Texture Nodes

Article
08/20/2012

In the Shader Designer, texture nodes sample various texture types and geometries, and produce or transform texture coordinates. Textures provide color and lighting detail on objects.

Texture node reference

Node	Details	Properties
Cubemap Sample	Takes a color sample from a cubemap at the specified coordinates. You can use a cubemap to provide color detail for reflection effects, or to apply to a spherical object a texture that has less distortion than a 2-D texture. Input: UVW: float3 A vector that specifies the location on the texture cube where the sample is taken. The sample is taken where this vector intersects the cube. Output: Output: float4 The color sample.	Texture The texture register that's associated with the sampler.
Normal Map Sample	Takes a normal sample from a 2-D normal map at the specified coordinates You can use a normal map to simulate the appearance of additional geometric detail on the surface of an object. Normal maps contain packed data that represents a unit vector instead of color data Input: UV: float2 The coordinates where the sample is taken. Output: Output: float3 The normal sample.	Axis Adjustment The factor that's used to adjust the handedness of the normal map sample. Texture The texture register that's associated with the sampler.
Pan UV	Pans the specified texture coordinates as a function of time. You can use this to move a texture or normal map across the surface of an object. Input: UV: float2 The coordinates to pan. Time: float The length of time to pan by, in seconds. Output: Output: float2 The panned coordinates.	Speed X The number of texels that are panned along the x axis, per second. Speed Y The number of texels that are panned along the y axis, per second.
Parallax UV	Displaces the specified texture coordinates as a function of height and viewing angle. The effect this creates is known as parallax mapping, or virtual displacement mapping. You can use it to create an illusion of depth on a flat surface. Input: UV: float2 The coordinates to displace. Height: float The heightmap value that's associated with the UV coordinates. Output: Output: float2 The displaced coordinates.	Depth Plane The reference depth for the parallax effect. By default, the value is 0.5. Smaller values lift the texture; larger values sink it into the surface. Depth Scale The scale of the parallax effect. This makes the apparent depth more or less pronounced. Typical values range from 0.02 to 0.1.
Rotate UV	Rotates the specified texture coordinates around a central point as a function of time. You can use this to spin a texture or normal map on the surface of an object. Input: UV: float2 The coordinates to rotate. Time: float The length of time to pan by, in seconds. Output: Output: float2 The rotated coordinates.	Center X The x coordinate that defines the center of rotation. Center Y The y coordinate that defines the center of rotation. Speed The angle, in radians, by which the texture rotates per second.
Texture Coordinate	The texture coordinates of the current pixel. The texture coordinates are determined by interpolating among the texture coordinate attributes of nearby vertices. You can think of this as the position of the current pixel in texture space. Output: Output: float2 The texture coordinates.	None
Texture Dimensions	Outputs the width and height of a 2-D texture map. You can use the texture dimensions to consider the width and height of the texture in a shader. Output: Output: float2 The width and height of the texture, expressed as a vector. The width is stored in the first element of the vector. The height is stored in the second element.	Texture The texture register that's associated with the texture dimensions.
Texel Delta	Outputs the delta (distance) between the texels of a 2-D texture map. You can use the texel delta to sample neighboring texel values in a shader. Output: Output: float2 The delta (distance) from a texel to the next texel (moving diagonally in the positive direction), expressed as a vector in normalized texture space. You can derive the positions of all neighboring texels by selectively ignoring or negating the U or V coordinates of the delta.	Texture The texture register that's associated with the texel delta.
Texture Sample	Takes a color sample from a 2-D texture map at the specified coordinates. You can use a texture map to provide color detail on the surface of an object. Input: UV: float2 The coordinates where the sample is taken. Output: Output: float4 The color sample.	Texture The texture register that's associated with the sampler.