sStar Node

The sStar node is used to create multi-point star shapes. Like almost all Shape nodes, you can only view the sStar node’s results through a sRender node.

sStar Node Inputs

This node generates shapes and does not have any inputs.

sStar Node Setup

The sStar node is a shape generator, meaning it generates a shape and therefore has no inputs. The output of the sStar can go into a sRender for viewing and further compositing or, more likely, connect to another shape node like sGrid or sDuplicate.

sStar Node Controls Tab

The Controls tab is used to define the star shape’s characteristics, including number of points, depth, fill, border, size, and position.

Points
This slider determines the number of points or arms on the star.

Depth
The depth slider controls the inner radius or width of the arms. A depth of 0.001 makes hair-thin arms, while a depth of 1.0 makes a faceted circle.

Solid
When enabled, the Solid checkbox fills the star shape with the color defined in the Style tab. When disabled, an outline created by the Border Width control is displayed, and the center is made transparent.

Border Width
This parameter expands or contracts the border around the shape. Although it can be used when the Solid checkbox is enabled, it is primarily used to determine the outline thickness when the checkbox is disabled.

Border Style
The Border Style parameter controls how the sides of the star join at the corners. There are three styles provided as options. Bevel squares off the corners. Round creates rounded corners. Miter maintains pointed corners.

Cap style
When the Solid checkbox is disabled, three cap style options are displayed. The cap styles can create lines with flat, rounded or squared ends. Flat caps have flat, squared ends while rounded caps have semi-circular ends. Squared caps have projecting ends that extend half the line width beyond the end of the line.

The caps are not visible unless the length is below 1.0.

Position
The Position parameter is only displayed when the Solid checkbox is disabled. It allows you to position the starting point of the shape. When used in conjunction with the length parameter, it positions the gap in the outline.

Length
The Length parameter is only displayed when the Solid checkbox is disabled. A length of 1.0 is a closed shape. Setting the length below 1.0 creates an opening or gap in the outline. Keyframing the Length parameters allows you to create write-on style animations.

X and Y Offset
These parameters are used to position the shape left, right, up, and down in the frame. The shape starts in the center of the frame, and the parameters are used to offset the position. The offset coordinates are normalized based on the width of the frame. So an X offset of 0.0 is centered and a value of 0.5 places the center of the shape directly on the right edge of the frame.

Width/Height
The Width and Height parameters determine the vertical and horizontal size of the star. If the values are identical, then all arms of the star are of equal length.

Angle
The Angle parameter rotates the shape based on the center axis.

sStar Node Style Tab

Style
The Style tab is used to assign color to the shape and control its transparency.

Color
The Color controls determine the color of the fill and border from the sStar node. To choose a shape color, you can click the color disclosure arrow and use the color swatch, or drag the eye dropper into the viewer to select a color from an image. The RGBA sliders or number fields can be used to enter the value of each color channel or the strength of the alpha channel.

Allow Combining
When this checkbox is enabled, the alpha channel value is maintained even when passing through other nodes downstream that may cause the shape to overlap with copies of itself. When disabled, the alpha channel value may increase when the shape overlaps itself. For instance, if a star alpha channel is set to .5, enabling the Allow Combining checkbox maintains that value even if the shape passes through a duplicate or grid node that causes the shape and alpha channel to overlap. Disabling the checkbox causes the alpha channel values to be compounded at each overlapping area.

sStar Node Settings tab

The Settings tab controls are common to all Shape nodes. These common controls are described in detail HERE.