Adjustments
The Adjustments section of the Simple PBR Layering panel provides operators for fine-tuning individual PBR channels and for correcting or combining normal maps.
Channel Adjustments
Each channel adjustment appends a small node group to the material that gives you a non-destructive control knob for that channel's output.
| Adjustment | Affected Channel | Controls |
|---|---|---|
| Base Color | Base Color | Hue, Saturation, Value, Brightness, Contrast |
| Roughness | Roughness | Min, Max (remaps the 0–1 range) |
| Metallic | Metallic | Min, Max |
| Displacement | Displacement / Height | Scale, Midlevel |
Normal Map Operations
Normal map handling is one of the most error-prone parts of PBR material setup. The operators below cover the most common corrections and combinations you will need.
All normal operations are available in the Adjustments → Normal submenu.
Flip Y — DirectX ↔ OpenGL Conversion
Inverts the green (Y) channel of a normal map. This converts between DirectX-style normals (used in UE, Unity, and most game engines) and OpenGL-style normals (used by Blender internally).
When to use: Any time a normal map looks inverted, or when you are using a texture that came from a DCC tool or engine that exports DirectX normals.
Note
When you import a texture with the _nor_dx suffix, a Flip Y node is applied automatically.
Flip X — Horizontal Mirror
Inverts the red (X) channel of a normal map, mirroring the fine surface detail horizontally.
When to use: When a normal map is mirrored relative to its mesh — common when UV islands have been flipped.
Rotate Normal
Rotates the normal map by a specified angle (in degrees). Useful when a tiled normal map's grain or brushed direction does not align with the intended orientation on the mesh.
Combine Normals — Whiteout Method
Blends two normal maps together using the Whiteout combination method. This is a mathematically correct blend that preserves the strength of both normals, unlike a simple linear mix.
When to use: Layering a detail normal map over a base normal map — for example, adding fabric weave on top of a clothing base normal.
Combine Normals — RNM (Reoriented Normal Mapping)
An alternative combination method that better preserves normal directions when the two maps have significantly different orientations. Generally preferred over Whiteout for large-angle differences.
When to use: Combining normals from surfaces with very different base orientations, such as a decal normal applied to a curved surface.
Normal to Cavity
Derives a grayscale cavity mask from a normal map by extracting the concave areas. The result can be used as a grunge mask, an AO substitute, or fed into the Roughness or Specular channel.
When to use: When you have a detailed normal map but no baked AO or cavity texture, and want to add subtle shading variation in crevices.
Normal Noise
Adds a layer of procedural noise on top of an existing normal map to break up overly clean or repetitive surfaces.
When to use: Adding micro-surface roughness to surfaces that look too smooth or plasticky at close range.
Working with Blend Groups
The Blend section creates a node group that mixes two complete texture sets together using a mask input. This is the recommended way to layer materials non-destructively.
Typical workflow:
- Import your base texture set.
- Import a second texture set (e.g. a wet or dirty variant).
- Click Create Blend in the Blend section.
- Plug a mask (e.g. a Curvature Mask or Position Mask) into the blend group's Factor input.