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Use VRayDistanceTex to drive believable snow accumulation that reacts to geometry and scale with art-directable precision.
- Set up a “snow volume” object. Create a simple box or mesh that roughly encloses areas where snowfall should settle (rooftops, ledges, terrain). Keep it low-poly. This object will be referenced by VRayDistanceTex.
- Create the mask. Add VRayDistanceTex and assign your snow volume as the distance object. Set Near/Inside color to white (snow on) and Far/Outside color to black (snow off). Start with a Distance/Falloff range of 10–30 cm for architectural scale, then tune to taste.
- Blend materials. Plug the VRayDistanceTex into the mask slot of a VRayBlendMtl: Base = original material, Coat = snow material. This lets snow accumulate only where the mask is white and softly fall off at edges.
- Bias to upward-facing surfaces. Multiply the distance mask by a “facing” control so snow prefers horizontals:
- Use a Falloff/Facing Ratio node aligned to world up (Z/Y depending on DCC) so surfaces facing up get higher values.
- Multiply (or use a Composite/Layered texture) with the Distance mask to reduce buildup on verticals.
- Add thickness. Reuse the mask to drive VRayDisplacement so snow gains physical depth. Keep amounts modest (1–3 cm) and blur the mask slightly to avoid crunchy edges.
- Break up the look. Multiply in a low-frequency Noise for wind drift and a fine Noise for granular sparkle. Use VRayTriplanar to map snow color and roughness without stretching or UV seams.
- Make it read under light. Build a snow shader with:
- High reflection roughness (0.7–0.95) with subtle anisotropy variation.
- Slight blue-tinted diffuse and very soft specular color; add a faint sheen via a second lobe or coat for rim sparkle.
- Edge and crevice nuance. Mix in a gentle, inverted VRayDirt or curvature-style mask with the DistanceTex to catch windward edges and sheltered pockets differently.
- Scale and units. VRayDistanceTex is literal—keep scene units real-world and tune distances in centimeters/meters to avoid either “powder everywhere” or “no accumulation.”
- Debug quickly. Preview the mask in the V-Ray Frame Buffer:
- Add an ExtraTex render element with VRayDistanceTex to inspect values per-pixel.
- Use VFB Region Render to iterate on falloff and noise without re-rendering the whole frame.
- Performance tips. Keep distance objects simple, instance them when possible, and avoid overly high-frequency displacement on large areas. Cache heavy textures and use instancing or proxies for snowy assets.
- Animation stability. If props move, parent your snow volume to world or relevant groups so the distance relationship stays consistent and avoids mask “popping.”
Pro move: Create separate VRayDistanceTex nodes per material class (stone, metal, vegetation) with tailored falloffs, then expose them as ExtraTex AOVs. You’ll fine-tune snow intensity per surface in comp without re-rendering.
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