Houdini 22.0 Nodes Geometry nodes

Labs Impostor Baker 1.0 geometry node

Generates impostor texture atlases from geometry.

Since 22.0

This node captures a mesh from multiple viewing angles and bakes the result into texture atlases for use in real-time engines and lightweight rendering workflows.

Impostors are commonly used for distant vegetation, rocks, props, and other assets where full geometry would be too expensive to render. The node generates sprite-based representations of the source geometry along with supporting maps such as normals and base color.

Different impostor capture modes are available depending on whether the asset should be viewed from all directions, only from above, or as a turntable-style billboard.

Note

This node replaces Labs Impostor Texture OUT, Labs Impostor Camera Rig OBJ, Labs Octahedron Lens SHOP, and Labs Turntable Lens SHOP which will be removed in Houdini 24.0.

Parameters

Source

Source Geometry

Defines where the geometry used for impostor baking is sourced from.

Input Geometry: Uses geometry connected to the node input.

Object Path: Uses geometry from the specified scene object.

Object

Object path used when sourcing geometry from the scene.

Source Texture

Optional texture applied to the source geometry during baking.

Texture

Impostor Type

Controls how viewing angles are captured for the impostor atlas.

Full Sphere: Captures the asset from all directions around the sphere.

Upper Hemisphere: Captures only upper viewing angles.

Turntable: Captures horizontal rotation only.

Resolution

Output texture resolution for the generated atlases.

Frames XY

Number of capture frames arranged horizontally and vertically in the atlas.

Visualize

Map

Selects which generated map is displayed in the viewport preview.

BaseColor: Displays the baked base color atlas.

Normal: Displays the baked normal atlas.

Show Grid

Displays the atlas tile grid in the viewport preview.

Show Guides

Displays the cameras as guides in the viewport.

Output

Output File

Output path for the atlas textures.

Base Color Map

Enables generation of the base color atlas.

Base Color Map

Output layer name for the base color atlas texture.

Normals Map

Enables generation of the normal atlas.

Normal Map

Output layer name for the normal atlas texture.

Render

Generates and writes the impostor atlases to disk.

See also

Geometry nodes