Brush node

 
 
 

These attributes control the behavior and appearance of Paint Effects brush nodes (For example, fern, slimWeed or daisyLarge). These attributes also appear in the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

brush

Name of the selected Paint Effect brush.

Brush Type

Select the type of brush you want to paint with. All brush types use the shape defined by the brush attributes.

Paint

Applies paint to the stroke path according to the defined attributes.

Smear

Distorts paint already applied to the canvas or scene. If the stroke uses fake shadowing (see Fake Shadow), the shadows also smear.

Blur

Softens the look of paint already applied to the canvas or scene. If the stroke uses fake shadowing (see Fake Shadow), the shadows also blur.

Erase

In the canvas, the Erase brush removes the color from the painted pixels, revealing the underlying canvas Clear Color and maintaining the shape of the brush. For details, see Erase paint from the canvas.

In the scene painting view, the Erase brush replaces the pixel color of the paint stamps it overlaps with black (alpha 0).

When you erase, the alpha values are lowered, rather than increased, which means you can use the Erase brush to erase holes in a texture or scene.

ThinLine

The ThinLine type of brush allows you to render large numbers of fine tubes much more quickly than the Paint brush type. It uses a direct anti-aliased line draw rather than a series of brush stamps. The Multi Streaks method is also available when the ThinLine brush type is used. In combination with the Multi Streaks method, the ThinLine brush type can be up to 100 times faster for hair than the Paint brush type with better line detail. In addition, new looks are possible using the Multi Streaks, such as wet clumping hair.

Note

When using a large value for Tube Width with the ThinLine brush type, this may result in artifacts.

Mesh

Renders Paint Effects using triangulated tubes instead of brush stamps. This results in accurate conical geometry with textures that correctly map on the surface. Flat surfaces are rendered more accurately than when the PaintBrush Type is used. While the Paint Brush Type is generally better when representing soft, fuzzy volumes, the Mesh Brush Type is better at hard surfaces.

With the Mesh Brush Type you can create Paint Effects trees and plants that are convincing not just from a distance, but also close-up. You can also create shapes, such as hard-edged geometry (buildings) and do per-pixel lighting on the mesh (including specular highlights). There is also a built-in environment map on the brush that is useful when simulating reflective surfaces (see Mesh Environment Reflections). We’ve added displacement and bump mapping to enhance the detail of the mesh surface (see Set mesh displacement/bump mapping). The triangles are not kept in memory, but rather generated at render time. As a result, you can use a lot of triangles without running out of memory.

Global Scale

Use the Global Scale setting to adjust brush attribute values by a common factor. This scales the paint effect uniformly so you can paint the same effect, but in different sizes.

Other options in the Paint Effects Brush Settings window

For descriptions of the options in other sections of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window, see:

Channels

These are the options in the Channels section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Depth

Turn on Depth to create a depth channel. Strokes appear on top of previously painted strokes when Depth is off.

*

In the scene, turn on Depth for more realistic natural effects (for example, for plants, fire, water). This should also prevent unusual results. By default, depth is forced on in the scene (see Force Depth).

Note

Paint Effects may run slightly faster when Depth is turned off.

Modify Depth

Depth must be turned on to use this option. Turn on Modify Depth to paint to the depth channel. If a stroke has a depth channel, but Modify Depth is off, the stroke appears behind strokes that are nearer in the scene and strokes that were created after it, as shown in the following example.

Tip

When painting in fog, turn off Modify Depth for a more realistic effect.

Modify Color

Turn on Modify Color to paint to the color channel.

Modify Alpha

Turn on Modify Alpha to paint to the alpha (mask) channel. If you plan on compositing your Paint Effects strokes, you should turn this option on. Turning off Modify Alpha changes the way the color displays.

Brush Profile

These are the options in the Brush Profile section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Brush Width

Defines the width of the brush in Maya working units. For simple strokes, the brush width defines the width of the paint stamps applied along the stroke path. For strokes with tubes, the brush width defines the stroke path boundary—tubes can start growing only within the path defined by the brush width. The Paint Effects Tool cursor is a brush stamp outline. The Brush Width is represented by the diameter of this outline.

Tip

You can use a hotkey (ModifyLowerRadius under Brush Tools in the Hotkey Editor) to interactively change the brush width. For information on other Paint Effects hotkeys, see Use default Paint Effects hotkeys.

Softness

Defines how soft, or blurry you want the paint to be along the edges of the stroke path (for simple strokes) or along the edges of tubes (for strokes with tubes). Higher values make the edge more blurry.

Flatness1, Flatness2

For simple strokes, Flatness1 defines how flat the paint lies along the stroke path. When Flatness1 is 0, the paint is applied to the stroke as if you squeezed it out of the tube. The stroke appears raised from the side. When Flatness1 is 1, the paint lies flat on the surface as if you removed the excess paint.

For strokes with tubes, Flatness1 and Flatness2 define how flat each tube is at its base and at its tip, respectively. The values between the base and tip are linearly interpolated.

Stamp Density

Paint is applied to strokes in overlapping stamps. If the stroke is simple (it has no tubes), the stamps are applied along the stroke path. If the stroke has tubes, the stamps are not applied along the stroke path, but are applied along the tube paths. Stamp Density defines the number of stamps to apply along the paths, relative to the Brush Width or Tube Width. For example, if you set Brush Width to 2, and Stamp Density to 8, then every two units of path would have 8 stamps on it (as long as the brush width remains constant). Similarly, if you set Tube Width2 to 2, and Stamp Density to 8, then every two units of tube would have 8 stamps on it (as long as the tube width remains constant).

If you set Stamp Density to 1, the paint path will look like a line of circles that just touch on the edge. If you set Stamp Density to be greater than one, the circles will overlap by a factor of their width (for example, if Stamp Density is 2, the stamps will overlap by half their width). If you set Stamp Density to be less than one, there will be spaces between the stamps.

Occlusion Width Scale

Primarily for toon shader use.) This is only for Stamp draw mode. Occlusion Width Scale reduces the stamp size based on the overlap by foreground objects. The full stamp is always drawn, avoiding antialias problems where occluded by non-Paint Effects foreground objects. When the entire stamp is occluded the size of the stamp is reduced to zero, and therefore hidden.

Edge Clip, Edge Clip Depth

When Edge Clip is turned on, you can make 3D strokes render flattened as 2D, as if they are painted directly onto a surface's texture. The Edge Clip Depth attribute controls how far in front of a surface the stroke can be before it becomes invisible. Therefore 3D strokes that sit close to an object’s surface can be seen if the surface is behind them, but not if the surface edge is in profile. You could use Edge Clip for drop shadows and to fake shadows.

Screenspace Width Control

These are the attributes in the Screenspace Width Control subsection of the Brush Profile section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Screenspace Width

When Screenspace Width is turned off the Paint Effects lines (brush strokes) appear thinner the further they are from the camera. But when it’s turned on, there is no difference in the Paint Effects line width no matter how near or far the line is from the camera; with Screenspace Width turned on, the Min and Max Pixel Widths are respected.

Turn this option on to maintain the brush width at all depths in the scene. This option is useful in scenes where you want cartoon-like outlines that retain a fixed width.

The brush stroke width is normally in worldspace and it appears to be constant in the 3D world. Screenspace refers to the flat 2D world of the rendered image (like a paint canvas). When the width is defined in screenspace it is relative to the overall size of the image, and the width is constant despite the distance of the object. Distance Scaling allows you to blend between the two width methods.

The Paint Effects display in the scene view updates when Screenspace Width is turned on, so you can display screenspace width Paint Effects lines in realtime.

Distance Scaling

Controls the amount that the distance from the eye affects the stroke/line width when Screenspace Width is turned on. At a value of 0.0 the width is constant while at a value of 1.0 it behaves as if Screenspace Width is turned off.

Min Pixel Width

When Screenspace Width is turned on this option controls the smallest width a stroke can be in pixels. It is useful for toon lines when you want to avoid very thin lines.

Max Pixel Width

When Screenspace Width is turned on this option controls the largest width a stroke can be in pixels. It is useful for toon lines when you want to avoid very fat lines.

Example of Screenspace Width using Paint Effects toon lines

Twist

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Twist section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Twist

Tubes can twist around their own axes as they grow. The Twist attribute defines the initial twist value. Twist is only noticeable when the tubes have some flatness or texture (Flatness1 and Flatness2 values are greater than 0). See also Twist Rate.

