Surface Art

Players often enjoy feeling like they're a part of constructing the space they're in. The SurfaceArt developer module lets players literally leave their mark in an experience.

Module Usage

Installation

To use the SurfaceArt module in an experience:

  1. From the View tab, open the Toolbox and select the Marketplace tab.

  2. Make sure the Models sorting is selected, then click the See All button for Categories.

  3. Locate and click the DEV MODULES tile.

  4. Locate the Surface Art module and click it, or drag-and-drop it into the 3D view.

  5. In the Explorer window, move the entire SurfaceArt model into ServerScriptService. Upon running the experience, the module will distribute itself to various services and begin running.

Positioning the Canvas

The module comes with one SurfaceCanvas model that you can position in the 3D world. This model is what players will interact with to place art on its surface.

  1. Locate the SurfaceCanvas mesh inside the Workspace folder of the module's main folder.

  2. Move it into the top-level Workspace hierarchy and position it where desired.

  3. Upon publishing/running a test session, players will be able to interact with the object via a ProximityPrompt and place art on the defined surface.

Changing the Canvas Face

Under the hood, the module uses a SurfaceGui to display art items. To configure which surface the art appears on:

  1. Select the SurfaceCanvas mesh.

  2. At the bottom of the Properties window, locate the SurfaceCanvasFace attribute with a default value of Right.

  3. Click the attribute and enter one of six values that describe a NormalId.

Attribute Value Corresponding Normal ID
Front NormalId.Front
Back NormalId.Back
Right NormalId.Right
Left NormalId.Left
Top NormalId.Top
Bottom NormalId.Bottom

Using Custom Art Assets

To better fit the theme of your experience, you may use your own set of custom assets instead of the defaults. This can be done via the configure function, called from a Script in ServerScriptService.

Script

local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local SurfaceArt = require(ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArt"))
local customAssets = {
CustomAsset1 = {
name = "Custom Asset 1",
assetId = "rbxassetid://7322508294",
},
CustomAsset2 = {
name = "Custom Asset 2",
assetId = "rbxassetid://7322547665",
},
}
SurfaceArt.configure({
assets = customAssets,
})

Clearing All Canvases

To remove all existing art from all canvases in the world, call the removeAllArt function from a Script.

Script

local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local SurfaceArt = require(ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArt"))
SurfaceArt.removeAllArt()

Showing Custom Effects

There may be cases where you'd like to include additional visual effects when an artwork is placed. This module exposes an event called artChanged on the client that you can connect to and add your own logic.

LocalScript

local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local SurfaceArt = require(ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArt"))
local function createParticleEmitter(canvas, position)
local attachment = Instance.new("Attachment")
attachment.Position = canvas.CFrame:PointToObjectSpace(position)
attachment.Axis = Vector3.new(0, 0, 1)
attachment.SecondaryAxis = Vector3.new(1, 0, 0)
attachment.Parent = canvas
local particleEmitter = Instance.new("ParticleEmitter")
particleEmitter.Speed = NumberRange.new(50)
particleEmitter.Rate = 50
particleEmitter.Color = ColorSequence.new(Color3.fromRGB(128, 254, 7))
particleEmitter.SpreadAngle = Vector2.new(35, 35)
particleEmitter.Parent = attachment
return attachment
end
SurfaceArt.artChanged:Connect(function(canvas, spot, spotPosition, artId, ownerId)
if artId then
-- Show some sparkles for 3 seconds
task.spawn(function()
local emitterAttachment = createParticleEmitter(canvas, spotPosition)
task.wait(3)
emitterAttachment:Destroy()
end)
end
end)

API Reference

Types

SurfaceArtAsset

Images to be used as art for the canvas are represented by a table with two values.

Key Description
name Metadata display name.
assetId Asset ID of the image to include.

Functions

configure

configure(config:table):nil

Overrides default configuration options through the following keys/values in the config table. This function can only be called from a Script.

General

Key Description Default
enabled Toggles the module's functionality on or off. true
assets List of SurfaceArtAsset types. (see code)
quotaPerPlayer Maximum number of art pieces that can be placed by each player. 2

Appearance

Key Description Default
rowsPerCanvas Number of rows in the canvas grid. 2
colsPerCanvas Number of columns in the canvas grid. 5
itemsPerPage Number of items to skip when paging left and right. 3
canvasPaddingLeft Left padding for the surface canvas (UDim). (0, 8)
canvasPaddingRight Right padding for the surface canvas (UDim). (0, 8)
canvasPaddingTop Top padding for the surface canvas (UDim). (0, 8)
canvasPaddingBottom Bottom padding for the surface canvas (UDim). (0, 8)
promptImage Icon shown in the proximity prompt to enter art selection view. "rbxassetid://8076723774"
leftArrowPageImage Image for the left arrow to flip to the previous page. "rbxassetid://6998633654"
leftArrowItemImage Image for the left arrow to select the previous art item. "rbxassetid://8072765021"
rightArrowPageImage Image for the right arrow to flip to the next page. "rbxassetid://6998635824"
rightArrowItemImage Image for the right arrow to select the next art item. "rbxassetid://8072764852"

