Path and Easing
The Path form
Section titled “The Path form”The Path form fits a smooth curve through your fixtures and reads a value for each fixture off this curve. It is perfect for rigs that are not straight — a curved truss, a circle of fixtures that is not quite a circle, or a set piece with a free shape. The Path form is available in every preset window and in FX Groups.
Select the Path row in the forms panel and press its edit button to open the Path editor. The fixtures are shown as dots — blue for low values, red for high values.
Fitting the curve
Section titled “Fitting the curve”| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Rotate | Rotates the axis of the curve in degrees. |
| Curve | The shape of the fitted curve: 1 (straight), 2 or 3. |
| Handles | The number of handles (2–12) on the curve. |
| Values | Across: the value is the distance of the fixture from the curve — like a bent Line form. Along: the value is the position of the fixture along the curve, so the gradient runs with the curve. |
Reset to fit returns to the fitted curve. Press Update to recalculate the colors of the fixtures after a change, and Close when you are done.
Drawing the curve by hand
Section titled “Drawing the curve by hand”- Drag a handle to bend the curve.
- Click a handle to select it.
- Double-click a handle to switch it between a corner and a curve.
Each handle has its own Line mode:
| Line | Handle | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Linear | □ | A hard corner — straight lines meet at this handle. |
| Linear → Curve | ◇ | A blend between corner and curve. Set the amount with Blend (0 % = corner, 100 % = curve). |
| Curve | ○ | A smooth curve through this handle. |
All points copies the mode of the selected handle to every handle.
Saving paths
Section titled “Saving paths”Save a path by name with Save as and load it again with Load. A saved path is stored as a shape, not as coordinates: it scales with your fixtures, so you can reuse it on any rig, project or group — e.g. in the Multi Gradient Presets.
Easing curves
Section titled “Easing curves”The Path option in the options panel sets the easing of the values: Linear, High-Normal (ease out), Normal-High (ease in), High-High or Custom. Press the edit button next to it to open the Easing Curve editor and draw your own curve. This sets the option to Custom.
How to read the graph: the x-axis is the resulting value, the y-axis is how far the gradient has progressed. A steep section of the curve runs fast, a flat section runs slowly — just like the easing graphs you know from animation software.
- Start from one of the built-in curves: Linear, High-Normal, Normal-High or High-High.
- Click on the canvas to add a handle, drag a handle to move it, and double-click a handle to remove it.
- Every handle has the same Line modes as the Path editor (Linear, Linear → Curve with Blend, Curve), so an easing curve can also have a hard corner. All points copies the mode to every handle.
- Save a curve by name with Save as and load it with Load.
- Reset to linear starts over.
Changes are applied immediately, there is no apply button — just Close the editor. The custom curve is saved in your project.