Forward Twist

When Forward Twist is turned on, the broad or flat side of tubes are always oriented towards the camera. Textures are similarly affected so that they always face the camera. This is particularly useful when the Flatness is 1, as you can use billboard textures to minimize geometry. For leaves, you could use a texture of a large clump of leaves with alpha on flat leaves. Turning on Leaf Forward Twist (Tubes > Growth > Leaves) would ensure that the broad side of the textured leaf clump is rotated towards the view so it always looks full. Another example might be to use the image of an apple with alpha on a flat flower petal. Turning on Petal Forward Twist (Tubes > Growth > Flowers) twists the petal to face the view so the apples do not look flat from some angles. The simplest way to represent a tree is an image of a tree with alpha textured to a billboard facing the camera. The following settings can be used to set up this type of billboard:

Thin Line Multi Streaks

These are the options in the Thin Line Multi Streaks section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window. For more information, see Set Thin Line Multi Streaks.

Multi Streaks

The number of additional tubes or hairs to create around the original tube.

Multi Streaks Spread1

The maximum offset at the tube base for the streaks.

Multi Streaks Spread2

The maximum offset at the tube tip for the streaks.

Diffuse Random

Amount to randomize the brightness of each offset tube.

Specular Random

Amount to randomize the specular brightness of each offset tube.

Light All Streaks

Compute lighting for each added tube.

Mesh

These are the options in the Mesh section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window. For more information, see Set mesh attributes.

Tube Sections

The number of points in the circle that is swept along the tube.

Sub Segments

The number of cross sections per segment of the tube.

Single Sided

Cull away facing triangles.

Per Pixel Lighting

Light each pixel, as opposed to each vertex.

End Caps

This adds end cap geometry to tubes when using the Mesh Brush Type.

Hard Edges

This affects the lighting of the object and makes the edges around tubes hard when using the Mesh Brush Type. For example, if the tube sections are set to 4 and Hard Edges is turned on, it will make the tube shade as if the 4 sides are flat, rather than trying to simulate a rounded tube. For bends in the direction of the tube, for example, due to changes in the Width Scale, the bend angle across a given must be sufficiently large to make the angle hard. The number of segments used can affect whether a given region on the tube becomes hard edged or not. This attribute adjusts the normals used for shading and does not alter the shape of the tube. This is off by default.

Thorns on Mesh

The Thorns on Mesh section is a subsection of the Mesh section. These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Thorns on Mesh section that can be used to control the look and size of the thorns. For more information, see Set mesh thorn attributes.

Branch Thorns

Enable thorns on base tubes, including when tubes are off.

Twig Thorns

Enable thorns on twigs.

Leaf Thorns

Enable thorns on leaves.

Flower Thorns

Enable thorns on flowers.

Thorn Density

The number of thorns relative to the overall tube.

Thorn Elevation

The rotation of the thorns relative to the base tube's surface normal.

Thorn Length

Length of the thorn relative to the average tube width.

Thorn Base Width

The width of the thorn at the base (relative to average tube width).

Thorn Tip Width

The width of the thorn at the tip (relative to average tube width).

Thorn Specular

Specular highlight intensity (using an anisotropic model).

Thorn Base Color

Color at thorn base.

Thorn Tip Color

Color at thorn tip.

Mesh Environment Reflections

The Mesh Environment Reflections section is a subsection of the Mesh section. These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Mesh Environment Reflections section. For more information, see Set mesh environment reflections.

Branch Reflectivity

The amount the environment is reflected on base tubes, including the stroke when tubes are turned off.

Leaf Reflectivity

The amount of environment reflection on leaves.

Flower Reflectivity

The amount of environment reflection on flowers.

Environment

The ramp represents the reflected color of a spherical placement: the left side of the ramp is the color at the bottom of the spherical reflection and the right side of the ramp is the color at the top of it.

Reflection Rolloff

Represents the reflectivity with changing view angle (facing ratio).

Shading

These are the options in the Shading section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Color1

On simple strokes, Color1 defines the basic color of the paint. On strokes with tubes, Color1 defines the color of the tube roots. Click the Color1 color box and select the stroke color from the Color Chooser. Use the slider to adjust the color value. Color1 is used only if Map Color (under Texturing) is turned off.

See also Color Length Map.

Tip

If you are painting in the Paint Effects panel (canvas or scene painting view), you can change the Color1 setting from the toolbar by clicking the C color box and selecting the color from the Color Chooser. Adjust the color value using the slider.

Incandescence1

Makes the paint look incandescent—as if it were illuminated from its own internal light. On simple strokes, this attribute defines the incandescence for the stroke. On strokes with tubes, this attribute defines the incandescence of the tube roots.

Click the Incandescence1 color box and select the incandescence color from the Color Chooser. Use the slider to adjust the incandescence value. The higher the value, the more incandescent the paint is. When the value is 0 (black), there is no incandescent effect, when the value is 1 (white) or the color is pure, the effect is strongest.

See also Incand Length Map.

Transparency1

Defines the opacity of the paint. On simple strokes, Transparency1 defines the opacity for the stroke. On strokes with tubes, Transparency1 defines the opacity of the tube roots.

Click the Transparency1 color box and select the transparence color from the ColorChooser. Use the slider to adjust the transparency value. The higher the value, the more transparent the paint is.

When the value is 0 (black), the paint is fully opaque, or “solid”. When the value is 1 (white), or a pure color with a value of 1, the paint is transparent.

Transparency1 is used only if Map Opacity (under Texturing) is turned off.

See also Transp Length Map.

Tip

If you are painting in the Paint Effects panel (canvas or scene painting view), you can change the Transparency1 setting from the toolbar by clicking the T color box and selecting the color from the Color Chooser. Adjust the color value using the slider.

Blur Intensity

This option is available only when Brush Type is set to Blur. It defines the blurring effect of the brush.

Edge Antialias

Turn this option off to “step” the edges of the brush stroke. Brush Softness (under Brush Profile) must be set to 0 for this option to have any effect. Turn this option on, unless you do not want smooth lines. Antialiasing does not affect brush draw performance.

Tube Shading

The Tube Shading section is a subsection of the Shading section. These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tube Shading section.

Color2

Color2 defines the color of the tube tips. Click the Color2 color box and select the tube tip color from the Color Chooser. Use the slider to adjust the color value. Color2 is used only if Map Color (under Texturing) is turned off.

See also Color Length Map.

Tip

If you are painting in the Paint Effects panel (canvas or scene painting view). you can adjust the Color2 setting on the toolbar by clicking the C2 color box and selecting the color from the Color Chooser. Adjust the color value using the slider.

Incandescence2

Makes the paint on tube tips look incandescent—as if it were illuminated from its own internal light.

Click the Incandescence2 color box and select the incandescence color from the Color Chooser. Use the slider to adjust the incandescence value. The higher the value, the more incandescent the paint is. When the value is 0 (black), there is no incandescent effect, when the value is 1 (white) or the color is pure, the effect is strongest.

See also Incand Length Map.

Transparency2

Defines the transparency (or opacity) of the tube tips. This is a color, so you can set the transparency of the R, G, and B channels separately. The closer to black each channel is, the more opaque it is.

Click the Transparency2 color box and select the transparence color from the Color Chooser. Use the slider to adjust the transparency value. The higher the value, the more transparent the paint is.

When the value is 0 (black), the paint is fully opaque, or “solid”. When the value is 1 (white), or a pure color with a value of 1, the paint is transparent.

Transparency2 is used only if Map Opacity (under Texturing) is turned off.

See also Transp Length Map.

Tip

If you are painting in the Paint Effects panel (canvas or scene painting view), you can change the Transparency2 setting from the toolbar by clicking the T2 color box and selecting the color from the Color Chooser. Adjust the color value using the slider.

Hue Rand, Sat Rand, Val Rand

These attributes define how much random variation Maya applies to tube colors when creating new tubes. When the values are low, all tubes are created using colors very close to Color1 and Color2. Increasing these values causes more random variation. You can control randomness of the Hue, Saturation, and Value individually.

Brightness Rand

Defines how much random variation in tube brightness there is. If the value is 0, all the tubes are created at the same brightness. As this value increases, the tubes are randomly assigned different brightnesses, with the amount of variation increasing. This is useful for creating effects like hair, where the individual strands should have some variation in brightness as they shadow each other.

Root Fade, Tip Fade

Makes the root end or the tip of the tubes transparent, in effect “fading” the root or tip. The transparency changes linearly between the center of the tube and the root or tip.

Texturing

These are the options in the Texturing section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Map Color

By default, Color1 and Color2 are used to apply color along the stroke path or to tubes. To use a texture instead, turn Map Color on and define the texture using the attributes that follow.

