Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 18.7
Grouping nodes provides a means of saving a particular node combination and thus the
means of creating an effect and then appending this for use in other Blender files. In this
way, you can build a library of node combinations for reuse. Once a node group is created,
you can select it and then add, remove, link and unlink, and move nodes around within the
group—in other words, you can edit the group. When you have finished editing a group,
press Tab to collapse it and the A key to deselect it. You can now add more nodes to the
screen.
18.2.1 Naming Node Groups
You may wish to change the names of the node groups to something more meaningful,
which you can do in the outliner window. Blender's default scene opens with an outliner
window in the upper RH side of the screen, but this is an abridged version of the full win-
dow. Divide one of your larger windows in two and change one part to the outliner win-
dow—it should display in data blocks mode showing entries for everything in your scene.
Scroll down and find “Node Groups”; if you have just created a node group, you will find it
as a subentry (Figure 18.7). Expand the subentry and change the name of the group in the
“Name” panel. A name change here will be reflected in the node editor window.
18.3 Material Nodes
Material nodes allow the creation of materials and once a material node is created in Blend-
er, it is saved for future use in the Blender file. You can use an object that is selected in the
3D window in conjunction with the node editor when dealing with material nodes.
We will work through a simple exercise and create a material using nodes. Start with the
default Blender scene with the default cube object selected. The cube will have the default
