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If you connect to only one input of a multi-input node and you don’t connect to the background input, you may find that you don’t get the results you wanted. This is because each multi-input node expects that the background is connected before anything else so that the internal connections and math used by that node can be predictable.
Node Colors Tell You Which Nodes Go Together
Each node in Fusion accomplishes a single type of effect or operation. These single-purpose nodes make it easier to decipher a complex composition when examining its node tree. Single-purpose nodes also make it easier to focus on fine-tuning specific adjustments, one at a time, when assembling an ever-growing tree.
Because each Fusion node has a specific function, they’re categorized by type to make it easier to keep track of which nodes require what types of image channels as input, and what image data you can expect each node to output. These general types are described here.
A node tree showing the main categories of node colors
Blue MediaIn and Loader Nodes, and Green Generator Nodes
Blue MediaIn nodes and blue Loader nodes add clips to a composite, and green Generator nodes create images. Both types of nodes output RGBA channels (depending on the source and generator), and may optionally output auxiliary channels for doing advanced compositing operations.
Because these are sources of images, both kinds of nodes can be attached to a wide variety of other nodes for effects creation besides just 2D nodes. For example, you can also connect MediaIn nodes to Image Plane 3D nodes for 3D compositing, or to pEmitter nodes set to “Bitmap” for creating different particle systems. Green Generator nodes can be similarly attached to many different kinds of nodes,
for example, attaching a FastNoise node to a Displace 3D node to impose undulating effects to 3D shapes.
Shape nodes are also green, although they must be attached to a specialized set of gray modifier and render nodes (all of which begin with the letter “s” and appear in the Shape category of the Effects Library).
2D Processing Nodes, Color Coded by Type
These encompass most 2D processing and compositing operations in Fusion, all of which process RGBA channels and pass along auxiliary channels. These include:
— Orange Blur nodes
— Olive Color Adjustment nodes (color adjustment nodes additionally concatenate with one another)
— Pink Paint nodes
— Dark orange Tracking nodes
— Tan Transform node (transform nodes additionally concatenate with one another)
— Teal VR nodes
— Dark brown Warp nodes
— Gray, which includes Compositing nodes as well as many other types.
TIP: Two 2D nodes that specifically don’t process alpha channel data are the Color Corrector node and the Gamut node. The Color Correction node lets you color correct a foreground layer to match a background layer without affecting an alpha channel. The Gamut node lets you perform color space conversions to RGB data from one gamut to another without affecting the alpha channel.
TIP: Two 2D nodes that specifically don’t process alpha channel data are the Color Corrector node and the Gamut node. The Color Correction node lets you color correct a foreground layer to match a background layer without affecting an alpha channel. The Gamut node lets you perform color space conversions to RGB data from one gamut to another without affecting the alpha channel.
TIP: Two 2D nodes that specifically don’t process alpha channel data are the Color Corrector node and the Gamut node. The Color Correction node lets you color correct a foreground layer to match a background layer without affecting an alpha channel. The Gamut node lets you perform color space conversions to RGB data from one gamut to another without affecting the alpha channel.
Additionally, some 2D nodes such as Fog and Depth Blur (in the Deep Pixel category) accept and use auxiliary channels such as Z-Depth to create different perspective effects in 2D.
Purple Particle System Nodes
These are nodes that connect to create different particle systems, and they’re incompatible with other kinds of nodes until you add a pRender node that outputs 2D RGBA and auxiliary data that can be composited with other 2D nodes and operations.
Dark Blue 3D Nodes
These are 3D operations, which generate and manipulate 3D data (including auxiliary channels) that are incompatible with other kinds of nodes until processed via a Renderer 3D node, which then outputs RGBA and auxiliary data.
Brown Mask Nodes
Masks output single-channel images that can only be connected to one another (to combine masks) or to specified Mask inputs. Masks are useful for defining transparency (Alpha masks), defining which parts of an image should be cropped out (Garbage masks), or defining which parts of an image should be affected by a particular node operation (Effects masks).