ANR Tools

ANR Light Rays

Adds shafts of light from the plate's highlights or a placed light: rays streaming from a centre, or beams aimed at a surface that stop on it, with fog and shadows.

  • Comp
  • Comp & Depth pack
  • 5 inputs
  • 36 controls
In Nuke: NodesANRCompANR Light Rays

Overview

Light Rays makes visible shafts of light in the air. In Lighting Mode: Emission it gives the classic god-rays look: the bright parts of the image, above Threshold, streak away from Center (Ray Mode: Radial) or along Direction (Directional) for Length pixels, fading by Decay. Use it where you would reach for Nuke's GodRays.

In Receiver mode the light is aimed instead. Connect a Roto of a surface, such as a floor or a wall, to Light Receivers: light travels from the highlights to that shape and stops on it, with its direction and spread worked out from where the light and the surface are. Surface Light can brighten the surface where the light lands, and an object in Occlusion blocks the light, lights up on the side facing it and casts a shadow you can output as a matte.

The light can come from the Source itself, from a separate image in Custom Light Source, or from a generated light at Center (Source Mode: Point Light), even off frame. Fog Noise breaks the shafts up with cloud-like density that can drift over time.

Inputs

SourceMaskLight ReceiversCustom Light SourceOcclusionLight RaysOutput
  1. Sourcerequired

    The plate. The light is added to it and, unless Custom Light Source is connected, comes from it: its pixels above Threshold emit.

  2. Maskoptional

    Limits where the finished effect is blended, by its alpha.

  3. Light Receiversoptional

    In Receiver mode, the surface the light is aimed at and stops on: a Roto or key in alpha, or a greyscale pattern with Receiver Channel: Luminance. Receiver mode needs it. In Emission mode it limits which highlights emit instead.

  4. Custom Light Sourceoptional

    An image to use as the light instead of the Source, such as the plate masked to just a window or the sky, or a CG light pass. A connected black or empty image emits nothing. Source Mode: Point Light ignores it.

  5. Occlusionoptional

    Receiver mode only: an object, in alpha or as a greyscale image, that blocks the light before it reaches the receiver. White blocks; grey lets part of the light through.

Output. The Source with the light added and its alpha unchanged. View can also show the beams alone (Effect), the light that emits (Emission), the receiving shape (Receiver Matte) and, in Receiver mode, the blocked area (Shadow Matte) and the light on the blocker (Lit Surface).

Quick start

  1. Add ANR Light Rays after the plate and connect it to Source.
  2. Set View to Emission and adjust Threshold and Soft Knee until only the light you want (sky, window, lamp) is left, then set View back to Composite.
  3. For rays that fan out from the light, leave Ray Mode on Radial and drag Center in the Viewer onto the light. For parallel shafts, choose Directional and set Direction.
  4. Set how far the rays travel with Length and how quickly they fade with Decay, then their brightness and colour with Ray Intensity and Ray Color.
  5. Add Fog Noise (around 0.5) to break the shafts up, and Fog Speed 0.01 for a gentle drift.
  6. To make the light land on a surface and stop there, roto the surface, connect it to Light Receivers and set Lighting Mode to Receiver. Check the shape in View: Receiver Matte, then shape the beams with Ray Intensity, Beam Reach and Decay, and brighten the surface with Surface Light if needed.

The panel

The node's panel as Nuke shows it, with the values of a new node. Click any control to see what it does; tabs and sections work as in Nuke.

ANR_Light_Rays1
Amount1
Source Size30
Source Brightness4
Lighting ModeEmission
Source ModeFootage / Custom
Direction0
Length200
Decay0.65
Beam Softness2
Ray Intensity0.5
Ray ModeRadial
Ray Color1
Threshold1
Soft Knee0.5
Beam Reach1
Pool Contrast1
Surface Light0
Receiver ChannelAlpha
Beam BlendAtmosphere
Fog Noise0
Fog Size160
Fog Detail0.5
Fog Stretch1
Fog Evolution0
Fog Speed0
Fog Seed1
Occlusion Strength1
Occlusion Softness0
Hit Light1
Hit Width12
Occlusion ChannelAlpha
Mix1
QualityBalanced
ViewComposite
Center CoordinatesAutomatic
Centerx1024y778

All controls

ANR Light Rays36 controls

Treatment

AmountSlideramount

Effect strength. Zero returns the original image (Light Wrap Composite still performs an Over).