Interaction

Key Description Default
promptKeyCode Keyboard shortcut used to activate the prompt to enter art selection (KeyCode). E
promptRequiresLineOfSight Boolean value that determines if the proximity prompt has to be in line of sight between user and canvas. true
promptMaxActivationDistance Maximum distance a player's character can be from the canvas for the prompt to appear. 10
promptExclusivity ProximityPromptExclusivity specifying which prompts can be shown at the same time. OnePerButton
usePageHotkeys Whether page hotkeys are used. If true, nextPageKey and prevPageKey are used to cycle between pages. true
nextPageKey Key used to cycle to the next page of artwork (KeyCode). E
nextItemKey Key used to cycle to the next item of artwork (KeyCode). Right
prevPageKey Key used to cycle to the previous page of artwork (KeyCode). Q
prevItemKey Key used to cycle to the previous item of artwork (KeyCode). Left
Script

local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local SurfaceArt = require(ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArt"))
SurfaceArt.configure({
quotaPerPlayer = 4,
promptKeyCode = Enum.KeyCode.T,
promptMaxActivationDistance = 8,
})

getCanvases

getCanvases():table

Returns all of the canvases tagged with the SurfaceCanvas tag.

Script

local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local SurfaceArt = require(ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArt"))
local canvases = SurfaceArt.getCanvases()

placeArt

placeArt(player:Player, canvas:BasePart):nil

Places an art piece programmatically on behalf of a player. Note that the canvas object must be tagged with the SurfaceCanvas tag when the server is initialized. It is recommended to use this only with a canvas returned from getCanvases.

Script

local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local SurfaceArt = require(ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArt"))
local remoteEvent = ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArtRemoteEvent")
remoteEvent.OnServerEvent:Connect(function(player)
-- Place the Bloxy Award from default art assets into the first canvas
local canvases = SurfaceArt.getCanvases()
SurfaceArt.placeArt(player, canvases[1], "BloxyAward")
end)

removeAllArt

removeAllArt():nil

Removes all artwork from all surfaces.

Script

local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local SurfaceArt = require(ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArt"))
SurfaceArt.removeAllArt()

Events

artChanged

artChanged(canvas:BasePart, spot:Frame, spotPosition:Vector3, artId:string, ownerUserId:number): RBXScriptSignal

Fires when an artwork is changed at a particular location on a canvas. When an artwork is removed, artId will be nil. Note that a Vector3 value is passed as the third parameter to the event handler so that you can position a custom effect at the exact position where the artwork is placed. This event can only be connected in a LocalScript.

Parameters
canvas: BasePart Canvas upon which the artwork was changed.
spot: Frame Internal Frame that contains the artwork ImageLabel.
spotPosition: Vector3 Exact position where the artwork was placed.
artId: string Asset ID of the new artwork.
ownerUserId: number UserId of the player who placed the art.
LocalScript

local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local SurfaceArt = require(ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArt"))
SurfaceArt.artChanged:Connect(function(canvas, spot, spotPosition, artId, ownerId)
print("Art placed at:", spotPosition)
print("Art asset ID:", artId)
print("Art placed by:", ownerId)
end)

promptShown

promptShown(canvas:BasePart): RBXScriptSignal

Fires when a canvas interaction prompt is shown to a player. The connected function receives the canvas upon which the prompt is showing. This event can only be connected in a LocalScript.

Parameters
canvas: BasePart Canvas upon which the prompt is showing.
LocalScript

local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local Players = game:GetService("Players")
local SurfaceArt = require(ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArt"))
SurfaceArt.promptShown:Connect(function(canvas)
print(Players.LocalPlayer, canvas)
end)

promptHidden

promptHidden(canvas:BasePart): RBXScriptSignal

Fires when a canvas interaction prompt is hidden. The connected function receives the canvas upon which the prompt was showing. This event can only be connected in a LocalScript.

Parameters
canvas: BasePart Canvas upon which the prompt was showing.
LocalScript

local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local Players = game:GetService("Players")
local SurfaceArt = require(ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArt"))
SurfaceArt.promptClosed:Connect(function(canvas)
print(Players.LocalPlayer, canvas)
end)

selectorShown

selectorShown(): RBXScriptSignal

Fires when the surface art selector UI is shown to a player. This event can only be connected in a LocalScript.

LocalScript

local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local Players = game:GetService("Players")
local SurfaceArt = require(ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArt"))
SurfaceArt.selectorShown:Connect(function()
print(Players.LocalPlayer, "opened surface art selector")
end)

selectorHidden

selectorHidden(): RBXScriptSignal

Fires when the surface art selector UI is hidden for a player. This event can only be connected in a LocalScript.

LocalScript

local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage")
local Players = game:GetService("Players")
local SurfaceArt = require(ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SurfaceArt"))
SurfaceArt.selectorHidden:Connect(function()
print(Players.LocalPlayer, "closed surface art selector")
end)