Scenes and layers

The Layers panel is the structure of your composition. A project contains scenes; each scene contains display layers and an effect chain.

Scenes#

A scene groups visual content and effects into one composited unit. Add scenes when you want independent looks you can hide, blend, or stack, or a clearer layer hierarchy. You can rename, hide, reorder, or delete a scene just like other layers.

Displays#

Displays create pixels. Astrofox groups its built-in displays by how they are controlled:

Group	Displays
2D	Image, Video, Text, Shape, Bar Spectrum, Radial Spectrum, Wave Spectrum, Waveform Ring, Sound Wave
3D	Geometry, Mesh Grid, Tunnel

Spectrum and waveform displays analyze audio directly. Image, video, text, shape, and 3D displays can still react to audio when you bind compatible controls to a reactor.

Effects#

Effects process the scene rather than drawing a standalone object. Built-in effects are organized into these groups:

• Color: Color, Color Depth
• Blur & Focus: Bloom, Blur, Tilt Shift
• Distortion: Distortion, Glitch, Kaleidoscope, Lens Warp, Mirror, RGB Shift, Shockwave, VHS
• Pattern: ASCII, Color Halftone, Dot Screen, LED, Pixelate, Scanline
• Stylize: Edge Detection, Feedback Echo, Film Grain, Vignette

The Color effect includes brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, and sepia. Color Depth is a separate effect that reduces bit depth.

Select and edit a layer#

Select a row in the Layers panel to show that element's settings in Controls. You can also:

• Click its visibility control to enable or disable it
• Rename it to describe its role in the composition
• Drag it to reorder compatible layers or move it into another scene
• Use the up and down controls for precise reordering
• Delete it when it is no longer needed

Displays can move between scene display sections, effects can move between scene effect sections, and scenes can be reordered with other scenes.

Transform a display on the stage#

Select a supported 2D display and enable the layer transform tool. Drag the layer to move it and use its handles to resize. Set rotation from the layer's Rotation control. These changes update the same values shown in Controls.

For a supported 3D display, use camera control to orbit around the scene and the mouse wheel to change camera distance. Geometry, Mesh Grid, Tunnel, and camera-enabled plugins expose this workflow.