Overview
Real-time 2D global illumination for layered scenes — emitters, occluders, and bounce in a single TOP.
Aura lights 2D scenes the way a renderer lights 3D ones. Feed it layers — who emits, who blocks — and it returns the scene with light that bounces, bleeds, and wraps. Motion graphics stop looking flat without leaving TOPs.
Aura is the entry point to the NativeOps line: it runs on any CUDA-capable GPU from the 16-series up, no RT cores required.
The idea
A 2D scene has the same light problems as a 3D one — a neon sign should tint the wall behind it; a character crossing a doorway should catch light from it. Aura solves radiance in screen space over your layers:
- Emitters — any layer's bright pixels cast light, in nits
- Occluders — alpha or a dedicated mask blocks and shadows
- Bounce — one to four bounces of colored indirect light
- Volumetrics — optional fog pass so beams read in empty space
Where it sits in a network
comp_layers (TOP) ──► aura1 (TOP) ──► bloom / grade ──► outOne Aura TOP per scene, after compositing and before grade — the same slot a lighting pass occupies in a 3D pipeline. Inputs covers the layer contract.