Two types of noise?

[scamper]

I’ve noticed that there seem to be two different types of noise that AD applies, based on where you apply it. Noise applied to a shape’s fill appears to be resolution-independent (what I’d expect), which means it’s not based on the resolution of the image/viewport. However noise applied to an effect* appears far coarser, as if it’s being applied as a bitmap. The attached image, if it’s not too compressed, should illustrate the difference in appearance. Shouldn’t noise always be the same?

*Why is noise generally so hidden in AD? In the layer effects window it should have its own dedicated slider rather than being tucked under color.

[loukash]

10 hours ago, scamper said:

Why is noise generally so hidden in AD? In the layer effects window it should have its own dedicated slider rather than being tucked under color.

+1!

[Dan C]

11 hours ago, scamper said:

I’ve noticed that there seem to be two different types of noise that AD applies, based on where you apply it. Noise applied to a shape’s fill appears to be resolution-independent (what I’d expect), which means it’s not based on the resolution of the image/viewport. However noise applied to an effect* appears far coarser, as if it’s being applied as a bitmap. The attached image, if it’s not too compressed, should illustrate the difference in appearance. Shouldn’t noise always be the same?

I can confirm that noise being applied through the Colour Studio will be the same as when applied through FX, for example the following screenshot shows noise applied at 100% in the Colour Studio for the first object and the second object has a Colour Overlay applied in FX, with noise also set to 100% -

I can see from your screenshot that the FX you have applied appears to have a blur property, as well as potentially a blend mode applied as part of the FX. When adding noise to the FX property, this noise will also be affected by any blur/blend modes that the FX applies. This is why the noise appears larger and more 'blocky' in your second object, as it appears to have a blur applied over it.

If you'd like to provide a copy of your .afdesign document here, I can confirm this for you.

11 hours ago, scamper said:

*Why is noise generally so hidden in AD? In the layer effects window it should have its own dedicated slider rather than being tucked under color.

Thanks for your feedback, I'll ensure this is passed through to our devs

[scamper]

5 hours ago, Dan C said:

I can see from your screenshot that the FX you have applied appears to have a blur property

Actually, from what I can see, the noise is being applied as a factor of the radius of the effect—outer glow in this case. (See video, if my attachment works.) So a tight glow radius = a fine grain noise, but a wider glow radius = a coarser noise, to the point where the noise is unusable as an effect. Needless to say these two components of an object’s style should be independent from each other. In other words: having a grain slider in addition to a noise slider would be great. What we don’t need is for these things to be coupled together (or hidden away). But I’m speaking as a UI designer.

[fde101]

56 minutes ago, scamper said:

Needless to say these two components of an object’s style should be independent from each other.

They can't be.  One needs to be applied before the other, meaning it will impact the result of the other effect.

It sounds like the noise is being applied before the blur/glow.  Try taking the noise off of the object, grouping it (it can be in a group by itself), and applying the noise to the group.

[scamper]

1 hour ago, fde101 said:

Try taking the noise off of the object, grouping it…

I appreciate workarounds—I mean, that’s a daily part of the job, right?

What I’m really asking for though is for an option to apply noise as a factor of an effect, and not as part of an object’s color (or layer). Final illustrations below, then I promise to shut up.  

1. Example 1 shows that AD currently associates noise with the color attribute. This has certain limitations, as we’ve seen above.
2. Example 2 shows the Photoshop comparison, where each effect can have its own noise amount. This is an attribute of the effect itself, not the color, or the shape.
3. Example 3 then shows what I’d like to see, where noise is just another modifier on a given effect (Outer Glow in this case).

Anyway, I see the current behavior as a quirk, that’s all. It would be lovely to see some improved flexibility in this area, but the show must go on.