# Specimen Authoring > Workflow and hard-won TD patterns for authoring Embody Specimens (the transparent TDXN gallery networks). Load before building or persisting a Specimen. - Skill: `dylanroscover/specimen-authoring` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add dylanroscover/specimen-authoring` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/dylanroscover/specimen-authoring/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Productivity - Author: dylanroscover (https://skillmd.com/u/dylanroscover) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/dylanroscover/specimen-authoring --- # Specimen Authoring How to build a Specimen for the Embody Collection -- a transparent, reusable TDXN network that demonstrates a TouchDesigner technique. Two specimens set the bar: `reaction-diffusion` (generative, a GPU feedback simulation) and `kaleidoscope` (compositing, a reusable polar-mirror component). ## The bar -- every Specimen must clear it 1. **Clear use** -- a user can finish "I'd use this for ___" (a VJ loop, a drop-in component, a texture/displacement source, a real learning reference). 2. **Non-obvious technique** -- a "how'd they do that?" moment, not a one-TOP drag. 3. **Striking** -- worth opening and exploring. 4. **Drop-in** -- clean input/output, exposed parameters, self-contained, bounded for performance. Generic noise plus a colorize is NOT a specimen. If a beginner makes it by accident, cut it. ## Workflow (one at a time) 1. **Build in the sandbox** COMP `/specimen_lab/` (NOT inside the Embody COMP -- the toe file, somewhere neutral). Iterate freely there. 2. **Gate performance** (see `performance.md`): baseline `get_project_performance` before, re-check after each heavy step. Feedback loops and GLSL are the usual cost. fps below ~90% of target is a stop condition -- optimize before continuing. Beware: a concurrent `capture_top` or `numpyArray()` stalls the GPU and makes the fps reading dip; take a clean reading without them. 3. **Verify it actually animates and cooks** before believing it -- see "Cook demand" below. Never claim animation from a single forced capture. 4. **Judge the look by actually looking** -- `capture_top` then read the frame; load `visual-aesthetics`. `capture_top` force-cooks, so it can show a frame your live (undemanded) viewer is NOT showing -- a stale viewer and a fresh capture are different frames; that mismatch is real, not a hallucination. 5. **Ask the user to review** before persisting. Persist only when it is genuinely good, animating, and clean. ## Cook demand -- the trap that bit both specimens A specimen that references time only cooks when its output is demanded (see `td-python.md` Cook Model). Consequences: - In the sandbox nothing views `out1`, so add a **temporary frame-driver**: an Execute DAT in `/specimen_lab` (OUTSIDE the COMP) with `onFrameStart` cooking the specimen's `out1`. It is not part of the spec; living outside the COMP means it never exports. - **Verify animation with two frames**: capture, let real seconds pass (a background `sleep`), capture again, compare. If the content differs (beyond a pure rotation), the motion is real. A single frame proves nothing. - The shipped specimen needs no driver: when a user views `out1`, or the build pipeline cooks `warmup_frames`, the time-dependence runs it. ## Performance: static source + cheap motion A high-detail generator (domain-warped fBm, a large sim) cannot re-cook every frame at 1280px+. Make it **static** (remove every time reference so it cooks once and caches) and animate a **cheap downstream** op -- drift/rotate/warp the *sample coordinates*, not the source. Confirm `glsl_source.cookedThisFrame == False` and the animated op `== True`. (Reaction-diffusion is the exception: the feedback loop must cook every frame, so keep it bounded -- <=512x512, 32-bit float.) ## Procedural terrain (why fbm looks generic and ridged does not) - **Ridged multifractal, not plain fbm.** Plain Perlin/Simplex fbm reads as "generic noise"; a ridged multifractal reads as real mountains. The recipe: ridge transform `n = 1 - abs(2*noise - 1)` (sharp ridgelines + V-valleys), `pow(n, sharp)` to sharpen, multifractal weighting `sum += n*amp*prev` (rough peaks, smooth valleys = erosion-like), a **domain warp** (offset the sample coords by another noise) for organic non-grid forms, and offset the height down so valleys drop below the snow line for rock/snow contrast. - **Keep GEOMETRY octaves LOW (3-4, max freq ~8 at a 128 grid)** and let the MATERIAL bump carry micro-detail. Ridged geometry is rougher than fbm, so extra octaves alias into speckle. - **In-place 4D morph, not a pan.