Introduction to Texture Nodes

Posted on 13. May, 2009 by Andrew Price in Texturing, Tutorials

In this tutorial we will be creating a brick texture using nothing but procedural textures and Blender’s powerful new texture node system.

Let’s begin…

Start by adding a plane and rotating it to face the camera.

1-plane1

With the plane selected, add a new material and new texture. Those familar with blender will recognize that a new button labelled Nodes has been added. Click it. You will notice that doing so, disables the standard dropdown texture choices.

Now switch to the Node editor.

15-node-editor

Again, you will notice a new button has been added to the header, in the shape of a spotted square. Click it to switch to the Texturing Node system.

$1-tex-button$

By default you will see a checkboard and output nodes. Go ahead and delete the checkerboard node.

3-delete-checkboard

Creating the brick mask

Add a brick texture by hitting space then selecting, Add>Patterns>Bricks. Change the settings to the picture below and connect it to the Output node.

4-brick-settings

This basic brick texture will be used as the foundation to create our diffuse, bump, pattern and spec maps, so we want to make sure that if we change any of the settings, that all 4 textures update accordingly. So to do this, we need to create a group.

With only the Brick node selected hit Ctrl+G, and click Make Group. To make it easier to identify later, label it ‘Mask’:

5-mask

The new node system allows us to add multiple outputs to the same node screen for each texture map that we need. In this case we are creating 4, so with the Mask and the Output nodes selected, duplicate it three times and label the outputs: Diffuse, Pattern, Spec and Bump.

6-duplicated-nodes

That’s the basic brick mask set up. We will now move on to texturing each map accordingly.

Altering the Pattern Texture

Create two cloud inputs (Add>Textures>Clouds) and give them the following settings:

7-clouds

These cloud layers will be used to give the bricks a randomized texture pattern depending on the row and number of the brick. To do this, join each cloud layer to the brick inputs in the mask that is connected to the Pattern output:

8-clouds-connected

The Bias setting can be adjusted from -1.00 to 1.00. This determines how much of Brick 1 and Brick 2 to use. Setting it to 0.00 will use both Brick 1 and Brick 2 evenly, creating a nice random brick texture, which is ideal for what we want.

Altering the Specular Texture

Just like we did with our pattern texture, we are going to be adding a texture that will reflect the light off our bricks. So in this instance the Musgrave texture works best (Add>Texture>Musgrave). Give the Musgrave texture the following settings (making sure you change the colors as shown) then insert it into the Brick 1 slot. Now change the colour of Brick 2 to black:

9-spec

This will create a fine sandy texture that will reflect off the light.

Altering the Bump Map Texture

The bump is slightly different in that we aren’t altering brick slot 1 or 2, but instead converting the resulting texture to a normal map. To do this, add a Value to Normal node (Add>Convertor>Value to Normal) and place it in between the mask and the output as shown. Make sure that you change the connection on the output from Color to Normal.

10-bump

This will ensure our bricks have nice bevelled edges.

The node system is now complete!

11-full-nodes

Adding the Node System to the Texture Panel

If you switch to the texture panel in our material settings, you will notice that our texture now has a dropdown list next to it, listing each of our outputs. This allows us to bring the textures from node system into our standard texture panel and change the blending options.

To start with select Diffuse from the drop down list.

12-node-selector

Now swith to the Map To panel and make the following changes.

13-diffuse-multiply

Going back to our Texture Panel, add another texture slot and change the output to Spec:

14-spec-select1

Switch to the Map To panel and make the following changes:

14-spec-settings

Add another texture slot and select Bump for the output:

15-bump-select

Now make the following changes in the Map To panel:

15-bump-settings

Add a final texture slot and select Pattern as the output:

16-pattern-select

Switch to the Map To tab and make the following changes:

16-pattern-settings

That’s it! If you render now, you should get a result similar to this:

1-by-1

I used the default brick size for this tutorial which is quite large. If you want to decrease their size, this can easily be done by altering the size of the texture in the Map Input field.

17-map-input

For example, altering those numbers to 3.00 yields this result:

3-by-3

As you can see the texture node system is incredibly powerful. It can be used to quickly create texture combinations that previously would have required the use of an image editor. This opens the doors to faster workflows, more realistic textures and more artistic license.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial! If you have any questions be sure to ask. I’d love to see your end result, so feel free to post it below!

Tags: intermediate, nodes

90 Responses to “Introduction to Texture Nodes”

daa

14. May, 2009

Thanks for intro It’s very interesting) I don’t try rc version (wait for release) but see that we get a lot pattern nodes so more textures can be created inside blender.
Does dynamic node available for texture mode?
Doda

14. May, 2009

Wow. Thanks man! i already follow you on vimeo and your tuts are great.

