Help with blending and shader chains

[billg60]

I am trying to control a population through both a painted shader (for region control) and a second power fractal to get more control over the pattern and coverage within the painted areas.

What is the correct order and method to link the painted and PF shaders into the population blender connection?

This is my current structure:

Painted shader -> PF Shader input -> population blended by.

Can someone explain what the difference is between linking two nodes by the "blended by" input vs the simple input? I could link the painted shader to the PF shader via "blended by" instead of the regular node input path.

Thanks

Bill[attach=#]

[Dune]

There are all sorts of possibilities. I usually blend the PF by the painted shader (so the other input in your setup and check 'blended by'), but you can also use a merge shader and test all possibilities there for different outcomes (add, difference.... 0...0.5...1...even 1.5 or higher). Best to see the outcome visually by plugging the 'final out' into a color input of a test surface layer (in the end of the line before planet of course). Hope this helps.

In your setup, the color of both nodes are added, so in the black 'no' region of the painted shader, trees will still grow, because of the whites in the PF.

---Dune