** Use 3D value noise with the 3rd coord = `time*rate` (a different rate per octave) so the terrain DEFORMS IN PLACE (multi-scale undercurrents). Translating the sample coords by time would pan instead. - **Geometry-roughness vs material-speckle harmonization.** Rougher (ridged) geometry makes the material's high-frequency terms (slope-dependent snow, per-pixel bump, fine brightness noise) amplify into salt-and-pepper speckle. Fixes: make snow **elevation-based, not slope-based**; **suppress the bump where there is snow** (`bump *= 1 - 0.85*snowMask` -- smooth snow / rough rock); lower the fine-noise frequency and amount. - **Snow exposure (avoid blowout).** High-albedo snow * bright sun clips to flat white. Dim the sun ON SNOW (`sun *= 1 - 0.55*snowMask`), nudge snow albedo off pure white, and cut the specular. - **Atmospheric perspective depth.** A saturating exponential fog reads flat / all-or-nothing. Instead normalize distance across the scene (`depth = (dist - near) / range`) and use a POWER curve (`pow(depth, 1.7)*max`) so the foreground stays clear and haze builds with distance; gate any valley mist to distant low areas only. ## GLSL specifics - **Uniforms** are set on the GLSL TOP via `vec0name` + `vec0valuex/y/z/w` (one vec4), or `const0name`/`const0value`. The values take **expressions** -- bind them to COMP params or time: `gl.par.vec0name='uParams'; gl.par.vec0valuex.expr="parent().par.Segments.eval()"`, `...valuew.expr="absTime.seconds*parent().par.Flowspeed.eval()"`. Declare `uniform vec4 uParams;` and pack four values per vec. - **Vector uniforms are a parameter SEQUENCE on both glslMAT and glslPOP.** Set the count with `op.seq.vec.numBlocks = N` -- NOT `op.par.vec` (a Sequence-style par whose `.eval()` always reads 0 and will mislead you). Set the type with `vecNtype` (e.g. `'vec4'`). `vecNvaluex/y/z/w` accept expressions; bind them to params. - **Uniform declaration differs by op type.** In a glslMAT or glslTOP you DO declare `uniform vec4 uShape;` manually. In a **glslPOP compute shader the custom uniforms are AUTO-DECLARED** from the Vectors page -- do NOT write `uniform vec4 uShape;` there or it fails to compile. - **Reach the specimen's params by shortcut, not by depth.** Bindings live on ops, but the params live on the specimen COMP. Set `par.parentshortcut = 'Specimen'` on the specimen COMP once, then every descendant binds with `parent.Specimen.par.X` regardless of how deep it sits -- a POP inside `geo` and a MAT directly inside the COMP use the identical expression, and nesting one more level later breaks nothing. Only fall back to `parent(N).par.X` when the shortcut cannot be set, and then verify the depth with `parent().path` before trusting it -- `parent(2)` encodes the hierarchy and silently resolves to the wrong COMP the moment anything moves. - **Direction params (sun / light): expose azimuth + elevation, convert to a UNIT vector in the value expression** -- `x=cos(el)*sin(az), y=sin(el), z=cos(el)*cos(az)` via `math.cos`/`math.radians`. A raw XYZ slider can be zeroed to (0,0,0) and NaN the shader's `normalize()`; az/el is unit by construction. - **TD's built-in noise**: `TDSimplexNoise(vec4)` (also vec2/vec3) is available in every GLSL TOP/MAT shader -- no 80-line Ashima paste. Seamless loop = walk a circle in the zw plane (radius = how much it morphs per loop; scale zw slowly per octave or the fine detail flickers). Verified 2026-09-12, prismatic-strata. - **Multiple render targets**: set `numcolorbufs` on the GLSL TOP, declare `layout(location = 1) out vec4 fragField;` beside `fragColor`, and pull buffer N with a **Render Select TOP** (`top` = the GLSL TOP, `bufferindex` = N). Its `format` defaults to rgba8fixed: set a float format, and encode signed data as `0.5 + 0.5*x` anyway. - **Alpha as a data channel**: the GLSL TOP's "Pre-Multiply RGB by Alpha" toggle (`premultrgbbyalpha`) is ON by default and multiplies the color by your mask -- turn it off on that op. `capture_top` then flags the intermediate `fully_transparent`; expected, judge `out1`. - **Ramp TOP keys**: write the docked keys table with `set_dat_content(rows=...)