Tutorial 7: Wave and Oscillation Effects

Step 1

Add Surface Waves

Add Surface Waves from the picker. This is the foundational wave effect — it creates a regular sine-wave displacement that varies along both the U (circumferential) and V (vertical) axes.

Adjust these key parameters:
- Depth — amplitude of the waves (try 1–3 mm)
- Frequency U — number of waves around the object. Low values (4–6) create a few large bumps. High values (20+) create fine corrugation.
- Frequency V — number of waves along the height. Low values create horizontal bands. High values create a dense grid of bumps.

Step 2

Add Wavy Vase

Remove or disable Surface Waves. Add Wavy Vase. This effect creates a wave pattern that is particularly suited for vase shapes — the displacement creates a flowing, organic undulation.

Key parameters:
- Depth — strength of the wave displacement
- Waves — number of wave cycles
- Phase — shifts the wave pattern. Animate this mentally by scrubbing the value from 0 to 360 — the pattern slides around the object.

Step 3

Add Harmonics

Disable the previous effect. Add Harmonics. This effect builds a complex waveform by stacking multiple sine waves at different frequencies (harmonics):
- The fundamental frequency creates the base pattern
- Each additional harmonic adds finer detail at integer multiples of the base frequency
- Control the number of harmonics, their relative amplitudes, and the overall depth

Start with 2–3 harmonics at moderate depth. Each additional harmonic adds a layer of detail, making the surface progressively more complex and organic.

Step 4

Add Wave Folder

Disable the previous effect. Add Wave Folder. This effect takes a sine wave and "folds" it — when the wave exceeds a threshold, it bounces back instead of continuing, creating sharp V-shaped peaks and valleys.

Key parameters:
- Depth — base amplitude before folding
- Folds — how many times the wave bounces back. More folds = more angular, zigzag patterns.
- Frequency — base wave frequency

Start with a moderate depth and 2–3 folds. The result is a sharp, geometric pattern that looks machine-milled or faceted.

Step 5

Add Glitch

Disable the previous effect. Add Glitch. This effect introduces controlled randomness into a wave pattern, creating disrupted, digital-artifact-style textures:
- Regular wave sections are interrupted by random displacements
- The pattern has an intentionally "broken" aesthetic
- Parameters control the density of glitch artifacts and their severity

Start with moderate settings. Increase the glitch intensity for more aggressive disruption.

Step 6

Stack two wave effects

1. Add Surface Waves with low frequency U (4), high frequency V (20), and depth 1 mm — this creates vertical column patterns

The result is a layered pattern: the broad structure comes from Surface Waves, and the fine detail comes from Harmonics.

Step 7

Try different combinations

Some powerful combinations:
- Surface Waves (horizontal) + Wavy Vase (vertical) = grid with flowing modulation
- Harmonics (complex) + Wave Folder (sharp) = organic base with angular peaks
- Surface Waves (low depth) + Glitch (moderate) = regular pattern with random disruptions

Step 8

Limit waves to a region

Expand a wave effect and find the V Start and V End parameters (in mm). Set them to limit the effect to a specific height range:
- V Start = 20 mm, V End = 60 mm → waves only appear in the middle section
- The boundaries blend smoothly to avoid hard cutoff lines

This lets you apply waves to the body of a vase but keep the rim and base smooth.

Step 9

Add a growth curve

If the wave effect supports a Growth Curve, click the curve editor icon. The growth curve lets you vary the effect intensity over height:
- A curve that rises from 0 to 1 creates a fade-in from bottom to top
- A curve that peaks in the middle creates a band of maximum intensity
- A flat line at 1.0 means full effect everywhere (default)

Try drawing a curve that fades in from the bottom and fades out at the top for an elegant gradient effect.