Tex Color Scale

Defines the scaling factor applied to Color1 and Color2 saturation values before they are used to define the texture output color.

A scaling factor of 1 multiplies the texture output color by the brush’s untextured color, while a scale factor of 0 uses only the texture color.

Tex Color Offset

Defines the amount the texture’s color is added into the output color.

Map Opacity

By default, Transparency1 and Transparency2 are used to define opacity. Turn this option on to apply a texture to the opacity using the current texture. See Texture Type.

Tex Opacity Scale

Defines the amount by which the texture’s alpha values multiply the Tranparency1 and Transparency2 values.

Tex Opacity Offset

Defines the amount by which the textures’s alpha values are added to the output opacity.

Map Displacement

Turn on for displacement of triangles using texture.

Displacement Scale

Amount of displacement relative to tube width.

Displacement Offset

Amount of displacement independent of local tube width.

Bump Intensity

Strength of the added bump effect (if Per Pixel Shading is on).

Bump Blur

Controls separation of samples used in bump mapping.

Use Luminance

Use color brightness instead of the alpha for displacement.

Texture Type

This option is used only when Map Color or Map Opacity is turned on. Select the type of texture you want mapped to Color and Opacity. You can map Checker, U Ramp, V Ramp, Fractal, and File type textures. For more information on mapping file type textures, see Map file textures to color and opacity.

If you select Fractal, you can set the Fractal Amplitude, Fractal Ratio, and Fractal Threshold in this section.

If you select File, you can select the file in the Image Name box and select Frame Extension and Fringe Removal options.

Map Method

Select how the UV coordinates are defined for the stroke:

Full View

The texture fits to the view. Painting tubes “reveals” the texture.

Brush Start

The mapping is in “eyespace,” similar to Full View, but the position, scale, and offset of the texture is based on where the brush stroke starts. This texturing technique works best in scenes with Paint at Depth turned on for the brush. If the brush stroke starts far away in the scene, the texture is small. The closer the brush stroke starts, the larger the texture.

Tube 2D

The mapping is in worldspace, but always centered on the tube such that there is never a visible seam.

The texturing follows the flow of the stroke path (U is the direction along the path, and V is the direction across the path).

Tube 3D

The texture is fully mapped in 3D around the tube, with a seam that is visible from some views. The texture appears correctly when you animate the viewpoint.

Tex Uniformity

The setting is used only when the Map Method is set to 2D. If Tex Uniformity is 0, the textures are stretched along the path based on how quickly the different parts of the path were drawn (or where the stroke path curve CVs are). If Tex Uniformity is 1, the texture is mapped evenly along the path.

Tex Color1

Defines the first color/transparency used by the selected Texture Type. For example, this could be one of the checker colors, or the color at the start of a ramp.

This texture color value is multiplied by the brush color value, Color1. So if Color1 is black (value 0), Tex Color1 will paint as black. To ensure that the painted texture colors match the texture colors set for the brush, set the brush color (Color1) to white (value 1) or set Tex ColorScale to 0.

Tex Color2

Defines the second color/transparency used by the selected Texture Type. For example, this could be one of the checker colors, or the color at the start of a ramp.

This texture color value is multiplied by the tube tip color value, Color2. So if Color2 is black (value 0), Tex Color2 will paint as black. To ensure that the painted texture colors match the texture colors set for the brush, set the tube tip color (Color2) to white (value 1).

Tex Alpha1

Defines the alpha value (opacity) for pixels where the texture has its maximum value.

Tex Alpha2

Defines the alpha value (opacity) for pixels where the texture has its minimum value.

Repeat U

Defines the number of times the texture is repeated in the U direction.

Repeat V

Defines the number of times the texture is repeated in the V direction.

Offset U

Defines how much the texture is offset in the U direction.

Offset V

Defines how much the texture is offset in the V direction.

Note

This value is randomized by the Gap Rand value, even if the Gap Size is set to 0.

Blur Mult

Defines how much antialiasing is applied. Set this value to 0 to turn off antialiasing. A value of 1 produces good antialiasing, while higher numbers produce blurrier results.

Smear

Defines the frequency of the noise used to smear the texture. Increasing this value makes the smear finer and bumpier. Typically, if you increase this value, you will want to correspondingly decrease SmearU and SmearV.

Smear U

Defines how much to smear the texture in the U direction. Increase this value to make the texture smear more in the U direction. A value of 0 produces no smearing.

Smear V

Defines how much to smear the texture in the V direction. Increase this to make the texture smear more in the V direction. A value of 0 produces no smearing.

Image Name

Type the name of the image file you want to use for the file texture, or click the folder icon and select it.

Use Frame Extension

Turn this option on when you are animating a texture. Paint Effects replaces the frame number in the image name with the frame number in the Frame Extension box. For details, see Animate textures on strokes.

Frame Extension

This option is available only when Use Frame Extension is turned on. Type the frame number you want to replace the frame number in the Image Name. Keyframe this attribute when you want to use a sequence of files as a file texture.

Fringe Removal

Corrects dark fringes along file texture alpha boundaries. If the background (alpha value zero) of an image is light or white, turn this option off. To get fringe-free alpha effects from a texture, create the texture against a black background and turn this option on.

Fractal Amplitude

This setting is used only when Texture Type is set to Fractal. Higher values increase the intensity or contrast of the fractal.

Fractal Ratio

This setting is used only when Texture Type is set to Fractal. Higher values make the fractal appear rougher.

Fractal Threshold

This setting is used only when Texture Type is set to Fractal. Increasing this value increases the amount of Tex Color 1 in the fractal, making it appear to “spread.”

Illumination

These are the options in the Illumination section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Illuminated

Turn on Illuminated so that lighting has an effect on the appearance of the stroke paint. You can use the lights in your scene to illuminate strokes or you can use a Paint Effects light. See Real Lights, next.

If Illumination is turned off, then strokes are painted in the colors you specify, with no shaded areas or specular highlights, even if there are lights in the scene.

By default, Illuminated and Real Lights are forced on in the scene in the Paint Effects Globals (see Force Real Lights).

Real Lights

This option is available only when Illuminated is turned on. Turn on Real Lights to use the lights in the scene to determine the position of shading and specular lights on the paint.

Turn off Real Lights to use a directional Paint Effects light. You can define its direction in the Light Direction attribute, but you cannot modify any other attributes (for example, intensity). When this option is turned off, lights in the scene have no effect on the paint.

By default, Illuminated and Real Lights are forced on in the scene in the Paint Effects Globals (see Force Real Lights).

Note

There is currently no way to link lights to strokes—all non-exclusive lights in the scene will illuminate the strokes if Real Lights is on.

Lighting Based Width

This attribute is useful for creating a thick/thin effect for line modulation. Lighting Based Width controls the degree to which the line (tube) width is modulated by the light intensity. Brighter regions will be thinner, whereas shadowed and dark regions will have full width lines (tubes). Using negative values can have the reverse effect. The lighting used is a diffuse illumination that is relative to the local surface normal painted on by the stroke.

Light Direction

These settings are available only when Illuminated is turned on and Real Lights is turned off. They define the direction of the Paint Effects light.

Translucence

This setting is available only when Illuminated is turned on. The Translucence value controls how much the paint transmits and diffuses light. Light shining on the back of translucent paint can light up the front, although you still may not be able to see through it. To make the paint completely opaque, set this to value 0. To allow more light to diffuse through, set the value closer to 1.

Specular

This setting is available only when Illuminated is turned on. The Specular value controls the brightness of the shiny highlights on illuminated paint. A value of 0 produces no highlights, while higher values produce brighter highlights.

Specular Power

This setting is available only when Illuminated is turned on. The Specular Power value controls how focused the specular highlights are. Lower values spread the highlight over a larger area. Higher values focus the highlight into a small dot.

Specular Color

This setting is available only when Illuminated is turned on. It defines the color of the specular highlights on your paint. Use the slider to adjust the specular color value. Click the Specular Color color box and select the specular color from the Color Chooser.

Shadow Effects

These are the options in the Shadow Effects section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Fake Shadow

Select one of the following fake shadow types:

None

No fake shadows.

2D Offset

Draws a shadow stamp offset in screen space (or drop shadow).

3D Cast

Defines a flat surface beneath the stroke then casts the shadow on that imaginary plane.

The following examples all use 2D Offset fake shadows.

Shadow Diffusion

Controls the softness of the fake shadows. Higher values make the shadow edge softer.

Shadow Offset

This setting is available only when Fake Shadow is set to 2D Offset. It controls how far the shadow is offset from the casting stroke.