` (header row `pos r g b a`). Rows appended with `appendRow` in the same `execute_python` that also changed the ramp's own parameters came back reverted to the default two keys (2026-09-12). - **Loop-frame captures**: 24 synchronous `TOP.save()` PNGs at 1080p blow the 30 s MCP budget. Schedule each frame with `run(code, delayFrames=k*3)` (set the phase uniform to a constant, `cook(force=True)`, save JPEG), restore the expression in a last `run`, then analyze the folder offline. - **Matching a reference clip**: extract its frames and compare NUMBERS, not impressions -- luminance histogram, hue histogram, warm/cool fractions per tone band, x/y autocorrelation (feature shape), high-pass energy, thin-vertical energy, temporal autocorrelation and the loop seam. A stats loop converged where eyeballing oscillated (prismatic-strata, 2026-09-12). - Boilerplate (TOP/MAT): `out vec4 fragColor;`, sample inputs `texture(sTD2DInputs[0], vUV.st)`, texel size `uTD2DInfos[0].res.xy`. Bound every `for`/`while` with a constant (GLSL crash rule). - A generator needs `outputresolution='custom'` + `resolutionw/h`; a simulation buffer needs `format='rgba32float'` or it bands and dies. - **Every GLSL op you create docks DATs that scatter onto neighbors** -- a GLSL **TOP** docks pixel/compute/info; a GLSL **MAT** docks vertex/pixel/info; a GLSL **POP** docks compute/info. Hug them AND run `get_network_layout` in the SAME `execute_python` that creates the op. NEVER defer to a later cleanup pass: this exact trap has recurred repeatedly because the build loop is heads-down on the shader, and the scattered docks silently pile onto the camera/light/render until someone points at the mess. The Verify step is the only thing that catches it -- run it every time, not just at the end. ## GLSL POP as a geometry generator A GLSL POP runs a **compute shader** over points -- it is the GPU way to displace / generate geometry (it replaces a stack of fbm noisePOPs). Compute-shader API: ```glsl void main(){ const uint id = TDIndex(); if(id >= TDNumElements()) return; vec3 pos = TDIn_P(0, id); // read input attribute -- NOT TDInPoint_P (that name fails to compile) // ...displace pos... P[id] = pos; // write the output array directly -- NOT oTDPoint_P } ``` - **The output array is undeclared and EMPTY until you set `outputattrs` to `*` (or `P`).** Without it, `P[id]` does not exist. `initoutputattrs=on` seeds the outputs from the inputs. - The **canonical template is in the docked compute DAT of a freshly created glslPOP** -- it ships with `//P[id] = TDIn_P();`. Read that DAT to confirm the exact API for any build. - Custom uniforms here are auto-declared (see GLSL specifics above) -- bind `uShape`, `uTime`, etc. to params via the `vec` sequence. ## GPU particle systems and flocking (POPs) A GPU particle sim is a **POP feedback loop**: `spherePOP/gridPOP -> particlePOP -> ...forces... -> nullPOP`, where the Particle POP's **`targetpop`** parameter points at the downstream Null (a **relative** ref, `null_sim`, never absolute) so last frame's state feeds the next. - **Transport is Initialize -> Start -> Play, not just play.** The Particle POP has `initializepulse` (reset to empty), `startpulse` (begin emission), and `play` (toggle). Pulsing `initializepulse` alone leaves it initialized-but-not-emitting (count stays 0). After wiring `targetpop` or changing topology: pulse `initializepulse` THEN `startpulse`, and confirm `play=True`. Births accrue over **real frames** - a synchronous `cook(force=True)` loop does not advance them; add the temp frame-driver and let wall-clock pass. - **Forces live INSIDE the loop** (between the Particle POP and the feedback Null - anything writing `PartForce`/`PartVel`/`P`). Topology-changing or render ops (Trail, color, render) live OUTSIDE it, on a side branch off the Null. - **Particle attributes**: `P`, `PartVel`, `PartForce`, `PartMass`, `PartDrag`, `PartAge`, `PartLifeSpan`, `PartId`. With `timeintegration` ON the Particle POP integrates `PartForce`->`PartVel`->`P` itself (with its own drag/damping); your force op just WRITES `PartForce` each frame (overwrite, don't accumulate stale fed-back force). ### Flocking: true per-neighbor Reynolds on the GPU - **Neighbor POP, two output modes.** `nebroutput='avg'` gives neighbor-AVERAGE attributes (`NebrP`, `NebrPartVel`) + `NumNebrs`. `nebroutput='nebr'` gives a per-point neighbor **INDEX list** attribute `Nebr` (size `maxneighbors`) + `NumNebrs`. `numhashbuckets` ~= particle count; `incquerypt=False` excludes self. - **Centroid-only forces cannot break a symmetric clump.