=D
almux

17. May, 2009

Great!
This is the basic tutorial i am missing from the start!
Thanks!
Moeshe Goldburg

19. May, 2009

“in the shape of a spotted square. ” << huh? where’s that?!? I’m using 2.48.

this is my biggest beef with Blender. You can’t follow along with half of the 5 million tutorials out there because the interface changes every 4 weeks.
Andrew Price

19. May, 2009

Hi Moeshe,
Texture nodes, are a new feature added in 2.49.

As of right now, it is only in RC stage (beta), but you will need it for this tutorial.

Grab it here:
http://download.blender.org/release/Blender2.49RC/

Sorry for the confusion. I’ll write a note at the top so others know
RH2

31. May, 2009

thank you
kikeonline

31. May, 2009

Hey can i use the model to render it on Indigo??
Dread Knight

31. May, 2009

Neat tutorial
Matthew Piziak

31. May, 2009

Wonderful tutorial. Thanks!
MDxm

01. Jun, 2009

Awesome, thanks!
Paul

01. Jun, 2009

Hi, nice tutorial!
Is it posible to use such textures in the game engine?
Tio Ilmo

01. Jun, 2009

This Node system makes the texture process more clear to understand than using only the old bottons. Now you can really follow all the important steps to have a professional procedural texture, using diffuse, pattern,specular and bump effects. Nice tutorial!

Tio Ilmo
Loh

01. Jun, 2009

Great tutorial, Always good to see written tutorials instead of cumbersome video ones. This will make a good reference
clean3d

01. Jun, 2009

Excellent tutorial! Thank you for making this.

I can’t wait to play with the texture nodes system more!
Rickyblender

01. Jun, 2009

i did all the nodes textures
but then i cannot see the textures panel in F5

how can you get this panel?

i’m weith 2.49 latest release
i’v also open a thread on blender news and discussion forumi think

happy blendering
Rickyblender

01. Jun, 2009

i downloaded the file 15 MB

and did the render but i get only a black and white pic

no color at all

is there something i have to do before doing the render
there seems to be a lot of files included but
don’t think they are activated somehow!

Thanks & happy blendering
NCubed

01. Jun, 2009

Great, thank you!

I guess knowing which procedural textures to choose (Musgrave for specular, for example) comes with practice.

One improvement I found I needed was to press Full OSA (F5, Links and Pipeline panel) to combat jagged brick edges. Is there another way to achieve the same result, or is this the best method?
Ray

01. Jun, 2009

I ran into a few problems. The first time I tried it, I wandered off the beaten path and the texture didn’t’ turn out well at all. The second time, I tried to put it on a cube, and that didn’t work, but when I put it on a plane, it did. Go figure.

Seems like the nodes still need some work to make them more reliable.
Bill

01. Jun, 2009

The only problem I had was that the “bricks” node didn’t mix the colors throughout. That is, the top three rows are color 2 and the next 5 rows are color 1. If I moved the “bias” amount to -1.0 or 1.0 they all go one color or the other; but when “bias” is 0 then the colors separate as described above. Weird…
Andrew Price

02. Jun, 2009

Hi guys,
In regards to the jagged edges I definately know what you mean. After heaps of research I finally decided there was no way around it.

It’s only now that people are mentioning the Full OSA button that I’m face palming! “Of course!!”

So yes, hit that button and to solve the jagged edges issue.

Thanks everyone who suggested it!

@Ray Does switching from ‘Flat’ to ‘Cube’ in the Map Input panel, solve it?
Dwayne

02. Jun, 2009

I tried this, and it worked pretty good. I think there’s a bug in the Tex Nodes, at least the OS X version. (Leopard on Macbook Pro with Nvidia). In the node editor, there seems to be a limited region in which the textures are visible – if I move a node around beyond this region, the tex just goes to a blank alpha state. Also, The brick texture is wonky as Bill said two posts above – affects render as well as Node editor.
good tutorial though.
Doda

02. Jun, 2009

Same problem as @Bill, the “colors” are split on my bricks, they dont mix…
kABHIr

03. Jun, 2009

really nice tutorial andrew.

Thanks
Dave

03. Jun, 2009

Brilliant tutorial. So much more can be created. Started using Blender in 1998 (I got a C-Key )but havn’t touched it for a long time. So much has changed but is still familiar
Bernie

03. Jun, 2009

Thanks for this great tutorial.