Shadow Transp.

This setting controls how transparent the shadows are. Higher values make the shadows lighter. Lower values make them darker.

Back Shadow

The back side of an object doesn’t receive light, and is therefore not illuminated. Back Shadowing simulates this effect by shading the paint farthest away from the light. Higher values make the shading darker.

Center Shadow

By default, all tubes are painted at the same brightness. This setting shades tubes closest to the centre of the stroke path, simulating the effect of a clump of plants where the plants on the outside are illuminated, but the plants on the inside are shaded because the light is blocked by the outside plants. Higher values make the shading darker.

Depth Shadow Type

This setting is used only when Depth Shadow is greater than 0. Select one of the following options:

SurfaceDepth

Each point on the tube is shadowed according to how close it is to the surface on which it was created. The closer the point is to the surface, the darker it gets. This is useful for trees and reeds.

PathDist

Each point on the tube is shadowed according to how close it is to the current point on the path. This is useful for things like bushes, which have a shadowed interior.

Depth Shadow

Depth Shadow darkens (shades) the color along a tube based on its distance from the surface or path (depending on the Depth Shadow Type setting). If Depth Shadow is set to 0, there is no effect. If it is set to 1, the most shadowed parts of the tubes are black.

Depth Shadow Depth

Depth Shadow Depth defines the maximum distance over which the Depth Shadow can be applied.

Objects farther than this distance from the surface or path (depending on the Depth Shadow Type setting) will not be shaded at all.

Cast Shadows

Turn on Cast Shadows to make strokes cast shadows. Then select the light in the scene that you want to produce the shadows and in the Depth Map ShadowAttributes section of the light’s Attribute Editor, turn on Use Depth Map Shadows. The shadows will not appear when you refresh the scene painting view. They are created when you do a post-process render of the scene.

Note

Strokes cannot cast raytraced shadows.

Glow

These are the options in the Glow section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Glow

Defines the brightness of the standard glow, which is produced by applying paint stamps. A value of 0 produces no glow. Higher values add more glow. This glow effect is less effective on strokes with textures, but adequately adds glow to effects like stars. For more realistic glow, see Shader Glow.

Glow Color

Defines the color of the standard glow. If the color value is 0 (black), there is no glow effect.

Glow Spread

Defines how much the glowing halo of a standard glow spreads past the paint. This number is a factor of the width. A value of 1.0 produces no spreading. A value of 1.5 makes a halo 1.5 times as big as the width of the stamp.

Shader Glow

Defines the brightness of the Shader Glow. It is more realistic than standard glow, and appears only when you perform a post-process render. It is useful for strokes with textures and effects like fire. To modify the Shader Glow attributes, double-click the shaderGlow icon in the Post Process folder of Hypershade. For information on these attributes, right-click the down arrow on the node icon and select Help on “shaderGlow”.

Tubes

These are the options in the Tubes section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Tubes

Turn on Tubes to “plant” tubes along the stroke path. When Tubes is turned off, paint is applied along the stroke path to create a simple stroke.

Tip

If you are painting in the Paint Effects panel (canvas or scene painting view). you can turn on Tubes from the toolbar by clicking the Make tubes button.

Tube Completion

As you paint the stroke, Paint Effects samples points on the stroke path based on input from your mouse or stylus. When it samples a point, Paint Effects plants new tubes along the path between the last sampled point and the current one, then grows the previously planted tubes one more segment. When you finish painting the stroke, one of two things happens:

Creation

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tubes > Creation section.

Tubes Per Step

Defines the number of new tubes that are planted at each step in the growth simulation (each time Paint Effects samples a new point along the stroke path). The tubes are planted along the stroke path segment between the two sample points defining the step.

Tip

If you are painting in the Paint Effects panel (canvas or scene painting view) with a brush that has tubes. You can adjust the Tubes Per Step setting from the toolbar by changing the number in the TS box.

Tube Rand

Randomizes the position of tubes along the path. The lower the value, the more orderly the tubes appear. This attribute does not randomize emitter positions.

Start Tubes

Defines the number of tubes that are planted at the first point of each path you draw. If you set Tubes Per Step to 0, you can use this setting to create a single object along the path. For example, set Tubes Per Step to 1 to form the trunk of only a single tree for every stroke, or set it to 100 to create a sunrise or spot glow effect.

Segments

Defines the maximum number of segments a tube can have. Since tubes each grow one segment during each step in the growth simulation, the number of segments defines the “life span” of the tube. If you increase Segments, the tube length remains the same, but the segments making up each tube become smaller. Segments are straight, therefore more segments make the tubes appear smoother and less jointed.

Length Min, Length Max

These settings define the range of possible lengths for tubes (when they have completed growing). Paint Effects will create tubes with random lengths between the Length Min and Length Max values. If Tube Completion is off, the tubes may not reach the Min or Max values.

Tube Width 1, Tube Width 2

These settings define the width of the tubes at the base (Width 1) and at the tip (Width 2). The tube width changes linearly between these two values.

See also Width Rand and Width Bias, and Width Length Map.

Width Rand

Randomizes the width of tubes along the stroke path. If the value is 0, all tubes will be the width specified by Tube Width 1 and Tube Width 2. The higher the value, the larger variation there is between the Tube Width values.

Width Bias

This setting is used only when Width Rand is greater than 0. It defines how the random widths are distributed. If Width Bias is 0, then there will be just as many wider tubes as there are thinner tubes. If Width Bias is a positive value, then there will be more wider tubes created than thinner ones. If Width Bias is a negative value, then there will be more thinner tubes created than wider ones. If you are creating plants, negative values give the most realistic results. (For each larger plant, there are usually a number of smaller plants.)

Segment Length Bias

Defines how segments are distributed by length. If Segment Length Bias is 0, all tube segments are the same length. If the value is positive, segments closer to the base are longer. If the value is negative, segments closer to the tip are longer. The value represents the proportion of segments that are longer.

If Length Flex (see Length Flex) is set to 1, the segments are infinitely stretchy, therefore this setting has no effect.

Segment Width Bias

Defines how segment width affects segment length. If Segment Width Bias is 0, width of a segment has no effect on its length. If the value is positive, wider segments are longer. If the value is negative, wider segments are shorter.

Surface Snap

When on, the start position of tubes snap to the closest point on the geometry surface. Surface Snap works best on non-deforming geometry.

Width Scale

This allows you to use a graph to control the width from base to tip of tubes, rather than using a simple linear interpolation between two values. When combined with the Mesh Brush Type you can define shapes like spheres, as well as control the profile of a tube. Width Scale is applied as a scale to the current width and defaults to 1.0 so that previous presets work with it.

Tube Direction

Select what you want the primary axis to be to generate tubes.

Along Normal

Tubes are generated along the surface normal or the normal defined for the stroke (see Use Normal).

Tip

You can set a hotkey to flip the surface normal when you paint strokes (ToggleOppositeFlagOfSelectedShapes). For details, see Reverse surface normals on painted objects.

Along Path

Tubes are generated along the path of the stroke (tangent to the stroke path curve).

Elevation Min, Elevation Max

Imagine you are standing on a paint path, pointing straight ahead in the direction of the path. Moving your pointing hand straight up and down is like changing the elevation of your arm. These attributes define the range of possible elevations for tubes to lie. When both values are 1, tubes stand straight up (90 degrees, normal to the surface). When both values are 0, tubes lie flat along the path (0 degrees, tangent to the surface). When both values are 2, tubes lie flat along the path opposite to the path direction (180 degrees, tangent to the surface).

Elevation is the same as Inclination in Maya Fur.

Azimuth Min, Azimuth Max

As with Elevation, imagine standing on the paint path, pointing straight ahead in the direction of the path. Rotating your body left and right is like changing the azimuth of your arm. These attributes define the range of possible angles for tubes to rotate around the normal axis. When both values are 0, tubes point along the path direction. If both Elevation Min and Elevation Max are 1, Azimuth values have no effect.

Azimuth is the same as Polar in Maya Fur.

Simplify Method

You can simplify the wireframe display of a stroke by decreasing the display quality. Use this option to select what aspect of the stroke you want the display quality to affect. Display Quality does not affect the rendered strokes—only the quality of the wireframe representation.

Tubes Per Step

The display quality only affects the number of tubes.

Segments

The display quality only affects the number of segments along the tubes.

Tubes and Segments

The display quality affects the number of tubes and the number of segments.

Growth

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tubes > Growth section.

Branches

Turn this option on to split tubes into branches. See Set branch attributes.

Twigs

Turn this option on to grow twigs on tubes or branches. See Set Twig attributes.

