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I currently have an 8-bit .tif and .png that I am using both with a displacement modifier, and a displacement map (to recover detail without needing more subdivisions). However, I am getting a "stepped" effect seen here:

Martian landscape with stepped detail, almost like contour lines

I cannot get hold of a 16-bit version of the texture, and I have tried converting it to 16-bit and then appyling blur in GIMP, but I don't know how to only smooth the harsh stepped effect.

I have also tried setting it to use smart interpolation in the shader editor, but this made no visible change (I am using non-colour data already).

Is there anything I can do in Blender, or another piece of software, to smooth these harsh transitions?

Freddie R
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  • maybe read my question and answer here, it might help: https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/203314/bump-map-appears-pixellized ... there's a problem with height map since 2.8, a trick to fix it is to use a bit Subsurface Scattering, not ideal but it can help – moonboots Dec 31 '20 at 10:41
  • @moonboots Thank you, though this is rendered in cycles. I can try the subsurf trick, and will get back to you. – Freddie R Dec 31 '20 at 15:02
  • yes, Cycles is the same – moonboots Dec 31 '20 at 15:05
  • @moonboots Unfortunately the result was identical. Thank you for your help, I just think I need a solution for generally easing harsh 8-bit colour transitions before I load the texture into Blener in the first place. – Freddie R Dec 31 '20 at 15:25
  • maybe try 32 bit Float and with a large size? – moonboots Dec 31 '20 at 15:27
  • I only have access to an 8-bit image sadly – Freddie R Dec 31 '20 at 15:54
  • try to import your current image in a 32 bit Float, blur it a bit and use this one? – moonboots Jan 03 '21 at 08:06
  • What do you suggest using to blur it without losing detail? – Freddie R Jan 03 '21 at 12:47
  • I meant in an image editor like Krita or Photoshop, with a blur like gaussian blur, but yes be careful not to loose details – moonboots Jan 03 '21 at 12:51

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