Thread by @tech_art_tyler

Getting the most out of your grayscale noise textures.

Thread 2 - Balance

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#vfx #techart #gamedev #indiedev #realtimevfx
@polycount

In my previous thread I shared information about texture consistency and the importance of utilizing the full range of 8-bit values.

https://twitter.com/tech_art_tyler/status/1566521114914074625?s=20&t=NDvL-LKbWWfrXgfJMZuRfQ

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This thread focuses on the balance and evaluation of values distributed in a texture, which can be equally important when building versatile noise libraries.

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I want to note again that all of this is information is generalized, and your needs may differ.

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One of the most common examples of an unbalanced texture is when values are distributed in a way that clamps or constrains them towards the lowest and/or highest values (0.0 and 1.0)

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Here are two examples that depict this issue. Both use the full range of 8-bit values, but are arbitrarily clamped toward either end.

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This limits the potential uses of a texture because the clamped regions are essentially hardcoded to a single state and do not hold any additional information to interact with inside of a material.

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With a balanced texture you have much more freedom in defining how all regions of the texture get utilized.

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More often than not, these clamped value regions end up being small, and without additional visualizers they are nearly impossible to spot.

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First, lets have a look at the histogram view. This can be great for understanding the broad balance of values that exist throughout a texture.

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Although, while creating noise textures in 16 bit mode, you are looking at a distribution of 62415 values, which can be difficult to parse in understanding clamped regions given the density of information.

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Another useful technique is to scrub through the values, highlighting distribution percentages. Here is an example of this using Histogram Scan in Substance Designer.

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Both of these options have their place in evaluating the state of a texture, but neither give a full view of how all the values exist next to each other at the same time.

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To gain additional visibility, you can utilize color gradient curves that describe a lot more about the texture as a whole.

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Here we see a standard heat map gradient, showing value distribution that is otherwise difficult to see in grayscale.

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Next we have a quadrant gradient. This helps see how grouped percentages of value take up space in the texture.

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Third, we have a endpoint gradient. This highlights regions as they near or reach either a value of 0.0 or 1.0.

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Each of these are similar in concept, but together, quickly aid in evaluating the balance of values in any noise texture.

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In my next thread, I'll be covering some tools and processes to create custom noise textures within Substance Designer, along with a more substantial pack of free content.

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Correction for [11/19] :

16 bit has 65536 values! Not sure where 62415 came from..