Default: 1

Light Source

Source SizeSliderraysSourceSize

Size of the generated Point Light in full-resolution pixels. Position it outside the image for light arriving from the sky.

Used with Source Mode: Point Light in Emission mode; Receiver mode does not use it.

Default: 30

Source BrightnessSliderraysSourceBrightness

Peak brightness of the generated Point Light. Threshold and Soft Knee apply only to footage sources.

Used with Source Mode: Point Light, in both modes.

Default: 4

Lighting ModeMenuraysAreaMode

Receiver aims footage highlights at Light Receivers and stops them at the supplied alpha. Direction and spread follow the source and target automatically. Point Light instead draws shafts from Center toward the receiving pattern. Emission keeps manual rays and uses Light Receivers as an optional emission selection.

Default: EmissionOptions: Emission Receiver

Source ModeMenuraysSourceMode

Footage / Custom uses Custom Light Source when connected, otherwise Source footage. Receiver carries the selected highlight colors and detail toward the receiving alpha. Point Light creates a light at Center without needing a bright source image.

Default: Footage / CustomOptions: Footage / Custom Point Light

Rays

DirectionSliderraysAngle

Emission mode's directional angle: zero travels toward positive X. Receiver mode aims at the receiving shape automatically.

Used with Ray Mode: Directional in Emission mode: 0 sends the rays to the right, 90 up the frame.

Default: 0

LengthSliderraysLength

Emission mode's maximum travel in full-resolution pixels. Receiver mode uses Beam Reach.

Default: 200

DecaySliderraysDecay

Footage Receiver: fade light over its travel distance. Point Receiver: fade toward Center, with one fully fading the far end of Beam Reach. Emission: falloff along the beam.

Default: 0.65

Beam SoftnessSliderraysSoftness

Footage Receiver and Emission: soften selected highlights before spreading. Point Receiver: soften the shared receiving pattern. Footage Receiver keeps the supplied alpha edge.

Default: 2

Ray IntensitySliderraysIntensity

Brightness of the generated rays.

Default: 0.5

Ray ModeMenuraysMode

Emission mode only: Radial travels away from Center; Directional follows Direction. Receiver mode chooses its direction from the source and receiving shape.

Default: RadialOptions: Radial Directional

Ray ColorColourraysTint

Multiply emitted ray colors for art direction.

Default: 1

Highlights

ThresholdSliderraysThreshold

Scene-linear luminance threshold for ray emission.

Default: 1

Soft KneeSliderraysKnee

Smooth highlight selection around the threshold.

Default: 0.5

Receiver Lighting

Beam ReachSliderSome modesraysReach

Footage/Custom: one shows the complete path from actual highlights to the receiver. Lower values shorten the visible shaft back from the receiver. Point Light: extend the receiving pattern toward Center.

Default: 1

Pool ContrastSliderSome modesraysReceiverContrast

Shape the receiving pattern before generating both the beams and surface light. Higher values isolate smaller bright pools.

Default: 1

Surface LightSliderSome modesraysSurfaceLight

Optional exposure lift through the actual receiver alpha. Footage/Custom scales it by selected source light, so a black source cannot light the surface. Zero leaves surface exposure unchanged.

Default: 0

Receiver ChannelMenuSome modesraysReceiverChannel

Use alpha for roto/key mattes, or luminance for a grayscale texture with opaque alpha.

Default: AlphaOptions: Alpha Luminance

Beam BlendMenuSome modesraysCompositeMode

Atmosphere mixes the scattering color over the image without continually brightening existing highlights. Add gives an additive beam.

Default: AtmosphereOptions: Add Atmosphere

Fog

Fog NoiseSliderraysFogAmount

Add soft cloud-like density variation to the beams. Zero preserves smooth rays. Does not alter the receiver, hit lighting or shadow matte.

Default: 0

Fog SizeSliderraysFogSize

Size of the largest fog structures in full-resolution pixels.

Default: 160

Fog DetailSliderraysFogDetail

Add smaller wisps within the broad fog structures.

Default: 0.5

Fog StretchSliderraysFogStretch

Stretch fog structures vertically. Values below one compress them.

Default: 1

Fog EvolutionSliderraysFogEvolution

Smoothly evolve the fog shape. Animate this for precise timing; the same value always reproduces the same pattern.

Default: 0

Fog SpeedSliderraysFogSpeed

Automatic evolution per frame. Try 0.01 for gentle motion. Zero freezes automatic motion; Evolution can still be animated.

Default: 0

Fog SeedSliderraysFogSeed

Choose another deterministic fog pattern; whole numbers are used.