Leaves

Turn this option on to grow leaves along tubes or branches. See Set leaf attributes.

Flowers

Turn this option on to grow flowers along tubes or branches. See Set flower attributes.

Buds

Turn this option on to grow buds at the tips of branches and leaves. See Set bud attributes.

Sun Direction

Sets the X, Y, and Z position of the sun's direction. Sun Direction is the reference point for the Flower Face Sun and Leaf Face Sun attributes. See Flower Face Sun and Leaf Face Sun.

Branches

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tubes > Growth > Branches section.

Start Branches

Defines the number of branches at the root of the tube.

Num Branches

Defines the number of branches created at each split. See also Branch Dropout.

Split Max Depth

Defines the maximum number of times a tube can branch. See also Split Length Map.

Branch Dropout

Defines the proportion of branches that are randomly “pruned” to give a more natural look. If Branch Dropout is 0, then each split produces exactly the number of branches defined by Num Branches.

If Branch Dropout is 1, all branches are pruned.

Split Rand

Randomizes the spacing between branching points. If Split Rand is 0, branching occurs at equal intervals along the tube. Higher values cause the spacing between branching points to become more random.

Split Angle

Defines the angle that the branch splits from its original path.

Split Twist

Defines how much branches twist when they split, relative to their root. A positive value twists counter-clockwise while a negative value twists clockwise. If Split Twist is 1, the branches twist 360 degrees.

Split Size Decay

Defines the tube size factor applied at each branching. If the value is 1, then the branches are the same size as the branch they branched from. If the value is less than 1, the branches are smaller than the branch they branched from (like on a real tree). If the value is greater than 1, the branches are larger than the branch they branched from.

Split Bias

Defines how to distribute branching along the tube. If the value is 0, branching is distributed roughly equally along the tube. Positive values push the branching towards the tips of the tube. Negative values push the branching towards the root.

Min Size

Defines the minimum size a tube must be to be “pruned.” If a tube is smaller than this size, it will not be pruned. See Branch Dropout.

Middle Branch

Turn this option on to continue growing the main tube of each branch at the split point (add a middle branch between the split branches).

Twigs

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tubes > Growth > Twigs section.

Twigs In Cluster

When twigs are created, they are created in radial clusters at one position around a branch or tube. This setting defines how many twigs are in each cluster.

Num Twig Clusters

Defines the number of radial twig clusters created between the Twig Start and the end of each branch or tube.

Twig Dropout

Defines the proportion of twigs that are randomly “pruned” to give a more natural look. If Twig Dropout is 0, Paint Effects produces exactly the same number of twigs each time it creates them. If Twig Dropout is 1, all twigs are pruned.

Twig Length

Defines the length of each twig.

Twig Base Width, Twig Tip Width

These settings define the width of the twigs at the base and tip, respectively. The twig width changes linearly between these two values.

Twig width is a factor of the width of the branch that the twig grew from. For example, if you set Twig Base Width to 0.8, then the width of the base of the twig will be 0.8 times the width of the branch at the point where the twig emerged.

Twig Start

Defines the point along a tube where twigs first appear. For example, if Twig Start is set to 0.5, then twigs appear half way up the tube (measured in segments). Decreasing this value pushes the twigs towards the base of the tubes.

Twig Angle 1, Twig Angle 2

These settings define the range of angles that the twigs will make with their source branch. The first twig cluster created (closest to the root) uses Twig Angle 1, and the last twig cluster created (closest to the tip) uses Twig Angle 2. The angles of the twig clusters change linearly in between these two clusters.

Twig Twist

Defines how much twigs twist around their source branch. If the value is 0, all the twig clusters emerge in a straight line along the branch. Positive or negative values make successive clusters emerge from points twisting around the source branch.

Twig Stiffness

This controls how much twigs are affected by forces such as turbulence, gravity, random and spiral. At a value of one these brush forces will not have an effect. The default is 0.5.

Branch After Twigs

Turn this on to put branches on twigs rather than twigs on branches. If Branch After Twigs is turned on, then twigs are evenly distributed along the main trunk and branches split after the twig. The splitting defined by the branch attributes will occur on the twigs. This is useful in helping define many common tree shapes, such as pines. You can have a central trunk with multiple branches splitting off of it. You can also use Twig Length Scale to adjust the overall profile of the tree. From the twigs' starting point, it controls the density of the twigs and branches along the main trunk. Shorter twigs are adjusted to have fewer branching events and segments.

Twig Length Scale

The base length of twigs is defined by the Twig Length attribute. However you might want twigs at the tip of a trunk to be shorter than ones at the base. The Twig Length Scale attribute allows you to scale the Twig Length: when it is set to 1.0 then the twigs will equal the Twig Length value, when it is set to 0.5 the twigs will be half the Twig Length value, etc. The horizontal dimension of the graph corresponds to the position from root to tip of the tube from which the twigs sprout.

Leaves

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tubes > Growth > Leaves section.

Leaves In Cluster

When leaves are created, they are created in radial clusters at one position around a branch or twig. This setting defines how many leaves are in each cluster.

Num Leaf Clusters

Defines the number of leaf clusters created between Leaf Start and the end of the tube or branches.

Leaf Dropout

Defines the proportion of leaves that are randomly “pruned” to give a more natural look. If Leaf Dropout is 0, then Paint Effects produces exactly the same number of leaves each time it creates them. If Leaf Dropout is 1, all leaves are pruned.

Leaf Location

Use these options to restrict leaves to secondary branches or just twigs.

Leaf Length

Defines the length of each leaf, in worldspace units.

Leaf Base Width, Leaf Tip Width

These settings define the width of the leaf at its base and tip, respectively. The leaf width changes linearly between these two values.

Leaf Width Scale

This allows you to use a graph to control the width from base to tip of leaves, rather than using a simple linear interpolation between two values. When combined with the Mesh BrushType you can define shapes like spheres, as well as control the profile of a leaf. Width Scale is applied as a scale to the current width and defaults to 1.0 so that previous presets work with it.

Leaf Start

Defines the point along the tube where leaves first appear. For example, if Leaf Start is set to 0.5, then leaves appear half way up the tube (measured in segments). Decreasing this value pushes the leaves towards the base of the tubes.

Leaf Angle 1, Leaf Angle 2

These settings define the range of angles that the leaves will make with their source branch. The first leaf cluster created (closest to the root) uses Leaf Angle 1, and the last leaf cluster created (closest to the tip) uses Leaf Angle 2. The angles of the leaf clusters change linearly in between these two clusters.

Leaf Twist

Defines how much leaves twist around their source branch. If the value is 0, all the leaf clusters emerge in a straight line along the branch. Positive or negative values make successive clusters emerge from points twisting around the source branch.

Leaf Forward Twist

Turn this check box on so the broad or flat side of a leaf is always oriented towards the camera. Textures are similarly affected so that they always face the camera. For more information, see Forward Twist.

Leaf Bend

Defines the amount of bend that is used to curl up leaves in the U direction (along the length).

Leaf Curl

Use the Curl attribute to bend leaves in the V direction (along the width). This is perpendicular to the Leaf Bend direction. Create and move points along the ramp to define the curl of the leaf. The ramp controls the curl from root to tip of the leaf. The left side of the ramp is the base of the leaf and the right is the tip. Controlling the curl from base to tip can help define the natural shape of leaves, as well as prevent interpenetration within a cluster. The mid line value on the ramp (0.5) represents zero curvature. Many leaf shapes have curvature that is constantly changing. For example, iris petals or mistletoe leaves can be simulated by a wavy curl ramp.

Leaf Face Sun

Sets the degree to which the leaves follow the position of the sun. The attribute is based on phototropism, which is the movement or growth of a plant in response to the direction of a light source. When set to 0, the leaves are not affected by the direction of the sun. When set to 1, the leaves turn fully toward sun. The sun’s direction is set using the Sun Direction attribute. See Sun Direction.

Leaf Twirl

This controls the initial rotation of a leaf relative to the branch. For example, by default a group of leaves at the top of a palm tree would twist sideways. With Leaf Twirl you can rotate them to a proper orientation with the flat side facing the ground.

Leaf Segments

Defines the number of segments in the leaf. If a leaf has multiple segments it can bend in response to forces.

Leaf Flatness

Defines how flat the leaves are. If Leaf Flatness 0, the leaves are tubes. If it is 1, the leaves are completely flat.

