Displacement map results in larger object when using out alpha in Maya

#1

Hey guys,

When outputting from “Out Alpha” (on file node) to “Displacement” (on displacement node) the result is a larger sphere or cube when scaled big enough. Meaning the displacement is not working, just making the sphere larger.

When outputting from “Out Color R or G or B” (on file node) to “Displacement” (on displacement node) the displacement appears to work correctly.

Is it perfectly fine to leave the output from “Out Color R / G / B”? Why doesn’t it work when using “Out Alpha”?

FYI: My texture is just a standard free texture off textures . com My color space is set to Raw (even though it doesn’t seem to change much, except make the displacements slightly larger.)

Image example below.

example
example.jpg1000x1000 389 KB

Using Maya 2019 with Arnold.

#2

Thanks for this section and information about Maya. mypascoconnect

#3

Seems to me you’re not checking the “Alpha is luminescence” in the file node. That’s why it just makes everything bigger (because your alpha is probably just plain white and it’s displacing everything uniformly).

That explains why connecting to the R channel works, cause it’s actually picking up the displace info.