V-Ray for Blender
Bulge
This page provides information about the Bulge texture in V-Ray for Blender.
Last updated 11 December 2025
This page provides information about the Bulge texture in V-Ray for Blender.
Overview
The V-Ray Bulge Texture is a black-and-white only map with a slight color ramp between the black and white colors. When used as a bump map, it gives the appearance of the surface being inflated yet constrained by the grid lines. It can also be used to simulate transparency.
UI Path: ||V-Ray Node Editor|| > Shader > Add > Textures > V-Ray Bulge

Node Input Sockets
Mapping – Allows a UVW Mapping, or a UVW Randomizer node to be connected to determine the mapping of the ramp.
Output
Color Mult – Allows a color node to determine the multiplier of the ramp colors.
Color Offset – Allows a color node to determine the offset of the ramp colors.
Alpha Mult – Allows a float node to determine the multiplier for the alpha value.
Alpha Offset – Allows a float node to determine the offset of the alpha value.
No UVs Color – Allows a color node to serve as the fallback color.

Common
Compatibility With – Allows you to match the result of the texture in Blender to that in either 3ds Max or Maya. If Alpha From is set to Maya:
3ds Max – The resulting alpha of the texture is the intensity of the texture.
Maya – The resulting alpha of the texture is the color luminescence.
Alpha From Intensity – Determines how the alpha of the result is calculated:
Bitmap Alpha – Alpha channel is drawn from the texture.
Color intensity/luminance – Alpha is generated from pixel intensity.
Force Opaque – Alpha channel is fully opaque.
Invert – When enabled inverts the colors in final result.
Invert Alpha – Inverts the alpha channel if Invert is also enabled.
Color Mult– Corrects the color of the texture by multiplying the the RGB color values in the texture with the RGB color values specified here.
Color Offset – Corrects the color of the texture by adding the RGB color values specified here to the RGB color values of the texture.
Alpha Mult – A multiplier for the Alpha value.
Alpha Offset – Controls the offset of the Alpha value.
No UVs Color – Specifies a fallback color used for polygons with no valid UVs. In case the map is not tiled, specifies a color that is used outside the texture square.

Mapped
Placement Type – Select how to place the texture.
Full – Uses the full valid portion of the texture.
Crop – Allows the user to specify a section of the texture using the parameters below.
Place – Allows the user to specify a section of the texture and how to place it using the parameters below.
U – U coordinate of the texture sector.
V – V coordinate of the texture sector.
W – W coordinate of the texture sector.
H – Specifies the height of the texture sector.
Jitter – Specifies a randomization value for the UV placement.
Tile U/ Tile V – Enable to choose between horizontal or vertical tiling.
UV Noise On – Enables the noise.
Animate UV Noise – If enabled, the noise is animated. Use the UV noise phase to animate the noise.
UV Noise Amount – Specifies the UV noise amount.
UV Noise Levels – Specifies the UV noise iterations.
UV Noise Size – Specifies the UV noise size.

Properties
UV Noise phase – Specifies the UV noise phase.
U Width – Controls the horizontal line width.
V Width – Controls the vertical line width.
