In this sixth episode of a series of nine dedicated to Atmospheric Perspective in Compositing in Blender 4.1, we will see how to desaturate distant elements.
Video Transcript
In this sixth episode of a series of nine dedicated to Atmospheric Perspective in Compositing in Blender 4.1, we will see how to desaturate distant elements.
To use this mask as a map to desaturate the original image, let's insert a Hue Saturation Value node from the Color Adjust group into the editor, connecting the output of BLUE-SHIFT to the Image input of Hue Saturation Value.
Then, let's connect the Image output of this new node to the Reroute object.
We then connect the output of the Normalize node to the Saturation input... immediately noticing a problem: since the mask is black for nearby objects and lighter for those further away, we are actually desaturating the nearby objects!
To solve this issue, simply insert an Invert Color node from the Color group between Normalize and the Saturation input.
Even now, however, the effect is not satisfactory, as it is too intense. By making the mask lighter, we can gradually reduce the intensity of the desaturation.
To modify the mask, we can insert an RGB Curves node or, for greater control, a Color Ramp node between Invert Color and Hue Saturation Value.
In the case of the RGB Curves node, we will need to modify the C Curve by adding an intermediate control point that this time will be moved towards the top left corner of the graph.
It can be useful to directly visualize the mask while making the changes before sending its result to Saturation.
Adjust the curve until you achieve a result that satisfies you.
