Plasma
Classic plasma generator that superimposes sine and cosine waves into flowing, continuously animated grayscale patterns.
The Plasma node generates the classic demoscene plasma effect: layers of sine and cosine waves summed into a smooth, flowing field. Unlike the noise generators it is inherently animated — the waves are always in motion when global animation plays.
- One texture output; two optional texture inputs (domain warp and composite)
- Complexity sets the number of wave layers; Frequency sets their scale and motion rate
- Found in nerdGRAPH under Generators as Plasma
The image on the right is the example patch itself — drag and drop it onto the app (or load it with File → Load) to open the full graph.
Inputs and outputs
| Port | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Input | Texture | Domain warp — the red/green channels displace the sample coordinates |
| Composite Input | Texture | Composited over the output using the node's Blend Mode and Opacity |
| Output | Texture | The grayscale plasma field, normalized to 0–1 |
A black (or disconnected) Input produces no warp; the warp strength scales with Scale.
Parameters
Opacity, Blend Mode, ALPHA, Invert Alpha, Threshold Min / Threshold Max — the standard operator header; see Perlin Noise for details.
Structure
- Complexity (1–8, default 4) — how many wave layers are summed. Higher values fold the field into busier, more intricate patterns.
Transform
- Scale (0.01–10, default 1), Scale X / Scale Y (0.01–50, default 5), Offset X / Offset Y (−20 to 20), Rotation (0–360) — the shared transform block: scale zooms the wave field, offsets pan, rotation spins around the center.
Dynamics
- Frequency (0.1–5, default 1) — scales the wave frequency and the animation rate together. Higher values pack the waves tighter and speed up the motion; it compounds with the global animation speed.
Every slider has a per-parameter animation bar, so any of these can be animated, audio-driven, or MIDI-mapped — see Parameters and Controls.
Troubleshooting
The pattern doesn't move — global animation is paused in the top bar. Plasma has no separate speed of its own beyond Frequency, which must be above 0.
Changing Seed does nothing — that is expected; Plasma ignores Seed.
Output looks flat — raise Complexity for more wave detail, or stretch contrast with Threshold Min / Threshold Max.