Houdini 21.0 Nodes Compositing nodes

Labs Normal From Grayscale compositing node

Convert a Grayscale Image Into a Normal Map

Converting a grayscale image into a normal map is a common task in Game Development.

Note

Similar functionality exists in the Gradient COP, but we found that the discoverability wasn’t high enough and it justified a standalone node.

This node aids in that tasks with a few different options.

Parameters

Strength

Modulates the intensity of the normal resulting normal map.

Blur Strength

Additional blurring that can be used to fake beveling in the normal map

Flip X

Invert the Red Channel

Flip Y

Invert the Green Channel, useful in case your renderer is expecting a different type of normal map.

Compositing nodes

  • Add

    Adds two images together.

  • Anaglyph

    Creates an anaglyph from a pair of input images.

  • Atop

    Composites the first input (Foreground) over the second (background), but only where the background alpha exists.

  • Average

    Averages the foreground image and the background image.

  • Blend

    Blends frames from two sequences together using a simple linear blend.

  • Blur

    Blurs an image.

  • Border

    Adds a border to the image.

  • Bright

    Applies a brightness factor and bright shift to the first input.

  • Bump

    Builds a bump map from a plane.

  • COP generators

  • Channel Copy

    Copy channels from any of inputs into the output image.

  • Chromakey

    Mask or key an image based on its color.

  • Color

    Creates a constant color image.

  • Color Correct

    Applies a variety of color corrections to the image

  • Color Curve

    Adjusts the R,G,B and/or A channels based on a user-defined curve.

  • Color Map

    Maps a range of color to a new range.

  • Color Replace

    Replace a color region in an image with another region.

  • Color Wheel

    Generates a simple HSV color wheel.

  • Composite

    Does a composite (over, under, inside, add, etc) between two images.

  • Contrast

    Increases or decreases the contrast of an image.

  • Convert

    Changes the data format of a plane.

  • Convolve

    Performs a generic convolve on the source image.

  • Corner Pin

    Fits an image into an arbitrary quadrilateral.

  • Corner Ramp

    Generates a four corner ramp.

  • Crop

    Crops an image and changes its resolution.

  • Cryptomatte

    Extracts matte from Cryptomatte image.

  • DSM Flatten

    Flattens a Deep Shadow/Camera Map into a flat 2D raster.

  • Defocus

    Defocuses an image similar to a real camera defocus.

  • Deform

    Deforms an image by moving the underlying UV coordinates.

  • Degrain

    Removes film grain from an image.

  • Deinterlace

    De-interlaces a frame of video by either averaging scanlines or copying a scanline.

  • Delete

    Removes planes or components from an input sequence.

  • Denoise

    Removes white noise from an image.

  • Denoise AI

    Uses machine-learning algorithms to denoise images with high quality and speed.

  • Depth Darken

    Darkens depth boundaries in an image.

  • Depth of Field

    Creates a depth-of-field mask, which describes how out of focus parts of the image are.

  • Diff

    Computes the difference between the foreground image and the background image.

  • Dilate/Erode

    Expands and shrinks mattes.

  • Drop Shadow

    Creates a blurred shadow offset of an image.

  • Edge Blur

    Blurs the edges of an image.

  • Edge Detect

    Detects edges in the input image.

  • Emboss

    Adds a lighting effect to the image by using a bump map.

  • Environment

    Applies an environment map to an image.

  • Equalize

    Equalizes colors by stretching or shifting the image histogram.

  • Error Function Table Generator

    Creates an image containing precomputed error function terms for hair albedo computation

  • Expand

    Expands and shrinks mattes.

  • Extend

    Extends the length of a sequence so that it can be animated beyond its frame range.

  • Extract

    Extracts a plane or channel from a multi-plane source.

  • Extrapolate Boundaries

    Fills empty areas of an image using the colors at the edges the non-empty areas.

  • Fetch

    Fetches a sequence of images from another COP, even in another network.

  • Field Merge

    Merges two fields into one Interlaced Frame.

  • Field Split

    Splits an interlaced frame into two fields per frame (odd and even fields).

  • Field Swap

    Swaps the two fields containing the even and odd scanlines of the frame.

  • File

    Loads image files into Houdini.

  • Flip

    Flips the image horizontally and/or vertically.

  • Fog

    Adds a variety of atmospheric effects to an image, including fog, haze and heat waves.

  • Font

    Renders anti-aliased text.

  • Front Face

    Cleans up flipped normals by making them face the camera.

  • Function

    Performs a variety of mathematical functions on the input image.

  • Gamma

    Applies gamma correction to the image.

  • Geokey

    Keys out parts of the image based on pixel position or normal direction.

  • Geometry

    Renders geometry from a SOP as a single color image.

  • Gradient

    Computes the gradient of an image.

  • Grain

    Adds grain to an image.

  • HSV

    Converts between RGB and HSV color spaces, or applies hue and saturation modifications.

  • Hue Curve

    Adjusts the saturation or luminance of the image based on hue.

  • Illegal Pixel

    Detects illegal pixels, like NAN and INF, in images.

  • Inside

    Restricts the foreground color to the area of the background’s alpha matte.

  • Interleave

    Interleaves image sequences.

  • Invert

    Applies a photographic pixel inversion to the image.

