Using the Height Blend or AB Compare Mask Node, you can achieve natural Blending of Values, e.g. to simulate how materials intersect with each other in nature.
Extension Pack comes with some context sensitive tools to make setting up such a mask system a quick solution:
You can achieve similar results with the Height Blend and Compare Mask Nodes. The Compare Mask is computational simplified, which makes it lighter and easier to control, while the Height Blend Node has more options to play with
Shortcut (Nodegraph Only): CTRL+ALT+H
Hotbox: C (Height Blend)
Node Context Menu: CTRL+SPACE with Multi Channel Merge Node selected
To make it easier to set up a Height Blend system between Nodegraph nodes or materials, a new 'Smart Height Blend' Option has been added.
Smart Height Blend will ...
•with two nodes selected, auto connect the nodes to the FG/BG Ports of the Height Blend and connect the result to a Mask slot of
a already connected node (e.g. Merge, Mix etc.)
•with two materials selected, auto connect the materials 'Displacement' Ports to the FG/BG Ports of the Height Blend and connect the result to a Mask slot of a already connected node (e.g. Multi-Channel Merge, Mix etc.)
•If no node is selected or only one node is selected, the standard Mari behavior is maintained.
The Smart Height Blend Option is mapped to the default Nodegraph Shortcut CTRL+ALT+H and is also available from the Create Nodes Marking Menu and the Node Context Menu of Multi Channel Merge Nodes.
Shortcut (Nodegraph Only): CTRL+ALT+M
Hotbox: C (Height Blend)
Node Context Menu: CTRL+SPACE with Multi Channel Merge Node selected
To make it easier to set up a Compare Mask system between Nodegraph nodes or materials, a new 'Smart Compare Mask" Option has been added.
Smart Compare Mask will ...
•with two nodes selected, auto connect the nodes to the A/BPorts of the Compare Mask and connect the result to a Mask slot of
a already connected node (e.g. Merge, Mix etc.)
•with two materials selected, auto connect the materials 'Displacement' Ports to the A/BPorts of the Compare Mask and connect the result to a Mask slot of a already connected node (e.g. Multi-Channel Merge, Mix etc.)
•If no node is selected or only one node is selected, the standard Mari behavior is maintained.
The Smart Compare Mask Option is mapped to the default Nodegraph Shortcut CTRL+ALT+M and is also available from the Create Nodes Marking Menu and the Node Context Menu of Multi Channel Merge Nodes.
