MATHS NODE: ROUND

This node can produces results other than one or zero. While the preview image will only ever show black or white, if you plug the results of a rounding that produces a higher number into another node, the wider range of results will be passed on. To see this, create a cloud node, seting the colours to Black and White. Plug that into the Value_1 input of a round node. Set Value_1 to 4. The preview image will look very bright. To see the levels of detail, we need to tone this down, so create another maths node, this time a divide node. Plug the output of the round into the input of the divide node. Set Value_1 of the divide node to one, and Value_2 to 4. The result of this will be a version of the cloud map displayed as four levels of grey. (For an interest effect, plug the original cloud map into the Value_2 input of the divide map.

This maths function can be used to create black and white masks from imagemaps, as long as the edges of the original picture are clear. This works best on images drawn on a bright white background, but can be used on those with a black background.

1. Create your maths node and set it to the Round function.
2. Create an 2D image node, and plug it into the input for Value_1.
3. Set Value_1 to 1. This should get you your mask. If there are black stripes in the mask, then increase Value_1. If the mask covers too big an area, reduce Value_1.