** Cohesion/separation built from `NebrP` (the local centroid) net to ~zero at the center of a dense symmetric cluster, so the core never spreads - you get a blob no matter how you tune. The fix is **true per-neighbor separation**: in a GLSL POP, read the `Nebr` index list and random-access each neighbor (`uint nIdx = TDIn_Nebr(0, id, i); vec3 nP = TDIn_P(0, nIdx);`), then sum an **inverse-square** push `clamp(k/(dist*dist),0,cap) * normalize(P-nP)`. The closest neighbor dominates, so it never cancels -> even, uniform spacing. - `TDIn_Nebr(...)` returns **uint** (declare `uint`, not `int`). `centroid` is a **reserved GLSL word** - name it `nbrCenter`. Random access `TDIn_P(0, nIdx)` into the input buffer is allowed and is how you reach other points. - A coherent body needs a **soft containment** (pull back when `dist(P, attractor) > Bodyradius`) + **linear drag** (`force -= V*k`), applied AFTER the force clamp so they keep authority. Without drag, velocities coast and the swarm flies apart; a strong *global* attractor (not local cohesion) is what compresses it. - **Verifying a flock is coupled.** Forces are not independent - ablating one reshapes the whole emergent state (removing alignment can cause collapse, which RAISES coherence). Measure **local residual alignment** (subtract the swarm-mean velocity, then correlate neighbor residuals) to isolate alignment from global drift. A uniform random 3D swarm has median nearest-neighbor ~1.9% of the bbox diagonal (Poisson) - don't expect a "3% floor" without grid-like packing. Read attributes in bulk via a **Pop-to CHOP** + `numpyArray()` (CPU-resident, reliable); per-point `pop.point('P',i)` works only when the GPU is idle (pause the driver first) and is flaky for a second attribute in the same call. ### Rendering a POP swarm - **Render Simple TOP** renders a POP directly (`pop` param, auto camera/light, `bgcolor`) but has **no point-size control and no additive blend** - fine for a probe, not for a hero look. For glowing sprites set `materialsource='matnode'` and assign a **Point Sprite MAT** (`mat`). - **Point Sprite MAT**: `pointscaleattrib` reads a per-point `PointScale`; `pointsize` is the constant multiplier; additive glow = `blending=on, blendop=add, srcblend=one, destblend=one, depthtest=off, depthwriting=off`. For soft round dots, feed a radial-falloff texture into `colormap` (a tiny glslTOP: `a = smoothstep(1.0, 0.15, length(vUV.st*2-1)); fragColor = vec4(vec3(a),1)`); a square sprite otherwise. - **To add a `Color`/`PointScale` attribute** a glslPOP doesn't have, use its **New Attribute sequence** (`seq.attr.numBlocks`, `attrNcustomname`, `attrNnumcomps`), then write `Color[id]`/`PointScale[id]` in the shader. Map `length(PartVel)` to a 3-stop ramp for a speed-colored swarm. Additive blending blows out in dense moments - keep per-sprite brightness low (multiply the color down) and let Bloom carry the glow. ### TDXN round-trips single-component custom-parameter VALUES (verified v6.0.26) A specimen's exposed parameters export their **definitions** (default, range, help). A current value is written as an explicit `value:` only when it differs from the default; when value == default the `value:` is omitted. The importer covers both cases: it applies any explicit `value:`, and -- for a **single-component** par (Float, Int, Toggle, Str, Menu; no component suffixes, size 1) -- it seeds `.val` from the `default:` when no value was stored (TDXNExt.py ~L3362-3377, the `elif ('values' not in par_def and 'default' in par_def ...)` branch). So a specimen authored with `default == intended value` drops in live with correct values -- no `onInitTD` value-setter or one-time "revert to default" is needed. **Verified v6.0.26**: re-importing `plasma-interference` via `ImportNetwork` brought every Float param back at its authored value (`Scale.val == 6.0`, not 0), and the network rendered and compiled identically to the original. (This is the fix the older "imports inert" warning anticipated -- that warning described pre-fix behavior and is now obsolete.) **The one real gap -- multi-component default-valued params.