Ue4 - Levels and curves node for texture adjustments?

melviso

I was wondering if there are nodes in ue4 material editor that are similar to Photoshop like the levels and curves where u can edit these nodes and it affects the textures in viewport?

sprunghunt

There is nothing like that in the material editor. 

However in the texture properties themselves there's a "adjustments" section. There's a few values in there you can adjust to do simple color  and brightness operations. 

https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-us/Engine/Content/Types/Textures/Properties

melviso

Thanks for the clarification. I was hoping for a way to only tweak textures on a material basis. If the texture properties is tweaked, it updates throughout the whole project.

sprunghunt

melviso said:

Thanks for the clarification. I was hoping for a way to only tweak textures on a material basis. If the texture properties is tweaked, it updates throughout the whole project.

You can do things within a shader that adjust adjust contrast and brightness. For example using a multiply node to darken a texture. But they're not as user friendly as anything photoshop does and it's not as efficient as having textures that look correct to start with.

melviso

@sprunghunt Agreed. I will just have to make do with what ue4 has. Thanks mate :- )

musashidan

There are functions like CheapContrast:

The CheapContrast function boosts the contrast of an input by remapping the high end of the histogram to a lower value, and the low end of the histogram to a higher one. This is similar to applying a Levels adjustment in Photoshop, and pulling the black and white flags in a bit. The user may control the degree to which the contrast is boosted.

And SCurve:

The SCurve function boosts contrast of an image by interpolating the values of each channel values of an image along an S-curve. This is similar to applying a Curves adjustment in Photoshop and setting the RGB curve to an S-curve or using the Increase Contrast (RGB) preset.

And 3 PointLevels:

The 3PointLevels function takes in an image and remaps the values of each channel across 3 points (white, black, middle). This is similar to applying a Levels adjustment in Photoshop. However, unlike the CheapContrast functions, this function provides full control in that it gives the user ability to adjust interpolation of lights, darks, and grays (gamma). By default, the three remapping points are interpolated linearly. However, you may input your own custom interpolation curve if you wish.

All these are controlled by plugging a scalar node.

melviso

@musashidan   Thanks mate. Will check them out