Natsura Signal

Integrates environmental signals, such as proximity or vector fields, to guide plant growth dynamically.

Parameters

Overview

The Signal Node serves as a bridge between environmental inputs and procedural plant growth. By processing external signals, such as geometry, vector fields, or proximity data, it allows plants to adapt their growth dynamically. This node supports a variety of use cases, including : - Obstacle Avoidance: Prevent growth into specific geometry.

  • Directional Guidance: Attract growth along paths or toward targets.
  • Environmental Interaction: Respond to inputs like light gradients or surface normals.

The Signal Node provides flexibility for incorporating environmental data into the procedural graph, enabling sophisticated simulations of growth behaviors like phototropism and thigmotropism.

Parameters

Name : Specifies a custom identifier for the Signal Node. By default, this is set to $OS, the operator’s name.

Related

  • Grow Node — Incrementally creates plant structures by defining the size, shape, and direction of individual branches.
  • Split Node — Enables axillary branching by splitting growth into separate paths.
  • Repeat Node — Reevaluates Grow over multiple iterations to generate branching hierarchies.
  • Signal Node — Guides plant growth using external data such as vector fields or collision geometry.
  • Simulate Node — Processes the procedural graph and environmental inputs to generate complete plant structures.
  • Switch Node — Enables transitions between different growth behaviors based on attribute-driven thresholds.
  • Prune Node — Removes components of the plant structure to simulate natural shedding or manual trimming.
  • Wrangle Node — For additional information, see the Overview|../../natsura/index.

@intro

Getting Started

If you're new to the Natsura toolkit, begin by visiting the Overview|../../natsura/index. The index provides a comprehensive overview of the system, including descriptions of all nodes and how they work together to create procedural plant models. It’s the ideal starting point for understanding core concepts and deciding which nodes to explore first.

@workflow

== Workflow ==

  1. Input Signals: Connect environmental inputs such as curves, volumes, or geometry to the Signal Node.
  2. Configure Name: Use the name parameter to label the node for easy identification within the graph.
  3. Integrate Signals: Connect the Signal Node to downstream nodes like Grow or Wrangle to drive behaviors.
  4. Simulate Growth: Observe how the signals influence procedural growth patterns.

@applications

== Applications ==

  • Guiding Plant Shapes: Use external curves or vector fields to dictate growth paths.
  • Dynamic Avoidance: Prevent vines or branches from intersecting with geometry.
  • Adaptive Growth: Model interactions with complex environments, such as climbing along a mesh or filling a volume.

@notes

  • Environmental Signals: The Signal Node is most effective when paired with other nodes, such as Grow or Wrangle, to influence parameters dynamically.
  • Custom Effects: Use the name parameter to define distinct Signal Nodes for different environmental interactions.

Repeat

Defines a looping block in the graph. Encapsulates a subgraph between Repeat Begin and Repeat End, re-evaluating it N times with time-varying attributes.

Natsura Simulate

The solver node. Traverses the Apex graph, executes growth logic, resolves mappings, and generates the final geometry.