  • Labs Attribute Import

    Imports geometry attributes as image planes using a UV attribute

  • Labs Blackbody

    Generates a blackbody ramp, or colorizes a black and white image with a blackbody ramp

  • Labs Demosaic

    Converts a single mosaic (flipbook/subuv) image into a sequence of sub images based on the frame

  • Labs Grid Texture

    Generates a texture that can be used as a simple resolution checkerboard

  • Labs Normal Color

    Simple Helper Node to generate the default Normal Color

  • Labs Normal Combine

    A Simple Node That Overlays 2 Normal Maps together

  • Labs Normal From Grayscale

    Convert a Grayscale Image Into a Normal Map

  • Labs Normal Invert

    Invert individual channels on an image

  • Labs Normal Levels

    Adjusts black point, white point, and midrange to increase, balance, or decrease contrast on a Normal Map.

  • Labs Normal Rotate

    Rotates a Normal Map while correcting recalculating it’s internal vectors

  • Labs Normalize Normal

    Ensures the normal map is balanced in a unit vector

  • Labs Substance Archive

    Load Substance Archive (SBSAR) Files into COPs

  • Layer

    Layers a series of inputs together by compositing them one by one on the background image (input 1).

  • Levels

    Adjusts black point, white point, and midrange to increase, balance, or decrease contrast.

  • Lighting

    Adds a light to the image.

  • Limit

    Limits the pixel range at the high end, low end or both.

  • Lookup

    Applies a lookup table to the input.

  • Luma Matte

    Sets the alpha to the luminance of the color.

  • Lumakey

    Keys the image based on luminance (or similar function).

  • Mask

    Masks out an area of an image.

  • Max

    Outputs the maximum value of the foreground and background images for each pixel, which tends to lighten the image.

  • Median

    Applies a 3 x 3 or 5 x 5 median filter to the input image.

  • Merge

    Merges the planes of several inputs together.

  • Metadata

    Applies metadata to an image sequence.

  • Min

    Outputs the minimum value of the foreground and background images for each pixel, which tends to darken the image.

  • Mono

    Converts a color or vector into a scalar quantity, like luminance or length.

  • Mosaic

    Takes a sequence of images and combines them into 1 image by tiling them.

  • Multiply

    Multiplies the foreground image with the background image.

  • Noise

    Generates continuous noise patterns.

  • Null

    Does nothing.

  • Outside

    Restricts the foreground color to the area outside of the background’s alpha matte.

  • Over

    Composites the first input (Foreground) over the second (background).

  • Pixel

    Modifies an image’s pixels using expressions.

  • Premultiply

    Allows colour to be converted to or from a premultiplied form.

  • Pulldown

    Performs a pulldown (cine-expand) on the input sequence.

  • Pushup

    Performs a pushup (cine-expand) on the input sequence.

  • Quantize

    Quantizes input data into discrete steps.

  • ROP File Output

    Renders frames out to disk.

  • Radial Blur

    Does a radial or angular blur.

  • Ramp

    Generates a variety of linear and radial ramps, which are fully keyframable.

  • Reference

    Copies the sequence information from its input.

  • Rename

    Change the name a plane.

  • Render

    Renders a mantra output driver directly into a composite network.

  • Reverse

    Simply reverses the frames in the sequence.

  • Rotoshape

    Draws one or more curves or shapes.

  • SOP Import

    Imports a 2d Volume from SOPs as planes into a composite network.

  • Scale

    Changes the resolution of the image.

  • Screen

    Adds two images together, saturating at white like photographic addition.

  • Sequence

    Sequences two or more inputs end to end.

  • Shape

    Generates simple shapes, such as circles, stars and regular N-sided polygons.

  • Sharpen

    Sharpens an image by enhancing the contrast of edges.

  • Shift

    Shifts an image sequence in time.

  • Shuffle

    Shuffle frames around to do out-of-order editing.

  • Sky Environment Map

    Creates sky and ground images for use as environment maps.

  • Snip

    Either removes frames from a sequence or allows you to order them in a user-defined order.

  • Streak Blur

    Streaks an image, adding a motion blur effect.

  • Subnetwork

    Contains networks of other COPs.

  • Subtract

    Subtracts the foreground image from the background image.

  • Switch

    Passes the input of one of its connected inputs through, acting like an exclusive switch.

  • Switch Alpha

    Replaces input 1's alpha with input 2's alpha.

  • Terrain Noise

    Generate noise suitable for terrain height maps.

  • Tile

    Tiles the image sequence with multiple copies of the input image.

  • Time Filter

    Blurs a pixel through several frames.

  • Time Machine

    Uses a second input to time warp the first input on a per pixel basis.

  • Time Scale

    Stretches or compresses a sequence in time.

  • Time Warp

    Warps time by slowing or speeding it up throughout the sequence.

  • Transform

    Translates, rotates and/or scales the input image without changing the image resolution.

  • Trim

    Trims an input sequence in time by adjusting the beginning or the end of the sequence.

  • UV Map

    Creates a UV map.

  • Under

    Composites the first input (Foreground) under the second (background).

  • Unpin

    Extracts an arbitrary quadrilateral area out of the input image.

  • VEX Filter

    Runs a VEX script on its input planes.

  • VEX Generator

    Runs a VEX script on the planes it generates.

  • VOP COP2 Filter

    Contains a VOP network that filters input image data.

  • VOP COP2 Generator

    Contains a VOP network that generates image data.

  • Vector

    Performs vector operations on the input.

  • Velocity Blur

    Blurs an image by using pixel velocity to produce a motion blur effect.

  • Window

    Cuts a small window out of a larger image.

  • Wipe

    Does a wipe between two input sequences.

  • Xor

    Makes two elements mutually exclusive; if their alpha mattes overlap, the overlap is removed.

  • Z Comp

    Does a Z composite of two images.