** The default->value seeding is single-component only; a multi-component def (RGB / RGBA / XYZ / WH -- anything with component suffixes) carries one `default` that does not map cleanly across components, so a color/vector par whose value == default still imports at 0/min. If a specimen exposes such a par, give it a value that differs from the default (forcing an explicit `value:`/`values:` on export) or set it in an init hook. Single-component params -- which is almost everything a specimen exposes to drive uniforms -- are fine. Still verify the round-trip in every build (cheap): re-import the exported `.tdxn` into a throwaway COMP, check a couple of `.val`s and that `out1` renders, then destroy the temp COMP. ## Naming, layout, output - Processing ops: `optype_name` (`glsl_colorize`, `feedback_state`); DATs stay role-named (see `td-python.md` Naming). - Hug docked DATs **at creation, never defer** -- deferring is what leaves them stacked. - Every specimen terminates in an **Out TOP named `out1`** (the C3 manifest contract `output_op`). Not a Null. - Annotate **per logical section** (>=400 units between annotation boxes); the annotations are part of the teaching value. Spread the chain if needed to make room. ## Persisting (storage model) The collection lives at repo-root `specimens/`. Per specimen: 1. The temp driver stays out of the export (it's outside the COMP). 2. `export_network` the COMP -> `specimens//.tdxn` with `include_dat_content=True` (captures the shaders). The "Failed to track" warning is expected (outside `dev/`). The on-disk `.tdxn` is **YAML (TDXN v2.0)**: shader/script `dat_content` is a plain string rendered as a YAML literal block scalar (`|`), so GLSL reads top-to-bottom and diffs line-by-line -- do not hand-author it as an array of lines (that was the v1.5 form; v2.0 reverts to a plain string). Keep shader source LF/space-indented, not tab-indented: a tab-bearing string falls back to an ugly double-quoted scalar. Auto-created default docked compute DATs are omitted on export and recreated by TD on import, so an unedited compute companion will not appear in the file. Legacy JSON `.tdxn` still import unchanged (json-first parse). 3. Write `specimens//.prompt.md` -- what it teaches, how it works, how to recreate it. 4. Add the entry to `specimens/manifest.json` (validate against `specimens/manifest.schema.json`): `slug` is kebab-case (`reaction-diffusion`, not `reaction_diffusion`), `output_op` is `out1`, `requires` is `none` for self-contained specimens, `warmup_frames` covers the thumbnail bake (feedback sims need hundreds-to-thousands; a cheap effect needs a few), `operator_count` = all operators including those nested inside sub-COMPs (annotations not counted). 5. **Bake the RESULT thumbnail.** `build_specimens.py` does not exist yet, so bake by hand -- this is required, not optional; an unbaked specimen shows "preview coming soon" in the gallery: a. **Drive the specimen for its `warmup_frames` first.** A single `capture_top` of an undriven feedback/particle sim grabs frame 0 (the cook-model trap -- this is what produced a dim/empty murmuration and an undeveloped reaction-diffusion). Schedule real frames: `for i in range(1, warmup_frames+1): run("op('/out1').cook(force=True)", delayFrames=i)`, wait it out, then capture. Static shaders (kaleido, plasma, mandelbulb) need ~0; feedback sims need hundreds-to-thousands (reaction-diffusion wanted ~1800 to show real Gray-Scott mitosis). b. `capture_top` the `out1`, **Read the image and judge it** against `visual-aesthetics` (not black, real value range, clear subject). Re-drive + re-capture until the frame is strong. c. Save it BESIDE the network as `specimens//.jpg` (long edge <= 1200px, under 500 KB -- the same cap the site's upload route enforces; the generator refuses a larger file) and set the manifest's `thumbnail_path` to `/.jpg` (repo-relative, like `tdxn_path`). d. Run `python3 platform/apps/web/scripts/build-specimen-data.py` and commit its output with the image. The cover then flows exactly like a community upload: the generator hashes it, seeds `thumbnail_key = thumbnails/`, the uploaders put it in R2, and the site serves it from the row via `/api/specimens//thumbnail`. **Nothing in the site lists slugs** -- the hardcoded `BAKED_*` sets and `public/specimens/*.jpg` were removed 2026-09-13; never reintroduce them. (When `build_specimens.py` lands it automates a-c from `warmup_frames` + `thumbnail_path`; until then this manual path is the procedure.) ## After persisting If you discovered a TD behavior that contradicts a rule or skill, **update that rule/skill** (and its shipped template if it has one) -- that is exactly how this skill came to exist.