The Blender
The Blender changes the look of a beam or a trail over its life. It holds a list of states. Each state is one whole look, placed at a Time. Only Beam emitters and Trail emitters have a Blender. Exercise 8 uses it for the first time.
What it makes possible:
- Lightning. State 1 white at Time 0, State 2 pale blue at Time 0.25, State 3 at Time 1 and fully transparent at the tip.
- A beam that burns away from one end. State 1 with Transparency 0 along the whole length. State 2 with a Transparency graph from 1 to 0 along the length. State 3 with Transparency 1.
- A look that holds, then pops. Two states, and a Transition that stays at 0 until 0.9.
- A trail that thins and reddens as its projectile ages. Trail emitter states with Width from 1 to 0.2 and Color from white to red.
What a state is
Section titled “What a state is”A beam’s colour is a gradient along the beam, from Attachment 0 to Attachment 1. Its transparency is a graph along the same length. On a trail, colour, transparency and width run over the age of each piece of ribbon, from new to about to vanish.
A state holds one such look. It is placed at a Time between 0, the start of the particle’s life, and 1, its end.
| In a state | On a Beam emitter | On a Trail emitter |
|---|---|---|
| Time | When this look is reached, as a part of the beam’s Lifetime from 0 to 1. | The same, over the trail’s Lifetime. |
| Color | A gradient along the beam’s length. | A gradient over the age of each piece of ribbon. |
| Transparency | A graph along the beam’s length. | A graph over the age of each piece of ribbon. |
| Width | Not present. | A graph over the age of each piece of ribbon. |
| Transition | On State 2 and later. The shape of the change into this state. | The same. |
Nothing else is set per state. On a Beam emitter, Width0, Width1, Brightness and the other graph rows are each one graph over the beam’s life.
In the Explorer the states are the children named 1, 2, 3 of the GraphBlender folder under the emitter. Transform makes the folder with one state at Time 0. That state holds the colour and transparency the Beam or Trail had, and for a Trail its width.
The panel
Section titled “The panel”The Blender box sits under Appearance in the Properties panel and starts collapsed. It holds the + Add State button and one block for each state. The blocks are listed in order of Time and titled State 1, State 2 and so on.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| The block’s header | Click to fold or unfold the state. |
| Time | A number from 0 to 1, shown with two decimals. |
| × | Removes the state. The states that remain are numbered again from 1. |
| Width | Trail emitters only. Enter one number, or press ⋯ to draw a graph in the graph editor. |
| Transparency | Enter one number, or press ⋯ to draw a graph in the graph editor. |
| Color | Click the swatch to pick one colour, enter r, g, b, or press ⋯ to draw a gradient in the colour editor. |
| Transition | On State 2 and later. Reads linear until a graph is set. See Transition. |
A Time is refused if it is not a number, if it is below 0 or above 1, or if another state already has it. The box flashes red and the old value returns.
The Width and Transparency boxes of a state take one number. Two numbers, a, b, are not accepted there.
Every edit is one step in Studio’s undo history.
States are ordered by Time, not by when they were made. To move a state earlier or later, change its Time. After a state is added or removed, the states are numbered again in order of Time.
With several emitters selected, an edit goes to the state with the same number on each. If the selected emitters do not hold the same set of states, a banner reads Mixed blender states - editing first beam only. Only the first emitter is then edited. + Add State always adds a state to every selected emitter.
+ Add State
Section titled “+ Add State”The new state takes the look of the last state: its Color, its Transparency and, on a Trail emitter, its Width.
Add State keeps the states evenly spaced until a Time is typed by hand.
| States | Times |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 0, 1 |
| 3 | 0, 0.5, 1 |
| 4 | 0, 0.33, 0.67, 1 |
Once any Time has been typed by hand, Add State stops spacing the states. The new state is placed at Time 1. If the last state was already at Time 1, that state moves to halfway between the state before it and 1. States at 0, 0.2 and 1 become 0, 0.2, 0.6 and 1.
Between states
Section titled “Between states”At a state’s Time the beam or trail shows exactly that state. Between two states the plugin blends smoothly from one gradient to the next.
Three states at Time 0, 0.4 and 1, with a Lifetime of 2 seconds, show as follows.
| Moment | What shows |
|---|---|
| 0 seconds | State 1. |
| 0.4 seconds | Halfway from State 1 to State 2. |
| 0.8 seconds | State 2. |
| 1.4 seconds | Halfway from State 2 to State 3. |
| 2 seconds | State 3. |
The blend is followed every frame. Anim. Steps does not change it.
Color, Transparency and Width use the same Times. A Timescale graph slows or reverses the move from state to state.
Transition
Section titled “Transition”A Transition is a graph that shapes the change into its state. State 1 has none.
The graph runs across from 0, the Time of the state before, to 1, this state’s Time. Its height is how much of this state shows. At 0 the state before still shows. At 1 this state shows in full.
| To | Do this |
|---|---|
| Draw a Transition | Press ⋯ on the row. The graph editor opens with a straight line from 0 to 1. |
| Remove a Transition | Enter linear or none in the row’s box. The row reads linear again. |
Any other text typed into the box is ignored.
| Transition graph | Result |
|---|---|
A straight line from 0 to 1, or linear | An even change from the state before to this state. |
| Level at 0 until 0.8, then up to 1 | The look of the state before holds, then changes fast. |
| A fast rise that levels off | A quick change that settles. |
| A graph that ends below 1 | A jump at the state’s Time. The next stretch starts from this state’s full look. |
Values are held between 0 and 1. A graph that goes above 1 or below 0 holds the nearer state. A random spread on a Transition graph is ignored.
One Transition shapes Color, Transparency and Width together.
Edge cases
Section titled “Edge cases”| Case | What shows |
|---|---|
| One state | That state for the whole life. Nothing is blended. |
| The last state’s Time is below 1 | The last state holds until the end of the life. |
| A state is edited while beams or trails are on screen, in Emit mode | The edit shows on beams and trails emitted afterwards. |
| A state is edited on a Beam emitter in Animate mode with Loop on | The edit shows from the next cycle. |
Keep one state at Time 0. Transform places State 1 there.
Limits
Section titled “Limits”- The Blender sets Color and Transparency on a Beam emitter, and Color, Transparency and Width on a Trail emitter. No other row is set per state.
- A state’s Width and Transparency take one number or a graph. They do not take
a, b. - State 1 cannot be removed.