Knot generator

The Knot generator is used to add surface details to branches. These details include knots, lumps, gashes, and other small details depending on the property settings. Knot geometry is divided into three sections:

Refer to Generation properties.

Refer to Random seeds properties.

The properties in this group govern the shape of the outer geometry. This geometry is always welded to the parent, matches the UV coordinates of the parent exactly, and inherits the parent's branch material.

Controls the overall size of the knot.

Controls how far the knot extrudes from the parent it is applied too.

Uniform roll of the entire knot (“Inner” and “Core” will rotate with it).

Scales the width of the knot. Use “Scale” and “Rotation” together to get non-circular knots oriented on the model as you see fit.

The edge where the outer geometry meets the inner geometry can be raised using this value. Use this to create a lip between the outer and inner geometry.

The properties in this group distort the geometry based on a noise pattern.

Use this property to deform the shape of the knot boundary.

This value sets the tightness of the noise pattern. Higher values result in more deformed knot geometry.

Use this property to deform the offset of the knot.

This value sets the tightness of the noise pattern. Higher values result in more deformed knot geometry.

Vary this parameter to randomize the noise pattern.

The properties in this group govern the shape of the piece of geometry that connects the outer section to the core section.

This property sets the size of both the “Inner” and “Core” sections as a percentage of the total knot size.

This value scales the width of the “Inner” and “Core” sections.

This property controls the roundness of the geometry in this region. Higher values cause this geometry section to “puff out” more.

This value controls how much the “Inner” section overlaps the “Core” section. Use this value along with “Curvature” to create a rounded appearance that sits above the “Core” geometry.

The properties in this group govern the UV coordinate generation.

Chooses how UVs are generated from the following options:

This property scales the UV coordinates uniformly. The coordinates will be clamped to ensure tiling matches.

This property shifts the U coordinates.

This property shifts the V coordinates.

The properties in this group distort the geometry based on a noise pattern.

Use this property to deform the shape of the geometry.

This value sets the tightness of the noise pattern. Higher values result in more deformed knot geometry.

The properties in this group govern the behavior of the innermost section of the geometry.

This property controls the size of the core section. This value is set as a percentage of the “Inner” size.

This property moves the “Core” section towards or away from the parent.

The properties in this group govern the UV coordinate generation.

Chooses how UVs are generated from the following options:

This property scales the UV coordinates uniformly. The coordinates will be clamped to ensure tiling matches.

This property shifts the U coordinates. This property has no effect if the “Ring” style is selected.

This property shifts the V coordinates. This property has no effect if the “Ring” style is selected.

The properties in this group distort the geometry based on a noise pattern.

Use this property to deform the shape of the “Core” boundary.

This value sets the tightness of the noise pattern. Higher values result in more deformed knot geometry.

Use this property to deform the offset of the “Core” geometry.

This value sets the tightness of the noise pattern. Higher values result in more deformed geometry.

The properties in this group control the material assignments. The actual material used is a function of the material weights and season settings.

Note: The “Outer” section automatically inherits the parent branch material.

The material on the “Inner” portion of the geometry is chosen from the materials in this group.

Specifies a named material or material set.

Sets the probability that a node will receive this material (this weight ÷ the sum of all weights).

Choose how to apply the material. See UV tiling.

The material on the “Core” portion of the geometry is chosen from the materials in this group.

Specifies a named material or material set.

Sets the probability that a node will receive this material (this weight ÷ the sum of all weights).

Choose how to apply the material. See UV tiling.

The properties in this group control the polygonal resolution of the knot.

Rings are the connected loops of geometry that comprise each of the three sections. Use the properties in this section to control how many rings each type gets.

Controls the number of segment rings on the “Outer” geometry.

Controls the number of segment rings on the “Inner” geometry.

Controls the number of segment rings on the “Core” geometry.

Slices represent the number of segments “around” the knot and are shared by all three sections.

Scales the number of slices and rings for each Resolution.

The Dynamic LOD System automatically creates multiple levels of detail for a model. The purpose is to allow the model to degrade in detail in real-time applications. This should not be confused with Resolution, which is designed to set the polygonal resolution of a model exported for VFX use.

This value influences how likely nodes in this generator will be kept during LOD computations. The generator with the higher value will have priority over the other generators of the same type. Knots are considered “decorations” in the LOD system.

Scales back the number of ring segments for each successive LOD.

Scales back the number of slices for each successive LOD.

Lightmap UVs are computed for several versions of the Modeler designed for use with game engines. Lightmap UVs are a UV set where no objects overlap and all of them fit in a single space where U and V fit in the range [0.0, 1.0].

Every object's lightmap weight is compared to every other object and then the lightmap packing is determined. This means that your weight value may not be honored exactly or may get so large as to exhibit unexpected results. Use “Tools→Reset lightmap scalars” to go back to default values for the whole model.

The following values control lightmap space allotments:

This value influences how much space in the lightmap the “Outer” knot geometry can have.

This value influences how much space in the lightmap the “Inner” knot geometry can have.

This value influences how much space in the lightmap the “Core” knot geometry can have.