Chapter 2 · Concepts

2.9Painted Channels

A channel is a named weight map painted on the cloth with the Tnpix Channel modifier: every vertex carries a weight from 0 (outside) to 1 (fully inside). Other modifiers read channels by name to decide where they act:

Modifier	What the channel says
Tnpix Material Standard / Advanced	Which region of the garment this fabric covers.
Tnpix Pin	Which points are held.
Tnpix Preserve	Which points follow the animation below the Solver, and how closely.
Tnpix Stitch	Where a seam may form.
Tnpix Tear	Where the cloth may tear, and where it is weaker.
Tnpix Volume	Which region keeps its volume, and how firmly; above a Pin or a Preserve, which of their points it lets go.
Tnpix Rigid	Which regions are solid pieces.
Tnpix Soft Body	Where its material is, in the object's flesh; above a Pin or a Preserve, which of their points it lets go.
Tnpix Post Process	Where the smoothing and the detangle may work.
Tnpix Wrap	How strongly each point follows the proxies.
Tnpix Threads	Which hems carry a fringe.

Modifier

What the channel says

Tnpix Material Standard / Advanced

Which region of the garment this fabric covers.

Tnpix Pin

Which points are held.

Tnpix Preserve

Which points follow the animation below the Solver, and how closely.

Tnpix Stitch

Where a seam may form.

Tnpix Tear

Where the cloth may tear, and where it is weaker.

Tnpix Volume

Which region keeps its volume, and how firmly; above a Pin or a Preserve, which of their points it lets go.

Tnpix Rigid

Which regions are solid pieces.

Tnpix Soft Body

Where its material is, in the object's flesh; above a Pin or a Preserve, which of their points it lets go.

Tnpix Post Process

Where the smoothing and the detangle may work.

Tnpix Wrap

How strongly each point follows the proxies.

Tnpix Threads

Which hems carry a fringe.

Because the binding is by name, renaming a channel re-points everything that used the old name, and reordering the channel list breaks nothing. A channel that nothing reads changes nothing. Paint once and bind by name from whichever modifier needs it. A channel painted on one side of a garment can be copied to the other side with the Channel's Mirror.