Radio Waves effect
The Radio Waves effect creates radiating waves from a stationary or animated effect control point. You can use this effect to generate pond ripples, sound waves, or intricate geometric patterns. Use the Reflection control to make the shapes bounce off the sides of the layer. You can also use Radio Waves to create realistic wave displacement maps that work well with the Caustics effect.
This effect works with 8-bpc color.
Polygon wave type with square stroke profile (bottom left),
and Image Contour wave type with Sine stroke profile (bottom right)
- Producer Point
- The point from which the waves appear.
- Parameters Are Set At
- Specifies whether parameters can be animated for individual waves. Birth specifies that each wave maintains the same parameter settings over time. Each Frame specifies that the waves change as the parameters change. For example, if you create a star wave with an animated rotation property, select Birth to offset each star from the previous one to create a twisting tunnel, or select Each Frame to make all the stars rotate in unison as the rotation property changes.
- Render Quality
- Controls the quality of the output. Radio Waves creates smooth, anti-aliased shapes by rendering high-resolution versions of the shapes and then scaling them down by oversampling. For example, to create a 100x100-pixel image, it may first generate a 400x400-pixel image and then scale it down using 4x oversampling. Oversampling provides high-quality results but results in long render times. This option works only with Best quality mode.
- Wave Type
- What to base the wave shape on.
- Polygon
-
What kind of polygon to use for the wave shape. These controls
are available if Polygon is chosen for Wave Type.
- Sides
- Three sides create a triangle, four create a square, and so on. Size values above 64 result in a smooth circle. You can also approximate a circle by setting Sides to 3, Curve Size to 1, and Curvyness to about 0.62.
- Curve Size
- Specifies how much of each side is curved at each point.
- Curvyness
- Specifies how extreme the curve is at each point of the wave.
- Star
- Specifies that the polygon is shaped like a star. To change the number of points on the star, change the number of sides.
- Star Depth
- Specifies the star’s angles by controlling the distance between inner points and the star’s center.
- Mask
- Specifies the mask used to create a wave. This control is available if you choose Mask from the Wave Type pop-up menu.
Image Contour controls
You can base the wave shape on the contours of an image by choosing Image Contours for Wave Type.
- Source Layer
- The layer to use as input for the creation of the image contours. Select an animated layer to emit moving shapes. A well-defined outline, high-contrast grayscale layer, or alpha channel works well as a source. The Radio Waves effect detects edges and converts sources into outlines.
- Source Center
- Specifies the center point of the shape, relative to the source layer. For example, if you isolate a shape that is positioned in the left half of the frame, the shape radiates to the left by default; you can move the source center anywhere on the layer.
- Value Channel
- The color attributes of the source layer used to define the image contours.
- Invert Input
- Inverts the chosen value channel option.
- Value Threshold
- Specifies the threshold for the chosen value channel. It determines the percentage value at which everything below it or above it is mapped to either white or black. This control can make a big difference in the shape of the wave.
- Pre-Blur
- Smooths out the value channel before the value threshold is sampled. If you have a high-contrast image, such as white on black, and you want the wave to follow the edges very closely, set this option to 0.
- Tolerance
- Defines how tightly the wave conforms to the layer. A very high setting results in sharp corners; a very low value can make the wave shape more sensitive to noise.
- Contour
- Specifies the shape in the source layer that you want to use as the emitted wave. Contour numbers the shapes by their order in the frame from top to bottom, left to right. The shape in the top left corner is number 1.
Wave Motion controls
Wave Motion controls specify how the wave emits from the center point.
- Frequency
- Specifies the number of waves per second flowing out of the producer point.
- Expansion
- Specifies the speed at which the wave travels from the producer point once it is born. This option doesn’t affect the number of waves per second.
- Orientation
- Specifies the rotation of the shape at birth around its center point. To animate the rotation, use the Spin control.
- Direction
- Specifies the wave’s initial direction if Velocity is greater than 0. By default, particles are emitted from the producer point in an expanding radial pattern.
- Velocity
- Specifies the speed at which the wave moves in the specified direction.
- Spin
- Controls the continued rotation of a shape after it is born.
- Lifespan (sec)
-
Specifies the time, in seconds (including the fade-in and
fade-out times), that the wave exists.
To
prevent waves from abruptly disappearing when their lifetime ends,
use the Fade Out Time control. - Reflection
- Specifies whether the waves bounce off the edges of the layer and back into the scene. This option is effective for generating displacement maps for use as water ripples.
Stroke controls
Stroke controls specify the appearance of the wave’s stroke.
- Profile
- Controls the appearance of the stroke that defines the shape. The outline of the shape is animated in the wave that emanates from the effect point. The quality of the stroke is defined as a 3D wave type.
- Color
- Specifies the color of the stroke.
- Opacity
- Specifies the maximum possible opacity of the stroke. The actual opacity of the stroke takes into account this setting in conjunction with the Fade-in Time and Fade-out Time controls.
- Fade-in Time
- Specifies the amount of time it takes the wave to fade into view. Fade-in Time is measured in seconds and begins with 0 opacity at birth. For example, if the Lifespan is 3 seconds and Fade-in Time is 1 second, the stroke is completely transparent at birth and fades smoothly to full opacity at 1 second.
- Fade-out Time
- Specifies the amount of time it takes the wave to fade out of view. Fade-out Time is measured backward in time from the end of the Lifespan. If the Lifespan is 3 seconds and Fade-out Time is 1 second, the wave begins to fade out at 2 seconds. If the sum of Fade-in Time and Fade-out Time is greater than the Lifespan value, the intersection point of the two fades is calculated so that the wave doesn’t reach full transparency. If either Fade-in Time or Fade-out Time is longer than the Lifespan, that amount is truncated to equal the Lifespan.
- Start Width
- Specifies the width of the shape at its birth. End Width specifies the width of the shape at the end of its lifespan.
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