DocumentationSubstance 3DSubstance 3D Painter

Directional Distance

Last update: September 30, 2026
Directional Distance icon
In: Effects/color, distance, directional, leak, rain
Description
The Directional Distance filter creates a distance gradient that travels in a chosen direction.
It is used on a texture layer to create directional streaks, leaks, and other distance-based effects. You can also use the Directional Distance filter as a mask for the height channel to add dimensionality to your normal channel.

Inputs

Input name
Description
Distance Map: Grayscale
Use a custom texture or an anchor point.

Parameters

Parameter name
Description
Distance:
Adjust the distance travelled by the distance gradient in normalized image space, where 1 is the length of the shorter side of the input image.
Angle:
Adjust the direction of the distance gradient in turns, where 0 points horizontally to the right, or along a (1,0) vector.
Contrast:
Adjust the contrast or falloff of the result.
Distance Map Multiplier:
Adjust how much the Distance Map affects the maximum distance. This parameter has no effect when the Distance Map input is not connected.

Examples

In the example below, we use the Directional Distance filter to make the Cells 2 generator appear 3 dimensional.

This is achieved by creating a fill layer with the height channel enabled and set to a value of 1.

Then add a black mask to the fill layer, and in the mask add a fill with the grayscale set to Cells 2. This creates the following mask.

NOTE
You can view the mask in the Viewport by holding alt and clicking the mask icon, or with the fill layer selected, use the channel dropdown in the Viewport to select Mask.

Next, add a Filter to the mask, and select the Directional Distance filter.

Adjust the Filter settings for the desired result, but the mask should look something like the example below.

Switch back to material view to see the effect in the Viewport.

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