Surface Edge Highlight

Overview

Makes convex edges brighter and concave areas darker. It automatically applies the pixel-art craft technique of a one-pixel bevel highlight using the curvature map. Placing it immediately after solid rendering greatly improves depth.

Usage tips

• It belongs in the standard chain: solid_render → surface_edge_highlight → surface_outline → surface_light_preview. Edge highlight followed by outline is the natural order.
• A subtle effect is best. Excessive strength makes every corner glow and clutters the image, so start with a restrained highlight.
• Curvature maps come from Surfaces produced by solid_render. This node has no effect on a Surface created from an image and passes it through unchanged.

Related nodes

• surface_outline — downstream counterpart for outlines

• solid_render — supplies a Surface with a curvature map

• surface_light_preview — reviews the finished result

• quick_shade — alternative simple image-based shading

• Processes only albedo and passes every other map through. A Surface without a curvature map is passed through unchanged, with only a warning in the log.

Examples

Solid Render → Surface Edge Highlight → Surface Outline → Surface Light Preview is the complete pixel-art post-processing chain.