Changing a Network Material’s Connections

After a network material and its corresponding shading network has been built, the connections can be edited downstream through the use of the NetworkMaterialSplice node. This is especially useful when a network material has been read in from a look file and you need to edit the connections and/or make additions to the shading nodes.

To edit the connections after the shading network has been created, use the NetworkMaterialSplice node. There are two main ways to use it, to add in additional shading nodes, or to change the connections that exist inside the current network material. You can do both operations with the same node.

Appending New Shading Nodes to an Existing Network Material

To append new shading nodes to an existing network material:

1.

Create a NetworkMaterialSplice node and connect the in port to the part of the recipe that contains the network material.

2.

Add the network material’s scene graph location you want to append to the location parameter. For more on editing a scene graph location parameter, see Manipulating a Scene Graph Location Parameter.

3.

Connect the shading network you want to append to the append port of the NetworkMaterialSplice node.

4.

Under inputs > append, click .

A window appears with the current network material’s shading network displays.

5.

In the window, select the input to connect into by clicking the left arrow of a shading node and selecting the appropriate input.

Adding Extra Connections for the Shading Nodes in a Network Material

1.

Create a NetworkMaterialSplice node and connect the in port to the part of the recipe that contains the network material.

2.

Add the network material’s scene graph location to the location parameter. For more on editing a scene graph location parameter, see Manipulating a Scene Graph Location Parameter.

3.

To the right of the extraConnections parameter grouping, click Add > Add Entry.

A new parameter group is added. The first one is called c0, and subsequent entries are incremented, such as c1, c2, and so forth.

4.

To the right of the connectFromNode parameter, click .

5.

Select the output from one of the shading nodes. This is where the connection comes from.

6.

To the right of the connectToNode parameter, click .

7.

Select the input to one of the shading nodes. This is where the connection goes to.

Deleting Connections Between Shading Nodes in a Network Material

1.

Create a NetworkMaterialSplice node and connect the in port to the part of the recipe that contains the network material.

2.

Add to the location parameter the network material’s scene graph location. For more on editing a scene graph location parameter, see Manipulating a Scene Graph Location Parameter.

3.

To the right of the disconnections parameter grouping, click Add > Add Entry.

A new parameter group is added. The first one is called d0, and subsequent entries are incremented, such as d1, d2, and so forth.

4.

To the right of the node parameter, click .

5.

Select the input to one of the shading nodes. This is the connection that is disconnected.