Rasterize
Bake shapes, geometry, or fields into a flat image that lives in the scene.
What it does
Rasterize bakes a shape, 3D geometry, a field, or a volume slice into a flat image that lives in the scene as real data.
The result is a first-class value that wires onward: back into itself for trails and feedback loops, into filters, or through a content-space transform like any other image. Two output modes. Raster bakes to an image, held as data and not placed in the scene. Sprite bakes the same image and places it in the 3D scene as a textured card, either a camera-facing billboard or a fixed card that can be tilted.
When to use it
A shape, geometry or field flattened into a real image for further filtering, feedback loops or a content-space transform.
A 3D object or particle system turned into a textured camera-facing sprite, cheap instanced impostors with an Iterator.
A cross-section of a field or a volume: wire a slice plane and bake that plane.
| Parameter | Type | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
input | Color Field or Volume or Field or Primitives or Collection | — | Content to rasterize into pixels — shapes, geometry, a field, or a volume (slice it with a plane) |
mode | String | "Raster" | Raster: bake to a raster (data). Sprite: place the bake as a textured sprite in the 3D scene. One of: Raster, Sprite. |
face_camera | Boolean | true | On: the sprite faces the camera (billboard). Off: a fixed-orientation quad you can tilt. |
camera | Camera3D | — | Camera for capturing 3D content (optional; flat 2D content ignores it) |
plane | Transform | — | Slice plane for a field/volume — wire a Transform3D and drag to slice |
projection | String | "First" | Field slice: First (flat), Max (MIP), Min, Average, Sum over the slab. One of: First, Max, Min, Average, Sum. |
samples | Number | 1 | Slab depth samples (1 = flat slice; more = smoother projection) |
resolution_mode | String | "Canvas" | How the baked raster's pixel size is chosen. One of: Canvas, Custom, Scale, Fit Content. |
res_width | Number | 1024 | Baked width in pixels |
res_height | Number | 1024 | Baked height in pixels |
res_scale | Number | 1 | Multiple of the canvas size |
padding | Number | 0 | Transparent bleed added around the content (px) |
fit_padding | Number | 0 | 3D auto-frame margin as a fraction of the content size |
supersample | String | "1×" | Render at N× then downsample for clean edges. One of: 1×, 2×, 4×. |
format | String | "16-bit float" | Pixel format / bit depth. Float = HDR (needed for feedback / accumulation). One of: 8-bit, 16-bit float, 32-bit float. |
premultiply | Boolean | true | Store premultiplied alpha |
color_space | String | "Linear" | How baked pixel values are encoded. One of: Linear, sRGB. |
background | String | "Transparent" | What fills pixels not covered by content. One of: Transparent, Solid. |
background_color | Color | rgba(0.00, 0.00, 0.00, 1.00) | Solid background fill color |
reproject | String | "Live" | Live: re-bake every change. Baked: render once and freeze. One of: Live, Baked. |
bake_frame | Number | 0 | Frame stamp for the baked capture — change it to re-bake |
strength | Number | 1 | Effect strength / wet-dry (0 = no effect, 1 = full). Editable, wirable, keyframable. |
Gotchas
For 3D content, the shared Live/Baked capture setting controls whether the bake is live or frozen. Live re-captures every frame as the camera orbits, for composing. Baked freezes a single static image, the one to feed a feedback loop or a filter chain that should not jitter every frame.
Switching Mode between Raster and Sprite changes the output type a downstream wire expects, so a wire built for a Raster output needs reconnecting after a flip to Sprite, and the reverse.
The slice Plane applies to field or volume input only. Wire a Transform and drag its gizmo to choose where the slice falls. Flat shapes and geometry ignore it. Samples above 1 samples a thickness of the field around the plane, using the projection mode, instead of a single flat cut; the slab's thickness is the plane's own scale along its normal.
Depth and normal passes are not offered here. Rasterize only ever sees a single input, and those passes only make sense for a full 3D scene. Use the Render node for scene-wide depth and normal output.
Worked example
Wire a shape, some geometry, or a field into Rasterize's input.
Leave Mode on Raster for a baked image to feed into a feedback loop or a filter chain.
For 3D content, wire a camera to choose the capture viewpoint, or leave it unwired to auto-frame.
For an instanced sprite, set Mode to Sprite, and toggle Face Camera for a billboard versus a fixed, tiltable card.
To slice a field or volume, wire a Transform into Plane and drag its gizmo to choose the cross-section.