LogIn3D Artist OfNodesAndNoodles has released a new tool.
Check out POMegranate, an add-on created by 3D Artist OfNodesAndNoodles that easily adds Parallax Occlusion Mapping to your Blender materials. The artist previously showcased a WIP version of the tool and now presents its finished version.
Parallax Occlusion Mapping is a shader technique that creates the illusion of depth and makes simple geometry with a few vertices look high-poly and displaced. It adds depth to the materials without using extra geometry associated with displacement.
Take a look at the materials showcase:
To achieve the displacement effect, the add-on uses layers. The higher the number of layers, the smoother the effect will appear, but compile times for Eevee will also increase. Each layer reads the Height texture once, and it's preferable not to exceed 64 layers for Eeevee and about 14 for Cycles. In Eevee, 32 layers will produce proper results while performance will stay high, and compile times will remain acceptable.
Check out the POMegranate add-on applied to the Geralt model:
Before, OfNodesAndNoodles released Super Bump, another lightweight add-on for adding shadow-casting parallax occlusion to your Blender materials. According to the artist, POMegranate creates fake depth with a shader effect and no extra geometry, while Super Bump is "shell texturing" which creates layers of geometry and then uses transparency in the shader to create the depth. Check out the comparison:
The POMegranate add-on comes with several PBR sets, some of which are created by Nodes and noodles, and others are provided by Polyhaven.com.
Get the tool here and don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.