Leaf Size Decay

Defines the size factor applied to each leaf. If the value is 1, all leaves are the same size. As this value decreases, leaves towards the tips of branches are smaller. If you set the value to be greater than 1, the leaves towards the tops are larger

Leaf Size Rand

Specifies a value that randomizes leaf size. The Leaf Length, Leaf Base Width and Leaf Tip Width attributes are scaled by the same random value so that the leaf maintains its shape. Higher values generate more size variance between the largest and smallest leaves.

NoteTo improve how Leaf Hue Rand, Leaf Sat Rand, and Leaf Val Rand values are distributed on a branch, set Leaf Size Randomization to a positive value.

Leaf Stiffness

Force attributes may affect leaves either too strongly or too weakly. The number of segments in a leaf relative to the base segment count determines how much forces will affect the shape. The Stiffness attribute gives you an independent way of controlling how much the forces, such as Gravity, Random, and Turbulence, affect leaves. Stiffness affects the way forces act on the leaf. If the Stiffness is set to 1, forces have no effect. If Stiffness is set to 0.5 (the default), forces have the same effect per segment that they do on the main branches. If Stiffness is set to 0, forces totally affect the leaf like a limp spaghetti noodle. If you have no forces, such as Spiral and Twist, Stiffness will have no effect.

Leaf Translucence

This setting is available only when Illuminated is turned on (see Illuminated). The Translucence value controls how much the leaves transmit and diffuse light. Light shining on the back of translucent leaves can light up the front, although you still may not be able to see through them. To make the leaves completely opaque, set this to 0. To allow more light to diffuse through, set the value closer to 1.

Leaf Specular

This is the specular intensity value exclusively for leaves and it controls the brightness of the shiny highlights on illuminated paint. A value of 0 produces no highlights, while higher values produce brighter highlights. This setting is available only when Illuminated is turned on. See Specular in Illumination.

Leaf Color 1, Leaf Color 2

The colors for the base and the tip of the leaves, respectively. Colors in between are linearly interpolated.

Tip

If you are painting in the Paint Effects panel (canvas or scene painting view), you can change the Leaf1 and Leaf2 settings from the toolbar by clicking the L1 and L2 color boxes and selecting the color from the ColorChooser. Adjust the color values using the sliders.

Leaf Hue Rand, Leaf Sat Rand, Leaf Val Rand

These attributes define how much random variation Maya applies to leaf colors when creating new tubes. Low values ensure that all leaves are created using colors very close to Leaf Color 1 and Leaf Color 2. Increasing these values causes more random variation. You can control randomness of the Hue, Saturation, and Value individually.

Leaf Use Branch Tex

Turn this option on to apply the same texture used on branches to the leaves. Turn this option off to apply a different texture to the leaves.

Image Name

Type the directory location and name of the image you want applied to leaves or click the folder icon and select the image. The alpha of the image is used. The texture will fit the bounds of the leaf exactly.

Terminal Leaf

Turn this option on to add a single additional leaf to the ends of each branch and twig.

Flowers

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tubes > Growth > Flowers section.

Petals In Flower

When flower petals are created, they are created in radial clusters (flowers) at one position around a branch or twig. This setting defines how many petals are in each cluster. You can bunch multiple flowers together to make more interesting flowers.

Num Flowers

Defines the number of flowers created between Flower Start and the end of the tube’s lifespan.

Petal Dropout

Defines the proportion of petals that are randomly “pruned” to give a more natural look. If Petal Dropout is 0, then Paint Effects produces exactly the same number of petals each time it creates them. If Petal Dropout is 1, all petals are pruned.

Flower Location

Use these options to restrict leaves to secondary branches or just twigs.

Petal Length

Defines the length of the individual petals, in world space.

Petal Base Width, Petal Tip Width

These settings define the width of the flower petals at their base and tip, respectively. The petal width changes linearly between these two values.

Petal Width Scale

This allows you to use a graph to control the width from base to tip of petals, rather than using a simple linear interpolation between two values. When combined with the Brush Type you can define shapes like spheres, as well as control the profile of a petal. Width Scale is applied as a scale to the current width and defaults to 1.0 so that previous presets work with it.

Flower Start

Defines the point along a tube where flowers first appear. For example, if Flower Start is set to 0.5, then flowers appear halfway along the length of the tube (measured in segments). Increasing this value pushes the flowers toward the tips of the tubes.

Flower Angle 1, Flower Angle 2

These settings define the range of angles that the flowers will make with their source branch. The first flower created (closest to the root) uses Flower Angle 1, and the last flower created (closest to the tip) uses Flower Angle 2. The angles of the flowers change linearly in between them.

Flower Twist

Defines how much flower petals twist around their source branch. If the value is 0, all the flowers emerge in a straight line along the branch. Positive or negative values make successive flowers emerge from points twisting around the source branch.

Petal Forward Twist

Turn this check box on so the broad or flat side of a petal is always oriented towards the camera. Textures are similarly affected so that they always face the camera. For more information, see Forward Twist.

Petal Bend

Defines the amount of bend that is used to curl up petals in the U direction (along the length).

Petal Curl

Use the Curl attribute to bend petals in the V direction (along the width). This is perpendicular to the Petal Bend direction. Create and move points along the ramp to define the curl of the petal. The ramp controls the curl from root to tip of the petal. The left side of the ramp is the base of the petal and the right is the tip. Controlling the curl from base to tip can help define the natural shape of petals, as well as prevent interpenetration within a cluster. The mid line value on the ramp (0.5) represents zero curvature. Many petal shapes have curvature that is constantly changing. For example, iris petals or mistletoe leaves can be simulated by a wavy curl ramp.

Flower Face Sun

Sets the degree to which flowers follow the position of the sun. The attribute is based on phototropism, which is the movement or growth of a plant in response to the direction of a light source. When set to 0, flowers are not affected by the direction of the sun. When set to 1, flowers turn fully toward sun.The sun’s direction is set using the Sun Direction attribute. See Sun Direction.

Petal Twirl

This controls the amount of rotation or twirl of a petal about its primary axis (relative to the stem).This can be used to make petals better face a certain direction, or to twist a bit so as not to self intersect when forming a flower.

Petal Segments

Defines the number of segments in the flower petals. If a petal has multiple segments it can bend in response to forces.

Petal Flatness

Defines how flat the flower petals are. If Petal Flatness 0, the petals are tubes. If it is 1, the petals are completely flat.

Flower Size Decay

Defines the size factor applied to each flower petal. If the value is 1, all petals are the same size. As this value decreases, petals towards the tips of branches are smaller.

Flower Size Rand

Specifies a value that randomizes flower size. The Petal Length, Petal Base Width, and Petal Tip Width attributes are scaled by the same random value so that the petals maintain their shape. Higher values generate more size variance between the largest and smallest flowers.

NoteTo improve how Flower Hue Rand, Flower Sat Rand, and Flower Val Rand values are distributed on flower petals, set Flower Size Randomization to a positive value.

Flower Stiffness

This controls how much flowers are affected by forces such as turbulence, gravity, random and spiral. At a value of one these brush forces will not have an effect. The default is 0.5.

Flower Translucence

This setting is available only when Illuminated is turned on (see Illuminated). The Translucence value controls how much the petals transmit and diffuse light. Light shining on the back of translucent petals can light up the front, although you still may not be able to see through them. To make the petals completely opaque, set this to 0. To allow more light to diffuse through, set the value closer to 1.

Flower Specular

This is the specular intensity value exclusively for flowers and it controls the brightness of the shiny highlights on illuminated paint. A value of 0 produces no highlights, while higher values produce brighter highlights. This setting is available only when Illuminated is turned on. See Specular in Illumination.

Petal Color 1, Petal Color 2

The colors for the base and the tip of the flower petals, respectively. Colors in between are linearly interpolated.

Tip

If you are painting in the Paint Effects panel (canvas or scene painting view), you can change the Petal Color1 and Petal Color2 settings from the toolbar by clicking the P1 and P2 color boxes and selecting the color from the Color Chooser. Adjust the color values using the sliders.

Flower Hue Rand, Flower Sat Rand, Flower Val Rand

These attributes define how much random variation Maya applies to flower petal colors when creating new tubes. Low values ensure that all petals are created using colors very close to Petal Color 1 and Petal Color 2. Increasing these values causes more random variation. You can control randomness of the Hue, Saturation, and Value individually.

Flower Use Branch Tex

Turn this option on to apply the same texture used on branches to the flower petals. Turn this option off to apply a different texture to the flower petals.

Image Name

Type the directory location and name of the image you want applied to flower petals or click the folder icon and select the image. The alpha of the image is used. The texture will fit the bounds of the flower petals exactly.

Buds

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tubes > Growth > Buds section.

