Point Attributes

Sets per-element attributes on points, either from a spatial field or a uniform value. Attributes are read by downstream Draw and Clone nodes.

Category: Point Ops Menu path: Point Ops > Point Attributes

Ports

Port	Type	Direction	Description
points_in	points	input	Source points
field_in	scalarField	input	Spatial field to sample at each point position (also accepts vectorField and colorField)
out	points	output	Points with attributes set

Parameters

Param	Type	Default	Description
target	enum	Scale	Which attribute to write: Scale, Opacity, Rotation, Color, or Custom
source	enum	Field	Field / Value / Index — how the output is computed. See below
value	scalar	1.0	Uniform value (used when source=Value, or as fallback when source=Field with no field connected)
colorValue	color	white	Color value (used when source=Value, target=Color)
customAttribute	string	custom	Attribute key name (used when target is Custom)
indexCurve	curveRamp	0→1 linear	Source=Index + scalar target. Samples the ramp by each point's normalized index
indexColorRamp	gradientRamp	black→white	Source=Index + target=Color. Samples the gradient by each point's normalized index
outputMin	scalar	0	Lerp the [0,1] ramp / field output into [outputMin, outputMax]. Hidden for Color and Rotation targets and for source=Value. Default 0/1 is identity
outputMax	scalar	1	See outputMin

How It Works

PointAttributes evaluates per point. For each point in the input:

1. If a field is connected to field_in, it is sampled at the point's position (in origin-centered comp-pixel coordinates).
2. If no field is connected, the value or colorValue param is used uniformly.

The result is stored as a named attribute on each point:

Target	Attribute key	Read by
Scale	scale	DrawPoints (radius multiplier), CloneToPoints (uniform scale)
Opacity	opacity	DrawPoints (alpha), CloneToPoints (path-level opacity)
Rotation	rotation	CloneToPoints (instance rotation in radians), PointDeform (Normal/Tangent local frame)
Color	color	DrawPoints (RGBA override), CloneToPoints (path-level color)
Custom	user-defined	Available for custom pipelines

Field type handling:

• ScalarField for rotation uses v * TAU mapping: [0, 1] maps to [0, 2pi].
• VectorField for rotation uses eval_bipolar() [-1, 1] for full atan2 range [-pi, pi].
• ColorField writes RGBA directly per point.

Custom target output type: The Custom target follows the field type of the connected input:

• ColorField -> Vec4 (RGBA stored per point)
• VectorField (alone) -> Vec2 (bipolar [-1,1] vectors stored per point)
• ScalarField or uniform value -> Scalar

This lets Custom carry any of the four attribute array types (Scalar, Vec2, Vec4) — whatever matches the field semantics you wired in.

Usage Examples

Basic: Spatially varying size

Grid -> PointAttributes (target: Scale, field: Noise.scalarField) -> DrawPoints. Points near noise peaks are larger, near troughs smaller.

Per-point color from a gradient

Grid -> PointAttributes (target: Color, field: Gradient.colorField) -> DrawPoints. Each point picks up the gradient color at its position.

Rotation for instancing

Grid -> PointAttributes (target: Rotation, field: Noise.scalarField) -> CloneToPoints (shape: small arrow). Each instance rotates based on the noise field, creating a flow visualization.

Curve-aligned rotation

For rotation that follows a curve's tangent (e.g. branches along a stem), use ShapeAttributes with target: Rotation, source: Tangent upstream of ShapeToPoints → CloneToPoints. The Tangent mode on ShapeAttributes computes the angle directly from the shape's geometry, which is cleaner than wiring up a VectorField for the same result.

Tips

• You can chain multiple PointAttributes nodes to set different attributes (e.g., one for Scale, another for Color)
• When no field is connected, all points get the same uniform value -- useful for setting a base scale or opacity
• The field_in port accepts scalarField, vectorField, and colorField despite showing as scalarField type
• Missing attributes in downstream nodes use backward-compatible defaults (scale=1, opacity=1, color=white)

Related Nodes

• ShapeAttributes -- same concept for shape vertices, plus Tangent rotation mode for curve alignment
• DrawPoints -- reads scale, opacity, and color attributes per point
• CloneToPoints -- reads rotation, scale, opacity, and color per point; supports pivot modes and group filtering
• PointDeform -- reads rotation attribute for Normal/Tangent mode local frame
• Noise -- common field source for spatial variation
• DistanceField -- shape-proximity-based field source