.5 and Angle 0.0. These are UI evidence from the capture, not a universal factory-default contract.

The Style tab defines authored color and transparency. Color swatch and Red/Green/Blue/Alpha are two interfaces for the same style color; numeric channels are useful for repeatable templates.

Alpha is the alpha component of the Style color, while Opacity is a separate overall attenuation. Lowering both compounds transparency and makes diagnosis harder.

Allow Combining controls self-overlap alpha behavior when downstream tools make the Shape overlap copies of itself. Enabled preserves the authored Alpha through overlap; disabled allows overlapping alpha values to compound.

Allow Combining is not a geometric Union/Subtract/Intersect operation. Use sBoolean or sMerge for Shape topology logic.

For repeated sparkles, build one clean sStar and distribute it with sDuplicate or sGrid. This keeps Points/Depth/Style centralized while layout lives downstream.

For neon or glow work, keep the star vector through the Shape pipeline, rasterize with sRender, then apply image-domain Glow or Blur.

Evaluate thin rays, miter joins and cap details on the sRender output at 100%. Fit-to-view can hide aliasing, outline thickness differences and pointed-corner artifacts.

Write-on animation should be checked in playback and frame-stepped around Position/Length keys. A still frame confirms geometry but not interpolation quality.

For production QC, change one factor at a time: Points, then Depth, then Width/Height, then fill/outline, then Style and animation. This preserves causal clarity.