How to Make Rocks with VRayTriplanarTex

This tutorial covers the standard setup for using the VRayTriplanarTex texture node to create rocks. Here, we use stone-shaped geometries with a VRayMtl assigned to them. With the help of the VRayTriplanarTex node we will map our textures seamlessly. For more information on the node itself, see the VRayTriplanarTex page.

Let’s create a VRayMtl and assign it to the stone geometries. Name it Rock for ease of use.

Then, create a file texture map and load a stone image. Link it to the Diffuse Color map slot of the VRayMtl.

Plug in additional necessary textures (Normal Map and Reflection Glossiness Map).

Set the Reflection Color to gray. Darker shades of gray make the rock look less reflective, while brighter shades of gray achieve a shinier/wet rock.

Here's the result. We can further adjust the texture with the help of a VRayTriplanarTex.

Now, create a VRayTriplanarTex texture and link the Diffuse texture to its Texture X map slot. Then link the VRayTriplanrTex to the Diffuse map slot of the VRayMtl. Repeat this step with the other two file textures and link their VRayTriplanarTex nodes to the respective slots in the VRayMtl.

The VRayTriplanarTex eliminates the need to fix the UV mapping of the stone geometry and the misalignments at the UV map’s edges, caused by lack of or bad unwrapping.

Here, each VRayTriplanartex has only one texture pugged in, so keep the Texture mode of the VRayTriplanarTex set to Same texture on all axes. When using more than one texture, it projects them along each axis when the Texture mode is Different texture on each axis.

Adjust the Scale parameter of the VRayTriplanarTex textures. Use the same values for all three VRayTriplanarTex textures.

In our case, we can leave the Blend amount at its default value. Changing it could give better results in other cases (e.g. when using more than one texture), making the transition between the used textures smoother.