Tutorial 6: The Effects Stack — Adding Your First Effect

Step 1

Switch to the Effects tab

Click the Effects tab in the dock panel. You will see an empty list with an Add Effect button (or + icon). Below the button is a Clear All option for removing all effects at once.

Step 2

Click Add Effect

Click the Add Effect button. A modal picker opens with:
- A search bar at the top for finding effects by name
- Category filter chips: All, Wave, Texture, Flow, Hex, Image, Shape, Utility
- A scrollable list of all available effects grouped by category
- Keyboard navigation support (arrow keys and Enter)

Step 3

Select Surface Waves

Click the Wave category chip (or search for "Surface Waves"). Click Surface Waves in the list. The picker closes and the effect appears in the stack. The 3D preview immediately shows wave patterns on your mesh surface.

Step 4

Observe the displacement

Look at the mesh in the 3D viewport. The waves push vertices outward and inward along the surface normals — the directions perpendicular to the surface at each vertex:
- At wave peaks, vertices are pushed outward (the surface bulges out)
- At wave troughs, vertices are pulled inward (the surface dips in)
- The direction follows the cross-section ring normals, so the displacement always points "away from center"

Step 5

Tune the Surface Waves

Expand the Surface Waves effect in the stack. You will see parameter sliders (using BlenderNumField controls — click to type, drag to scrub, scroll to increment). Common parameters include:
- Depth — how far vertices are displaced (in mm). Start at 1 mm and increase.
- Frequency U — number of waves around the circumference
- Frequency V — number of waves along the height
- Phase — shifts the wave pattern

Adjust each parameter and watch the 3D preview update in real time.

Step 6

Toggle the effect

Each effect row has an enable/disable toggle (checkbox). Click it to turn the effect off without removing it. The mesh reverts to its base shape (or to what it looked like before this effect). Click again to restore the effect.

Step 7

Create a copy

Click the Duplicate button on the Surface Waves effect. A copy appears in the stack with identical parameters. Now change the frequency on the duplicate — you have two overlapping wave patterns creating a more complex interference pattern.

Step 8

Drag to reorder

Effects are applied from top to bottom. The order can dramatically change the result. Drag effects in the stack to change their position:
- Put the duplicate at the top and the original below — compare
- Put the original at the top and duplicate below — the result may differ

Each effect reads the vertex positions left by the previous effect, so the order is a creative parameter.

Step 9

Delete from the stack

Click the Remove button (trash icon) on an effect to delete it permanently. The mesh updates to reflect the remaining effects. Use Clear All to empty the entire stack at once.

Step 10

Compare surface vs structural

1. Add a Twist effect — notice both inner and outer walls rotate