Comparing to Maya's Hypershade, where you have all these nodes for adjusting a texture's HSV (Hue Saturation and Value), levels, gamma, curves, brightness and contrast etc.

Does Houdini have any equivalents in the /mat context?

I see all the nodes in /img, but does that mean I will have to leave /mat and adjust my textures in /img or is there a way to keep things inside the /mat context?


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Or is the correct/intended workflow that you work with your textures over in /img and then bring them into your shader via op:img/img1/null1"?

There's a color correction node, but generally you are on your own. You can do any kind of math in vops, so gamma is a power function, levels is fit range, hsv corrections can be done by using rbgtohsv, modifying in that space, and then using hsvtorgb to go back again. Curves could be done using a ramp parameter, but probably isn't exactly the interface you are looking for.

I find I can get what I'm after with the basic building blocks of shading, add, multiply, fit range, power, log, exp, and the occasional transformation to an alternate color space to perform the adjustment using the color transform node.

Give the color correction node a try, as it performs most of the basic operations, excluding curves and levels.

Here is how you could set up some color corrections right inside /mat context.

Thanks jsmack!

Yes, the color correction node should be a good start…

That takes me to the next logical progression:

I normally (for the 2 minutes I have been using Houdini) plug my textures in inside the Principled Shader. To add the effects of a color correction node (or a similar type node), wouldn't I need to have my textures exist inside of a separate node upstream from the Principled Shader in order to insert the color correction node in between them?

What I mean is, is there a way to make a color correct node affect the loaded textures inside a Principled Shader?

Thanks Konstantin Magnus. Maybe a tad above my (current) level.

marque_pierre
To add the effects of a color correction node (or a similar type node), wouldn't I need to have my textures exist inside of a separate node upstream from the Principled Shader in order to insert the color correction node in between them?

Yes. The work flow is similar to a hypershade workflow, in that you read a texture with a surface color or texture node, apply modifications, and connect the modified color to the desired input on the principled shader.

marque_pierre
What I mean is, is there a way to make a color correct node affect the loaded textures inside a Principled Shader?

The textures are multiplied by the corresponding parameter values, and there is texture tint strength (which blends with white), but that is about the extent of color correction possible on the principled shader. It is possible to edit the shader if you right click on the node and select, “Allow Editing of Contents”. This will allow injection of any edits you want.