Bud Size

Defines the size of the buds, in world space units.

Bud Color

Defines the color of the buds.

Tip

If you are painting in the Paint Effects panel (canvas or scene painting view), you can change the Bud Color setting from the toolbar by clicking the B color box and selecting the color from the Color Chooser. Adjust the color value using the slider.

Behavior

These are the options in the Behavior section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Displacement

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tubes > Behavior > Displacement section.

Displacement Delay

Defines the point along the tubes (from the base) where the displacement takes its full effect. The displacement values ramp to this point. If the value is 0, the displacement starts to take full effect at the base of the tubes. If the value is set to 0.5, then the displacement begins to take full effect halfway along the length of the tube (measured in segments). If the value is 1, the displacement starts to take full effect at the maximum tube length.

Noise

Defines how much random variation to apply to the position of tube segments. The tubes must have a lot of segments for you to see the effect (20 segments in the following example). See Segments.

Noise Frequency

Defines the amount of variance in the positions of the segments over the maximum length of the tubes.

Noise Offset

Defines the translation of noise displacement down the tubes. This setting is useful for animating lightening effects.

Wiggle

Defines the amount of “wiggle” to apply to tubes. Wiggle is defined by a repeating wave curve. The Wiggle value defines the amplitude of the wave.

The tubes must have a lot of segments for you to see the effect (100 segments in the following example). See Segments.

Wiggle Frequency

Defines the number of wiggles applied over the maximum length of the tubes. The higher the value, the more “wiggles” along the length of the tube.

Wiggle Offset

Defines where along the wave the wiggle begins. You can animate this parameter to make waves appear to travel down the length of a tube.

Curl

Defines how wide to make the tube curls. The higher the value, the wider the curl. The tubes must have a lot of segments for you to see the effect (200 segments in the following example). See Segments.

Curl Frequency

Defines the number of curls applied over the maximum length of the tubes. If you increase the curl frequency, you may also need to increase the number of segments in the tubes to get smooth results. See Segments.

Curl Offset

A curl is a repeating pattern. Curl Offset defines where in the pattern the curl begins. You can animate Curl Offset to make curls travel down the length of a tube.

Forces

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tubes > Behavior > Forces section.

Path Follow

Defines the magnitude of the force that attempts to make tubes grow in the same direction as their corresponding points on the stroke path. If the value is 0, no force is applied to the tubes. As the value increases, the tubes follow the path more closely. A positive value follows the stroke path (like combing the tubes in the direction of the stroke path) while a negative value follows the reverse stroke path (like combing the tubes against the direction of the stroke path).

Path Attract

Defines the magnitude of the force that attracts tubes to the stroke path at each step of the growth simulation. If the value is 0, no force is applied to the tubes. As the value increases, the tubes converge onto the path. A positive value attracts tubes while a negative value repels them.

Curve Follow

You can make tubes follow control curves that are associated with strokes. For details, see Modify tube behavior using control curves. The CurveFollow setting defines the magnitude of the force that tries to make tubes grow in the same direction as the associated control curves. A positive value attracts tubes while a negative value repels them.

Curve Attract

You can make tubes attract to control curves that are associated with strokes. For details, see Modify tube behavior using control curves. The CurveAttract setting defines the magnitude of the force that attracts tubes to the associated control curves. A positive value attracts tubes, while a negative value repels them.

Curve Max Dist

This setting has an effect only if Curve Attract or Curve Follow is on. It defines the maximum distance (in world units) from which a curve can exert a force on a tube. If Curve Max Dist is set to 0, there is no maximum.

Surface Attract

Specifies the strength of an attractive force between the stroke and object surface. Surface Attract uses the closest point on surface to calculate which areas of the stroke and surface attract each other. Higher values increase the force of attraction, while negative values create a repulsive force.

Use Surface Attract for effects that require strokes to closely follow the contours of a painted surface, such as vines clinging to a wall. Turn on Surface Collide to resolve interpenetrating strokes and geometry.

Max Attract Distance

Specifies the maximum distance from an object surface that Surface Attract has an effect. Higher values increase the attraction distance from the object surface. Negative Max Attract Distance values attract all points to the surface regardless of distance.

Random

Defines the magnitude of a force with a random direction and intensity, applied in the local space of each tube. If the value is 0, no force is applied. As the value increases, the force increases. This value is useful for making trees and bushes appear gnarly.

Uniform Force

Defines the magnitude of a basic directional force to apply to tubes. the x, y, and z world space coordinates. If a value is 0, no force is applied from that direction.

Gravity

Defines the magnitude of a downward force (relative to the up axis). If the value is 0, no gravity is applied.

Surface Collide

When on, tubes collide with the surface of the painted object. Use Surface Collide to resolve interpenetrations between the strokes and geometry when Surface Attract is being used.

Collide Method

Specifies whether the stroke collides with the Outside, Inside, or Both Sides of the object surface.

Deflection

Turn on Deflection to apply a force that stops tubes from passing through the surface or plane they are growing from (for example, when gravity pulls branches down). The force pushes upwards and is stronger closer to the surface or plane.

Note

Deflection uses an approximation of the surface to do the deflection (a plane), so deflection will work best for short tubes or relatively flat surfaces. To deflect longer tubes, use control curves with negative Curve Attract settings (see Curve Attract).

Deflection Min, Deflection Max

These settings are available only if Deflection is turned on. They define the range over which the deflection force is applied. Deflection Min is the closest distance (in world units) that the tube can get to the ground before the force becomes effectively infinite. Deflection Max is the distance from the ground where approaching tubes are first influenced by deflection.

Momentum

Defines the magnitude of the force that slows down growth over the course of the growth simulation.

Length Flex

Defines how much tube segments can stretch in response to forces. If the value is 0, no stretching occurs. If the value is 1, tubes stretch just as far as required to match the force.

Turbulence

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tubes > Behavior > Turbulence section.

Turbulence Type

Defines which type of turbulence is created, and how it is applied to the tubes. You can select from the following types:

Off

No turbulence is applied.

Local Force

Turbulence is applied as a force in the local space of the tubes

World Force

Turbulence is applied as a force in world space. World Force is better than Local Force for groups of strokes that you want to share a continuous turbulence.

Local Displacement

Turbulence is applied as a displacement in the local space of the tubes.

World Displacement

Turbulence is applied as a displacement in world space.

Grass Wind

Turbulence is applied as a world space force. The force applied to the tips of the tubes is delayed from that applied at the roots, resulting in motion similar to grass blowing in the wind.

Tree Wind

Turbulence is applied as a world space force. The force applied to the outermost branches is stronger than that applied to the parts closer to the root, resulting in motion similar to a tree blowing in the wind.

Interpolation

Defines the mathematical method used to smooth the values (and therefore the motion) in the turbulence calculations. Select from Linear, SmoothoverTime, or Smoothover Time and Space.

For a more realistic effect this should typically be set to Smooth over Time and Space. If the highest speed is more desirable than motion quality, select either Smooth over Time or Linear.

Turbulence

Defines the air speed due to turbulence. If the value is 0, no turbulence is applied.

Frequency

Defines the amount of variance in the turbulence (either displacement or force) in space (or the size of the eddies).

Turbulence Speed

Defines how quickly the turbulence changes over time.

Turbulence Offset

Offsets the position of the turbulence by the defined x, y, and z values.

Spiral

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tubes > Behavior > Spiral section.

Spiral Min, Spiral Max

Defines the minimum and maximum amount of spiraling that occurs around the stroke normal. Paint Effects randomly chooses values within this range for newly created tubes.

Spiral Decay

Defines how the amount of spiraling (tightness) decays from the beginning to the end of a tube. If the value is 0, the spiral is constant. Values greater than 0 produce tighter spirals, Values less than 0 produce looser spirals.

Bend

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Tubes > Behavior > Bend section.

Bend

Defines how much bend is applied to base tubes. Bend can be used to curl up leaves and flowers, as well as to make the overall branches bend in the U direction (along the length). See also Leaf Bend and Petal Bend.

Bend Bias

Controls how far down the stroke the bend starts. With a value of 0, the bend starts at the base. With a value of 1, there is no bend. High values cause a faster bending near the tip.

Occupation Surface

Occupation Surface includes a group of interdependent attributes that affect the direction of branch growth and size as well as branching density.

Use Occupation Surface attributes to create foliage effects that simulate the natural growth patterns of branches, vines, and bushes.

Occupy Attraction

Creates a force at points along the surface of the painted object which attracts the end-points of the nearest Paint Effects tubes. The attractive force influences tubes to grow toward the surface point until a tube occupies the region around the point. After the tube end-point grows to the surface point, it occupies that space, and the surface point no longer attracts other tube end-points.

