Knald Technologies Documentation

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The Main Tab

To access the general settings, click the Main Tab in the GUI. From here you can set up the way Knald performs certain actions.

The Main Tab

General

General settings

Bump Scale: The global strength of the processed Normal and Derivative maps.

Tilable: A toggle for tilable textures. Checked is tilable, unchecked is non-tilable.

Alpha: A toggle for when an Alpha Channel is present. Using an Alpha Mask will cause the masked area to be read as flat.

Flip Green: Here you can change the axis in the dropdown to match the Normal/Derivative maps for your engine or application as required. By default Knald is set to X+Y+Z+, so if you are using a normal map that differs from this configuration, you will need to change this setting. To change this setting either check the Flip Green check box or use the the dropdown menu located in The Preferences Tab to save your choice.

Load Norm/Deriv: Load a Normal or Derivative map to be processed by the Integrator.

Load Height Map:Load a Height map to be processed.

Load Color Map: Load a Color Map (Photo, Diffuse map etc.) or Height Map to be processed by Color To Normals

File Path: The file path to which the selected maps will save, as per the settings in the Export tab. By default the images will save to the Exports folder in the Knald install directory.

Export: This will export the selected maps, as per the settings in the Export tab.

Show/Hide 3D Preview Window: This button is a toggle to show or hide the 3D Preview window.

The Integrator

The Integrator is the interface that we use to adjust and refine the images that we create. Almost everything that is created within Knald needs to pass through it at some point and it settings can have a dramatic effect on almost all aspects of the program.

The Integrator

Max Iterations: The maximum possible number of iterations that the integrator will use when processing. It should be noted that this setting does not specify the exact number of iterations used, as the integrator will automatically try to find the best value which will be displayed under the Convergence Point field, but only the maximum amount of iterations that you want to be used during processing.

Cont/Deriv: This slider provides a balance between the preservation of continuity between the values of any given pixel and its neighbours and the conservation of the slope of a surface which is the derivative. The closer the slider is towards Cont:, the more continuous the values found in the resulting height map will be, whereas the closer the slider is moved towards Deriv:, the more accurately the slopes will be preserved at the expense of continuity between pixel values. We do not recommend going above a value of 90 as this can cause noise to appear in the map. A value of 80 should be perfect for most situations.

Slope Range:

Planar Rigidity: This slider is used to preserve the flatness of an imported texture and to get more consistently even values in the integrated Height map.

Enable Noise Reduction: This check box is a toggle to enable and disable noise reduction before the texture is processed through the Integrator.

Smooth: This check box is a toggle to enable and disable the smooth function before the texture is processed through the Integrator.

Scale Of Features: Use these presets when an image contains.

Normal Map/Deriv Map: The type of input used for the integrator.

Convergence Point: The best iterations value found automatically by Knald after processing an image.

Color To Normals

Color To Normals is a separate and independent mode to the main working mode found within Knald. It allows you to create Normal maps from a Height map or photograph, via our robust I/O pipeline, with full 8, 16 and 32bit (integer and float) support, which can then be converted into accurate Height, Derivative, Ambient Occlusion, Concavity and Convexity maps by updating the generated Normal map to The Integrator, which is the main working mode within Knald.

Once updated, The Integrator will analyse the Normal map and automatically convert it into said maps simultaneously, at which point you are free to export them or go back into the Color To Normals mode to continue tweaking the sliders until you are ready to update them back The Integrator.

To switch between The Integrator and Colour To Normals modes simply move a slider in the Color To Normals group. Once this is done, Knald will automatically change to the correct mode to allow you to make any changes you feel necessary.

In the Export tab, you will find a check box labelled Export Normal/Derivative from Color To Normals, which allows you to choose if you would rather export the Normal/Derivative maps in their pre or post integrated states.

This allows you to then tweak the settings to generate the desired result – all instantly viewable, non-destructive & adjustable in real-time prior to integration for near instant gratification.

Color To Normals settings

Intensity: The strength of the Normal/Derivative map, irrespective of the Bump Scale slider found in the General Tab.

Invert: Inverts the source texture..

Extra Fine: The strength of the extra fine details.

Fine: The strength of the fine details.

Medium: The strength of the medium details.

Large: The strength of the large details.

Extra Large: The strength of the extra large details.

Update Integrator: Update the current Color To Normals settings to the Integrator.

Ambient Occlusion

The Ambient Occlusion maps within Knald are generated one the fly from the Normal & Height Maps provided by The Integrator. They are adjustable in real time and produce extremely high quality and clean results that rival baked AO at 600+ rays.

Ambient Occlusion settings

AO Scale: The strength of the image based AO, irrespective of the Global Intensity slider.

Mesh AO: This check box is a toggle to enable and disable Low Poly Ambient Occlusion via an imported mesh.

Opacity: The level of opacity used when mixing the Low Poly Ambient Occlusion with the image based Ambient Occlusion.

Rays: This slider is used to determine the number of samples in a discrete evaluation of the integral across the half sphere for diffuse outgoing radiance with a constant radiance field with a minimum of 256 and maximum of 8192 rays being available. A higher number or rays will increase the quality of the Low Poly Ambient Occlusion at the cost of speed. We do not recommend going below a value of 512 rays as this can cause banding to appear in the map. A value of 1024-2048 or above should be perfect for production.

Bias: A bias value based upon mesh density. A value of 10 should be good in most situations.

Concavity Maps

Our stunning Concavity & Convexity maps can be tailored quickly and efficiently to suit your specific needs. Gone are the days of waiting for bakes to finish and then adjusting the results in an image editing application to make them usable. Optimized to be used immediately after export, adjust the results to your liking in Knald & and multiply or screen them when texturing!

Concavity settings

Blur Size: The amount of blur used on the Cavity Map. 1 is low blur, 5 is high blur.

Stabilization: The amount of image stabilization used on the Cavity Map

Cavity Scale: The strength of the cavities, irrespective of the Global Intensity slider.

Convexity Maps

Convexity settings

Blur Size: The amount of blur used on the Cavity Map. 1 is low blur, 5 is high blur.

Stabilization: The amount of image stabilization used on the Convexity Map.

Contrast: The strength of the cavities, irrespective of the Global Intensity slider.