Default: 1

Occlusion

Occlusion StrengthSliderSome modesraysOcclusion

Receiver mode: the Occlusion input blocks rays before they reach Light Receivers. White is opaque; gray transmits part of the light. Zero disables blocking and hit lighting.

Default: 1

Occlusion SoftnessSliderSome modesraysOcclusionSoftness

Soften the blocking alpha and its shadow edges in full-resolution pixels. Zero uses the supplied alpha exactly.

Default: 0

Hit LightSliderSome modesraysHitLight

Light the part of an occluder facing the arriving light. Zero disables the surface illumination while retaining blocking and the Shadow Matte.

Default: 1

Hit WidthSliderSome modesraysHitWidth

How far illumination fades inside the occluder's facing edge, in full-resolution pixels. It never extends the beam behind the blocker.

Default: 12

Occlusion ChannelMenuSome modesraysOcclusionChannel

Read alpha from a roto/key, or luminance from a grayscale image. The actual stored alpha is used, including cropped Roto inputs.

Default: AlphaOptions: Alpha Luminance

Output

MixSlidermix

Blend the entire treatment with the original, multiplied by the optional Mask alpha.

Default: 1

QualityMenuquality

Higher quality retains more working pixels and ray samples.

Default: BalancedOptions: Fast Balanced High

ViewMenuoutput

Composite treats Source. Effect isolates the beams. Receiver mode also offers Shadow Matte (white/alpha where occlusion removes light; use as a Grade mask) and Lit Surface (additive hit-light RGB, illuminated coverage in alpha). Shadow Matte does not darken Composite automatically. Emission previews the source.

Default: CompositeOptions: Composite Effect Emission Receiver Matte Shadow Matte Lit Surface

Position

Center CoordinatesMenucenterMode

Automatic uses a keyed or non-midpoint image position, otherwise preserves a saved relative center. Choose Image Position for pixel expressions on older nodes or to reset an old center to the midpoint. Relative uses fractions of the project format.

Leave it on Automatic: Center is then used in pixels. Relative gives the centre as fractions of the format instead, with its own setting (0.5, 0.5 is the middle).

Default: AutomaticOptions: Automatic Image Position Relative

CenterPositioncenterPosition

Image position: drag the point in the Viewer or enter pixel coordinates. Radial rays use this center; Directional rays use Direction, with Center placing a generated Point Light.

Default: 1024 778

Tips

  • The panel uses only what the current mode needs: Direction, Length and Ray Mode belong to Emission mode; the Receiver Lighting and Occlusion controls to Receiver mode; Source Brightness, and in Emission mode Source Size, to Source Mode: Point Light.
  • If other bright areas emit too, cut out just the light you want (for example, the plate masked by a Roto of the window) and connect it to Custom Light Source. Receiver mode aims at one light area and one receiving area, so this also keeps the direction right. In Emission mode, a Roto of the light in Light Receivers does the same job.
  • To feather where the light lands, soften the receiving Roto: with footage light, Beam Softness softens the light, not the receiver's edge.
  • Shadows: connect the blocking object to Occlusion, copy the node, set the copy's View to Shadow Matte, and use its alpha as the mask of a Grade that darkens the plate. Keep both nodes' settings the same. The Composite does not darken anything by itself.
  • Lit Surface is the light hitting the blocker's facing side: add it to the plate with a plus Merge, or use its alpha to mask your own grade.
  • In Receiver mode a Point Light draws shafts from Center toward the receiving pattern, so the shafts are only as detailed as that pattern: use noise projected onto the ground or painted pools of light, with Receiver Channel: Luminance for a greyscale image.
  • In Emission mode a Point Light gives a smooth, glow-like spread. Distinct shafts need detail in the light itself, such as sky through leaves or a window frame.
  • View: Effect gives the beams alone. In Receiver mode with Beam Blend: Atmosphere they carry their own alpha for an over Merge; otherwise add them with a plus Merge.

Good to know

  • Everything is worked out in 2D from the images you connect. The node does not know the scene's depth, and only what is connected to Occlusion blocks the light.
  • Occlusion, Shadow Matte and Lit Surface work in Receiver mode only. Receiver mode adds nothing until Light Receivers has a shape in it.
  • Receiver mode with fog and occlusion takes noticeably longer to render than plain Emission rays; use Quality: Fast while you set it up.
  • Runs on the CPU: no GPU and no AI model needed.

Something unclear or missing? Write to [email protected].