Create a Paint Effects modifier

Create a Paint Effects modifier to influence all Paint Effects lines/entities at the same time. You can, for example, edit the shapes of Paint Effects trees, prune their leaves, locally modify color, get rid of branches, and so on. The same modifier can be assigned to multiple nodes; for example, it could affect both Paint Effects strokes and toon lines at the same time. You can also have multiple modifiers assigned to one object; the influences of the different modifiers blend together. You may want to group the modifier with the object so they move together.

When you select the Create Modifier menu item from the Paint Effects menu, a cube or sphere shape modifier appears, which you can transform into the shape you want. Use the attributes in the lineModifierShape node to control the appearance of the Paint Effects strokes within the space occupied by the modifier. These attributes are useful for locally editing line width, transparency, color, and other attributes.

Example using a Paint Effects modifier

In the following series of images a cube-shaped Paint Effects Modifier exerting force is keyframed to simulate a foot stepping on a patch of Paint Effects grass. An orange cube is parented to the modifier to make it easier to see where the modifier is located in the scene and where it is exerting force.

To create a Paint Effects modifier

1. Select the Paint Effects strokes, hair or toon lines you want to modify.
2. From the Modeling menu set, select Generate > Create Modifier.

   A wireframe modifier object is created as either a sphere or a cube, located near the center of the stroke.

3. Select the modifier and open the Attribute Editor. Note that two nodes have been created: lineModifier and lineModifierShape.
4. In the Attribute Editor, click the lineModifierShape tab and expand the Line Modifier Attributes.

   Note that the Shape setting allows you to set the modifier object to be a sphere or a cube. For information on the other attribute settings, see lineModifierShape node.

5. Use tools from the Tool Box to modify the shape and size of the modifier so that it surrounds the volume of the stroke that you want to modify.
6. Optionally keyframe the modifier.