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The Cube 3D node
Cube 3D Node Introduction
The Cube 3D node is a basic primitive geometry type capable of generating a simple cube.
The node also provides six additional image inputs that can be used to map a texture onto the six faces of the cube. Cubes are often used as shadow casting objects and for environment maps. For other basic primitives, see the Shape 3D node in this chapter.
Inputs
The following are optional inputs that appear on the Cube3D node in the Node Editor:
— SceneInput: The orange scene input is used to connect another node that creates or contains a 3D scene or object. The additional geometry gets added to the Cube3D.
— NameMaterialInput: These six inputs are used to define the materials applied to the six faces of the cube. You can connect either a 2D image or a 3D material to these inputs. Textures
or materials added to the Cube3D do not get added to any 3D objects connected to the Cube’s SceneInput.
Basic Node Setup
The output of a Cube 3D node typically connects to a Merge 3D node, integrating it into a larger scene. When 3D tracking, the Cube 3D is often used as a placeholder for proper geometry that is not available at the current time.
Cube 3D node connected to a 3D scene exported from the Camera Tracker node
Inspector
Cube 3D controls
Controls Tab
The first tab in the Inspector is the Controls tab. It includes the primary controls for determining the overall size and shape of the Cube 3D node.
This checkbox locks the Width, Height, and Depth dimensions of the cube together. When selected, only a Size control is displayed; otherwise, separate Width, Height, and Depth sliders are shown.
If the Lock checkbox is selected, then only the Size slider is shown; otherwise, separate sliders are displayed for Width, Height, and Depth. The Size and Width sliders are the same control renamed, so any animation applied to Size is also applied to Width when the controls are unlocked.
Use the Subdivision Level slider to set the number of subdivisions used when creating the image plane.