Higher Occupy Attraction values increase the tendency of the tube ends-points to grow toward the nearest surface point. As the force increases, greater sharpness in the angles of branching occurs as the tube end-points migrate to decreasingly available space.

Attract Radius Scale and Occupy Radius Scale attribute values and Occupy Branch Termination affect how tubes end-points are influenced by the Occupy Attraction force.

Attract Radius Scale

Specifies a value that is multiplied by the radius of the Paint Effects tubes to determine the region of unoccupied space that attracts tube end-points. For example, when set to 1, the region attracting a tube end-point is equal to the tube's radius. Attract Radius Offset also affects how the attract radius is calculated.

As Attract Radius Scale values increase, the number of points that the tube end-points are attracted to increases. This lets smaller branches grow into unoccupied space. When the Attract Radius Scale value is greater than Occupy Radius Scale, smaller branches terminate less frequently.

Attract Radius Offset

Specifies a value that is added to the radius of the Paint Effects tubes to determine the region of unoccupied space that attracts tube end-points. Attract Radius Scale also affects the size of the attract radius.

Occupy Radius Scale

Specifies a value that is multiplied by the radius of the Paint Effects tubes to determine the region of space that the tube occupies when it is attracted to a point.

Lower Occupy Radius Scale values allow more space to be colonized by larger numbers of branching tubes. Increasing Occupy Radius Scale while keeping Occupy Radius Offset to near 0 values lets thinner branches occupy the same space occupied by larger and thicker branches.

When the Occupy Radius Scale value is greater than Attraction Radius Scale, smaller branches terminate more frequently.

Occupy Radius Offset

Specifies a value that is added to the radius of tubes to determine the region of space that a tube occupies when it is attracted to a point. Occupy Radius Scale also affects the size of the occupy radius.

Surface Sample Density

Specifies the number of attractive points on the painted surface. The total number of points on the surface is equal to the square of the set Surface Sample Density value. Surface points are randomly distributed on all the geometry surfaces attached to the Paint Effects brush.

Occupy Branch Termination

When on, branches attracted into occupied space are terminated.

Length Mappings

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the Length Mappings section.

Color Length Map

Affects how much of the color range (between Color1 and Color2) is used. If this is set to Length, then every tube uses the whole range. If this is set to maxLength, then only the longest tubes use the whole range. Shorter tubes start at Color 1, but end before they make it to Color 2.

Transp Length Map

Affects how much of the transparency range (between Transparency1 and Transparency2) is used. If this is set to Length, then every tube uses the whole range. If this is set to maxLength, then only the longest tubes uses the whole range. Shorter tubes start at Transparency 1, but end before they make it to Transparency 2.

Incand Length Map

Affects how much of the color range (between Incandescence 1 and Incandescence 2) is used. If this is set to Length, then every tube uses the whole range. If this is set to maxLength, then only the longest tubes use the whole range. Shorter tubes start at Incandescence 1, but end before they make it to Incandescence 2.

Width Length Map

Affects how much of the width range (between Tube Width1 and Tube Width2) is used. If this is set to Length, then every tube uses the whole range. If this is set to maxLength, then only the longest tubes uses the whole range. Shorter tubes start at Tube Width1, but end before they make it to Tube Width2.

Split Length Map

If this is set to Length, then every tube splits the number of times specified in Split Max Depth. If this is set to maxLength, only the longest tubes split that often. Shorter tubes split a fewer number of times.

User MEL Scripts

These are the Paint Effects Brush Settings in the User MEL Scripts section. For more information, see Use MEL scripts to apply custom effects.

Creation Script

Type the directory location and name of the MEL script to use to generate tubes.

Runtime Script

Type the directory location and name of the MEL script that defines the flow and behavior of the tubes at each step of the growth simulation.

Gaps

These are the options in the Gap section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Gap Size

Defines the size of the gap, relative to the Gap Spacing. If the Gap Size is 0, there are no gaps. If the value is 1, there is nothing but gap.

Gap Spacing

Defines the space between gaps, expressed as a proportion of the length of the tube. For example, if Gap Spacing is 0.33, then the gaps divide the tubes into 3 parts.

Gap Rand

Randomizes the positions of the gaps for each tube. If Gap Rand is 0, all the gaps occur at the same positions for each tube. As this number increases, the spacing becomes more random between tubes.

Gap Rand also randomizes the position of textures applied to tubes, leaves, or flowers, even if Gap Size is set to 0.

Note

This value randomizes Offset V for textures (see Offset V), even if the Gap Size is set to 0.

Flow Animation

These are the options in the Flow Animation section of the Paint Effects Brush Settings window.

Flow Speed

Defines the speed (in cycles per second) and direction that gaps, twists, and textures move (or flow) along animated tubes. Positive numbers make them flow from base to tip. Negative numbers make them grow and flow from tip to base.

For example, if the flow speed is two, the gap, twist, or texture pattern cycles (flows back to the starting pattern) twice in one second. So if your units are defined to be 24 frames per second, the pattern made by the gap, twist, or texture pattern will be identical on the 12th frame and the 24th frame.

If you turn on the Time Clip or Stroke Time options, it also defines the speed that tubes grow.

Texture Flow

This moves the texture with flow as defined by Flow Speed. In general this is best turned off for growth animations (growth with time clipping) because the textures will not move during the plant growth. But this is useful when you want a texture, particularly a displacement, to flow down the tubes. This is on by default.

Stroke Time

This option has no effect unless Time Clip is on. Turn on Stroke Time to animate tube growth and flow from the beginning of the growth simulation to the end of the growth simulation.

Time Clip

Turn on Time Clip so that animated tubes first appear and begin to flow at the time set by Start Time (seconds), and die at the time set by End Time (seconds).

If Time Clip is on, but Stroke Time isn’t, tubes along the stroke path are already planted, which means the tube growth is uniform.

If Time Clip is off, the tubes display at the end of their lifespan along the stroke, the growth simulation having completed. In this case, only gap, twist, or texture flow are animated.

Start Time

This option has no effect unless Time Clip is on. Start Time (seconds) defines the time when tubes first appear (or are “born”).

Note Start Time (seconds) is measured in seconds. So if your Time unit is set to 24 fps, for example (Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences, then click the Settings category), and the Start Time (seconds) is 1, then tubes will first appear on frame 24.

If you know what frame you want tubes to appear on, divide this frame number by the frames per second defined by your Time unit to determine what value to enter in the Start Time (seconds) box. For example, if you want your tubes to appear on frame 60 and your Time unit is set to NTSC (30 fps), divide 60 frames by 30 frames per second, for a Start Time (seconds) of 2 seconds.

You can perform this calculation by creating an expression in the field. Type an equals sign (=) followed by the calculation. In the previous example, you would type:

=60.0/30

Notice that the time must have a floating point decimal.

End Time

This option has no effect unless Time Clip is on. End Time defines the time when tubes “die.” If you think of a tube as a particle emitter that emits tube segments, the End Time is the point in time when the emitted segments die, or disappear. If the growth simulation is not yet complete, segments will continue to be emitted after the End Time until they reach their lifespan.

If you are animating growth, set this value to occur at the same frame as your end frame or later. With growth, you typically do not want tubes to die before the animation is complete.

To create “bursting” effects, use values that occur at frames before the end frame.

Note End Time is measured in seconds. So if your Time unit is set to 24 fps, for example (Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences, then click the Settings category), and the End Time is 4, then tubes start to die on frame 96.

If you know what frame you want tubes to begin to die on, divide this frame number by the frames per second defined by your Time unit to determine what value to enter in the End Time box. For example, if you want your tubes to begin to die on frame 120 and your Time unit is set to NTSC (30 fps), divide 120 frames by 30 frames per second, for an End Time of 4 seconds.

You can perform this calculation by creating an expression in the field. Type an equals sign (=) followed by the calculation. In the previous example, you would type:

=120.0/30

Notice that the time must have a floating point decimal.

Time

Use this option to keyframe time. For example, if you are animating the growth of a tree, you can make the tree remain a sapling for the first 100 frames of the animation, then have the tree grow from a sapling to a full grown tree in the next 100 frames.

To keyframe time, first right-click in the Time box and select Break Connection. Set keys at the frames you want to control growth (go to the frame, right-click in the Time box and select Set Key). Open the Graph Editor (Animation > Animation Windows and Editors > Graph Editor) and edit the animation curve to set the desired values. For details, see Graph Editor Curves menu.

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