I’m struggling to see the reason I’d use contour vs curvature, is it that contour is just more simple with less control than the Curvature node?
I think also Contour is more sensitive to the cam angle and placement, and Curvature is more geometry based?
Mainly looking to use for adding worn edges and adding dirt and dust/grime to inside corners
Hey Matt, great question. In my experience I get fairly similar results using either of the two. However, I typically use contour over curvature for a faster workflow, specifically because the results are so similar.
By default the contour color values are grayscale, which means I don’t need to change colors, and since there is only two color fields I can create the effect faster. I will say that curvature allows me to feather the effect a little better, but I typically choose to use curvature over contour only when I’m working with a model that has radiused edges that aren’t uniform, or when the curvatures are more asymmetrical / organic.