Input: Tangent

Node Interface

Overview

Function	Outputs a vector which is at right-angles to the surface normal
Nearest C4D equivalent	None

This node calculates a vector which is at right-angles to the normal of a given surface point. As there are potentially infinite possible tangents, you must specify which one to use from the Type and Axis drop-down menus.

The main use for this node is to link the output to the Tangent port of an Anisotropic BSDF node, where it will control the direction of the skewed reflection.

Settings

Note: a * symbol next to the name indicates the parameter also has an input port. A # symbol indicates that the parameter can only be changed with an input node, not in the node itself.

Type drop-down menu

There are two possible choices:

Radial

The texture is assumed to use cylindrical projection and you can specify the axis of the virtual cylinder with the Axis drop-down menu.

UV Map

The object's UV map is used to control direction. This allows greater control over the projection.

You can in fact select which UV map to use. To do this, you would use the Cycles 4D attribute system, then enter the attribute name for the desired UV tag into the UV map attribute field. For details on how to use the attribute system please see the example page for the attribute tag and node.

Axis

The axis to use if the type is set to Radial. Not used if type is set to UV Map.

Output

Tangent

A vector which is a tangent to the surface point.