ANR Relief Surface

Overview

Relief Surface reads a height map and treats it as a surface: bright is high, dark is low. It lights that surface from one direction, adds a highlight, and can bend the image along the slopes like thick glass. The result is an embossed, plastic or glassy look.

Without a Height input, the node uses the brightness of Source, so the image looks pressed out of the page. Connect your own map to Height, such as a blurred title, a noise pattern, a texture or water ripples, to shape the surface yourself.

Relief sets how bumpy the surface is and Detail Radius how fine the bumps are. Distortion bends the image along the slopes; set it to 0 to shade without distortion.

Inputs

1. Sourcerequired

   The image to shade and distort.

2. Heightoptional

   A height map: bright is high. Height Channel chooses whether its luminance, alpha or red is read. Without it, the node reads Source.

3. Maskoptional

   Limits the effect: where its alpha is black, Source passes through unchanged.

Output. The shaded and distorted Source, premultiplied, with the same bounding box as Source.

Quick start

1. Add ANR Relief Surface after the image. With nothing in Height, it embosses the image by its own brightness.
2. For a shape of your own, connect a map to Height and set Height Channel. For a bevelled title, use a blurred copy of the text with Height Channel set to Alpha.
3. Set Relief for the depth of the bumps, and Detail Radius: small for fine texture, larger for broad, smooth forms.
4. Place the light with Light Azimuth (0 from the right, 90 from above) and Light Elevation (lower values give raking light).
5. Shape the shine with Highlight and Gloss, and tint it with Light Color.
6. Set Distortion for glass-like bending, or 0 for shading only. On a full-frame plate, set Outside Source to Clamp or Mirror so the edges do not pull in transparent gaps.

The panel

The node's panel as Nuke shows it, with the values of a new node. Click any control to see what it does; tabs and sections work as in Nuke.

All controls

Tips

• For a glass title over a plate: plate in Source, a slightly blurred copy of the text in Height with Height Channel set to Alpha, Distortion raised, and the text as the Mask.
• For a lit, rippling water surface, connect ANR Ripple Tank with its Distort Source at 0 to Height. Faint waves may need a Relief far above the slider: you can type larger values.
• Noise, Ramp and Radial nodes write their pattern into the alpha: read such maps with Height Channel set to Alpha.
• A low Light Elevation darkens flat areas. Raise Ambient to bring the overall brightness back.

Good to know

• Height is used at its own size and position, not fitted to Source: give it the same format.
• Luminance and Red are unpremultiplied by the map's alpha, and fully transparent areas read as the lowest height.

Works with

ANR Ripple TankWater ripples from one or two drops that spread, bounce off the frame edges and fade, as a height map or as a ripple distortion of your image.ANR Matte ReliefTurns text, a logo or any matte into a soft, rounded shape lit from one side, like gel, plastic or liquid, filled with the colours of your image.ANR Highlight BandSweeps a soft band of light across a logo, title or image, with extra light on its edges, for logo shines, glints and product reveals.ANR Noise WarpWarps the image with smooth, animated noise: heat haze, underwater wobble, dreamy distortions and liquid transitions.