I have the same problem as @Rickyblender:
I did the tutorial step by step, but when I press F12,
I only get a black plane…

Did I miss something?
theYiffer

03. Jun, 2009

Thanks for the tutorial! I didn’t have that magical “Node” button, but I was able to create a similar result, sort of speak. My colors do split, almost in half in the render. Some I’m not sure where I’ve went wrong. But this is a great technique and renders very fast on my pitiful Beige G3.
Mike

04. Jun, 2009

Sweet! I added a default noise node and attached it to the mortar that in your example was using a grey color with a grainy mortar between the bricks. It looks so much more realistic now. Thanks for the tutorial!
Rickyblender

05. Jun, 2009

would it be possible to open a thread on blender forum
where we could discuss some of the details and problems encourntered when uisng new textures nodes

Thanks
Matt

05. Jun, 2009

Nice and clear, thanks. The one time I tried to use tex nodes I just couldn’t find an advantage compared to the original method that uses slots.
FloridaJo

07. Jun, 2009

Same problem as Bill and Doda, no alternation in color of bricks. Top few rows is one color, the bottom colors is a different color. This from the beginning when adding the ‘brick’ texture.
Andrew Price

07. Jun, 2009

Hi guys,
In regards to the problem with the brick color altercation, can someone please upload a screenshot to imageshack? I’m having trouble understanding what it looks like.

Failing that, have you tried comparing your settings with what was in the blend file I provided?
Doda

08. Jun, 2009

Hi Andrew,

I just create the plane and ad some brick texture and it shows our problem.

http://www.quicksnapper.com/dodaferrari/image/untitled

Thanks man
Andrew Price

08. Jun, 2009

Thanks Doda

O_o
I just re-created your screenshot on my machine and it works fine: http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/3328/bricks.jpg

All the settings are exactly the same so I’m not sure why they are different. Perhaps it’s a bug?

What version of Python are you using? I take it you are using Blender 2.49?
Doda

08. Jun, 2009

Im downloading the 2.6.2 python and the 2.49 blender, i was using the 2.48a…
Doda

08. Jun, 2009

Nothing yet…

http://www.quicksnapper.com/dodaferrari/image/brickbug

=/
Doda

08. Jun, 2009

The strange thing is it happens here at home(intel allum imac) and at my work(ppc white imac) too. They are both with the ultimate updates…
FloridaJo

08. Jun, 2009

Hello Andrew,
I’ve got a screen shot of the layered bricks over at blender Artists on that forum.
I’ve got MacPython 2.5 and Blender 2.49.
Not sure how to tell what Blender Python I have installed.
Mike

08. Jun, 2009

Click on Help menu then first choice ‘about Blender’ and don’t move the mouse or the splash screen will disappear. The top of that splash screen tells you the version.

I got it all to work fine. I’m away from my home computer right now and can’t pull up the blender file to see what issue you all are having. Did everyone who was having that issue continue to the end? Can you post a blend file on some server that we can look at?

Hope to help out somehow..
FloridaJo

08. Jun, 2009

I know how to find the Blender Version, but there is a Blender with self contained Python and another that uses the system Python. As far as I understand.
Anyway, here is my blend file with the brick texture.
http://www.godintechnologies.com/blender/TextureNodes.blend
Mike

08. Jun, 2009

OK I tested your blend file and it is showing the correct brick pattern. I am using Blender ver 2.49 which I got directly from blender.org and python 2.54 which I got directly from python.org.

So it seems it isn’t a procedural error but more likely a bug or version error.
FloridaJo

08. Jun, 2009

@Mike. Are you using a PC or Mac?
Mike

08. Jun, 2009

I’m using a PC so maybe it’s a problem being that I believe you implied you were using mac.
FloridaJo

08. Jun, 2009

Possible. It was recommended to me to use the MacPython 2.5 and not install Python 2.5 over it. Oh well.
Ricjyblender

09. Jun, 2009

I just look at some textures from
Aqsis for stones surfaces

i think it would be nice to get similar effects in blender
to produce nice 3D effects for different surfaces

also i think Fahartay in CUBA did something with nodes textures to produce some nice Stone smoke fire
if i remember well – is it possible to incldue theses in blender 2.49
it would add another level of texturing to blender

happy blendering
FloridaJo

09. Jun, 2009

I just checked on the brick texture not alternating on Macs and it appears it has been reported as a bug. Bug #18865.
Just thought you might like to know.
rickyblender

10. Jun, 2009

would ibe possible to have another sample file doing some large architectural stone faces

dimensions around 1 meter X 0.6 X 0.6
and inclujding the use of normal map for the texure like the one done for the brick wall

i tried to do one but no normal on the render ?

wold be nice to see now to do this with text nodes

Thanks
webhawk50

14. Jun, 2009

Excellent tutorial. Thanks for a really nice intro to texture nodes. Much appreciated!
FunkyDude

20. Jun, 2009

Thanks for the tutorial. I also like the tut on how to make grass.

here’s my wall, ignore the crappy lamps

http://www.webkitstudio.com/blender3d/NODE_BRICKS.jpg
LucasBruel

20. Jun, 2009

how did you do the nodes for the shinig litghs? sorry, but i’m brazilian and i don’t speak english very well…
simon.void

02. Jul, 2009

i used the brick and checker pattern in my Sam&Max WIP (http://blendpolis.de/a/sam_max-render_13472.jpg). And i have a problem with the apparently low resolution of these patterns. You just see the pixels. How can i change that?
(brick pattern on the wall, checker pattern in fron of the door)

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