Extension Pack for MARI

• Where to find it:

• Main Window / Layers / Mask Shelf / Procedurals Tab

• NodeGraph / Right Mouse Click / Masks / Mask Shelf / Procedurals Tab

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• Node Overview
• Node Properties
• Global Adjustment
• Base Texture
• Scatter Texture

• Tips
• Seam Removal

The Scatter on Top Presets come as either 2D (UV Based) or Triplanar Versions.

They allow you to specify a Base Texture and add additional details on top via a texture scatter algorithm.

By ..

• double-clicking on the Node (Mari 4.2)
• CTRL+ double-clicking on the Node (Mari 4.5 and higher)

.. you will get to its Node Properties and open the group to see the internal wiring of the node.

You can get back to your Main Nodegraph by switching back to the 'Root' Tab at the top of the Nodegraph.

The Subgraph of the 'Scatter on Top' preset.

The Global Adjustment Group sets global settings for Texture Scale and Triplanar Settings (in the Triplanar Version of the Node).

• Invert

Inverts the entire result of the Node

• Balance

Shift the Balance of the result of the Node towards Black or White.

Balance works like a level effect where the midpoint is moved towards either black or white.

• Contrast

Contrast the result of the Node with a contrast pivot of 0.5

• Brightness

Change the Brightness of the result of the Node by adding or subtracting a value.

• Global Texture Size

Changes the Texture Size of both the Base Texture as well as the Scatter Texture

• Triplanar Jitter Intensity

Jitter will make the edges of projections less uniform/straight.

The Jitter Intensity determines the amplitude of the the Jitter.

• Triplanar Jitter Size

Determines the Scale of the Noise used to randomize the Normals of the Object

Example of Edge Jitter Turned off (left) and on (right)

• Triplanar Jitter Size

Determines the Scale of the Noise used to randomize the Normals of the Object

• Triplanar Contrast

Determines the falloff of the Triplanar projection and how the three sides of a triplanar blend together.

• Triplanar Fill Color

Sets the Fill Color for the Triplanar Projection, before any Projection is done.

This is useful to completely fill a mask with Black to avoid semi-transparent pixels caused by an incorrect Triplanar Contrast.

The Base Texture Group provides control over the Background Texture

• Texture

Specifies the Background Texture to be used

• Invert

Inverts the Background Texture.

Inversion is done after Balance, Contrast ans Brightness have been computed.

• Balance

Shifts the Balance of the Background Texture more towards black or white.

Balance works like a level effect where the midpoint is moved towards either black or white.

• Contrast

Contrasts the Background Texture around a Midpoint of 0.5

• Brightness

Brightens the Background Texture after all computation by adding or subtracting the value specified here to it.

• Scale Ratio

The Scale Ratio Attribute is a multiplier against both the UV Repeat of the Base Texture as well as the Global Texture Scale in the Global Adjustment Group.

It is useful to always maintain a consistent scale relationship between the Base Texture and Scatter Texture Group (e.g. Base Texture should always be twice the size of scattered features)

• UV Repeat

The Amount of Repetitions of the Base Texture. 

• U Repeat

The Amount of horizontal repetitions of the Base Texture. 

The Value is multiplied against the U Value of the UV Repeat.

• V Repeat

The Amount of vertical repetitions of the Base Texture. 

The Value is multiplied against the V Value of the UV Repeat.

• Rotation

The Rotation of the Base Texture. 

• Seed

The Seed applies a random offset to the Base Texture

The Scatter Texture Group controls the settings of the Foreground Texture Bombing of the Node

• Opacity

Controls the Opacity of the Scatter Layer over the Base Texture

• Blend Mode

Controls the Blend Mode used to add the Scatter Layer to the Base Texture

• Blending

Allows you to switch between normal Blending and Advanced Blending.

For more information refer to the Advanced Blend Mode Section of the Mari Help

• Over

If Blending is set to Advanced, the Over Attribute allows you to Mask the Scatter Texture based on its Values.

For more information refer to the Advanced Blend Mode Section of the Mari Help.

• Base

If Blending is set to Advanced, the Base Attribute allows you to Mask the Scatter Texture based on values of the Base Texture.

For more information refer to the Advanced Blend Mode Section of the Mari Help.

• Texture

Specify the Scatter texture

• Invert

Inverts the Scatter Texture.

Inversion is done after Balance, Contrast ans Brightness have been computed.

• Balance

Shifts the Balance of the Scatter Texture more towards black or white.

Balance works like a level effect where the midpoint is moved towards either black or white.

• Contrast

Contrasts the Scatter Texture around a Midpoint of 0.5

• Brightness

Brightens the Scatter Texture after all computation by adding or subtracting the value specified here to it.

• Edge Falloff 

Applies a Transparency Falloff to each Scatter Cell.

• Edge Jitter Size

Jitter the edges of each scattered cell

• Scale Ratio

The Scale Ratio Attribute is a multiplier against both the Amount of the Scatter Texture as well as the Global Texture Scale in the Global Adjustment Group.

It is useful to always maintain a consistent scale relationship between the Base Texture and Scatter Texture Group (e.g.Scattered Texture should always be twice the size of Base Texture )

• Amount Multiplier

A multiplier on the amount of Cells generated. Each cell is processed independently with the given settings (Position, Rotation etc. etc.)

• Scale

A uniform scale factor.

• Random Scale

Mix Factor for uniform scale randomization.

Positive Values (0 - 1) will reduce the size of the cells randomly.

Positive Values (0 - 1) will increase the size of the cells randomly.

• Size X

The horizontal size of each cell

• Size Y

The vertical size of each cell

• Position Random X/Y

Randomly offset the Cell Positions along X and Y.

• Rotation Random

Applies a random rotation to Cells

• Mask Random

Randomly hides Cells

• Cell Blend Mode

The Blend Mode used to combine cells between each other.

• Scatter Background

The Color used to fill the Scatter Texture Background by default

• Random Seed

By modifying the Random Seed, different looks can be achieved with the otherwise same settings. 

• Layer Cutoff

The Layer Cutoff determines the number of iterations and radius around each cell the node runs through before it stops calculating.

If you are experiencing Seams this might be the reason

To better understand this behavior and to anticipate consider this:

• By default each cell is generated in a grid pattern at a scale of 1.
• Each cell has an internal position of 0.0 for its own coordinate system

If you change the position of a cell from its original position of 0.0/0.0 the Layer Cutoff needs to be increased

for a wider sample radius. So for example 

• adding a Random Position Value of 1.0/1.0 means we need to sample up to 1 additional cell around the original cell.
• We need to increase the Layer Cutoff to at least 2

• adding a Random Position Value of 2.0/2.0 means we need to sample up to 2 additional cell around the original cell.
• We need to increase the Layer Cutoff to at least 3

If you change the scale of a cell from its original scale of 1.0  the Layer Cutoff needs to be increased

for a wider sample radius. So for example 

• Changing the Scale to 2 means we need to sample 1 additional cell around the original cell.
• We need to increase the Layer Cutoff to at least 2

• Changing the Scale to 4 means we need to sample 3 additional cell around the original cell.
• We need to increase the Layer Cutoff to at least 4

If you are seeing seams in your pattern try raising the Layer Cutoff