I’m running into a strange rendering issue with Karma CPU in Houdini 21.0.631 when enabling both the AO and Smooth Normal AOVs at the same time.
When I render with only the Smooth Normal AOV enabled, the result appears correct. However, as soon as I enable the AO AOV alongside it, noticeable jagged / staircase-like artifacts appear in the Smooth Normal AOV. The Smooth Normal AOV also appears slightly brighter compared to the result rendered without the AO AOV enabled.
For testing, I’m using Houdini’s built-in “Noise Sampler” example scene, so the issue should be relatively easy to reproduce.
Has anyone encountered similar behavior with Karma CPU in Houdini 21.0.631, or is this a known issue when using the AO and Smooth Normal AOVs together?
Thanks!
beauty_render
normal_artifact
normal_correct