Displacement

The DisplacementThe process of utilizing a 2D texture map to generate 3D surface relief. As opposed to bump and normal mapping, Displacement mapping does not only provide the illusion of depth but it effectively displaces the actual geometric position of points over the textured surface. node is not connected by default. To connect a Displacement Node, change the Displacement pin type to Displacement then assign a Greyscale Image node to the Texture pin and load the displacement map. Use caution when setting the displacement amount since high amounts may cause a video card error. It is highly recommended to use 16 bit displacement maps since 8 bit maps do not provide the granularity required for high quality renders.

NOTE: You may need to adjust the ‘Kernel → Ray Epsilon’ to ensure there is no self-shadowing from displacement geometry.

Figure 1: The first cube has a white diffuse color, the second cube has the greyscale image as a diffuse to show what image is used for displacement of the third cube.

Displacement Parameters

Texture - This slot provides the Displacement map path. Displacement maps are image textures generated in programs like ZBrush, 3D Coat, Substance Designer, or Photoshop^®.

Mid Level - Defines the Displacement shift in texture value range. Set this value to 0.5 for image textures that use 50% to represent no displacement, or for images (such as 32-bit EXRs) that use black to represent no displacement, set this value to 0. If you use a digital sculpting program like ZBrush to generate Displacement, you can get the best results by setting Mid Level in the sculpting program to 0.5 when it generates Displacement, and then set the Displacement node's Mid Level value to 0.5.

Level Of Detail - Adjusts map detail quality. Higher values reduce artifacts seen in shadows cast on the Displacement surface and brings out finer details, but it increases render time.

Height - Controls Displacement strength.

Displacement Direction - Lets you choose different Displacement vectors.

Filter Type - Selects the Displacement map filter.

Filter Radius - Adjusts the number of nearest pixels to use for filtering. Higher values result in smoother Displacement maps. This parameter is valid if you enable a Box or Gaussian filter.

Note: Calculating Displacement geometry places additional GPU load. High or low Displacement values (Height) causes issues and GPUThe GPU is responsible for displaying graphical elements on a computer display. The GPU plays a key role in the Octane rendering process as the CUDA cores are utilized during the rendering process. errors. Displacement mapping emphasizes details in the scene's textural aspects rather than major features that the geometry (e.g., rugged terrains, large crevices) should provide. You can't use Displacement and a Normal map together on the same material - this results in rendering artifacts on the material. This also applies to Bump maps, but the digital artifacts are less pronounced.

← Parameters using Noise Texture for displacement.

Figure 2: For displacement the first cube has a Noise Texture and the other cubes have Greyscale Image TexturesTextures are used to add details to a surface. Textures can be procedural or imported raster files. used.

Figure 3: These cubes have a greyscale image for diffuse to show the images used for Displacement in the next figure. The Ground material has images for DiffuseAmount of diffusion, or the reflection of light photons at different angles from an uneven or granular surface. Used for dull, non-reflecting materials or mesh emitters., Bump, and SpecularAmount of specular reflection, or the mirror-like reflection of light photons at the same angle. Used for transparent materials such as glass and water..

Figure 4: These cubes have a greyscale image (shown in Figure 3) used for Displacement. The Ground material is the same as shown in Figure 3 and now a greyscale image is used for Displacement.

Tip: You can potentially reduce artefacts by increasing the "Level of Detail" and by using the "Displacement Direction" and "Filter Type" and "Radius". You will need to experiment, but Follow Smoothed Normal might seem best with a Gaussian filter.

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