Fun With Genetica

Working With Less Familiar Nodes

Details

Category: Working With Less Familiar Nodes

Written by Fun With Genetica

Hits: 864

Whether you are new to Genetica or have years of experience, you will probably find that you end up with a bunch of familiar, favorite nodes. There will also be other nodes that you use less and that you may not have explored in great detail. Here's what I do when I want to build skills with a less familiar node.

Let's look at the Transmit Node. Start a new texture, and add a Transmit Node (Basic Nodes>3D>Transmit Node).

With the Transmit Node selected, a simple click on the Question Mark Icon in the top menu bar will open the Genetica Manual and go straight to the Transmit Node help page. The help page gives you a clear description of the function of the node, and the effects of the various controls.

I like to give unfamiliar nodes a test drive by feeding them pattern inputs, twiddling the dials, and then seeing what pops out. Most of my pattern artwork is the result of experimenting with nodes and seeing what happens - rather than trying to make patterns that resemble things I've already seen before.

Look what happens to the transmit node when you put a Select Pattern Node (Advanced>Select Pattern) into each of its input slots.

I've read the official, technical details of how the node works from the Transmit Node help page - but looking at this node tree shows me that the Transmit Node bends simple patterns into interesting, complex patterns with a good deal of added detail.

Adding a Colorize Node helps give a better look at the results. As a good rule of thumb, use fairly simple gradients to colorize complex textures (unless you like patterns with a very chaotic look to them!) I used a simple gradient made from a few burnt paper color shades of gold and brown. Here's the result.

I made this next set of textures without changing any of the Transmit Node settings. All I did was select different input patterns. Look at the variety interesting new patterns you can make with just a few minor changes:

The next pattern is one of the previous four - but with a different color gradient and then processed through a kaleidoscope node. Can you tell which one I started with?