---
title: "PxrTangentField"
canonical: "https://rmanwiki-26.pixar.com/space/REN26/19661705/PxrTangentField"
format: markdown
---
![image](media://98111629-4d9d-44eb-8b27-9d842196f44c)

Defines a tangent field typically used to control anisotropic direction.

- *InputRotation* takes a single grayscale channel where black means 0 degrees and white means 360 degrees.
- *InputVector* takes a 2-channel map where the red channels is x and green is y. The blue channel is ignored.

The vector method often gives better results by minimizing texture filtering artifacts. If such artifacts are too visible, use the *nearest* texture filter.

> ℹ️ The nearest filter disables entirely mip-mapping, so you should only use it with a low-resolution map to avoid slowing down the renderer and consuming too much texture memory.

### Input Parameters

#### Input Rotation

A single float value to rotate the shading tangent. This input will take precedence over inputVector.

#### Input Vector

The red and green channels will be read as x and y coordinates of a 2d vector. If inputRotation is connected, this input will be ignored.

#### Rotation Offset

A global rotation offset in degrees.

#### Rotation Range

Scales the rotation range. 1.0 equates 0 to 360 degrees.

#### Centered Vectors

Centers the gradient values of the vector map. Ignored when inputRotation is used.

### Output Parameters

#### resultXYZ

The final tangent vector that should be connected to the Bxdf's Shading Tangent input.

### Sample textures

Sample textures have a resolution of 256x256 pixels and should tile perfectly (use the appropriate `txmake` wrap mode, e.g. `txmake -mode periodic`).

 

| **Texture** | **Description** |
| --- | --- |
| ![image](media://e143955c-3c85-4873-ac0f-b7f29a133ce8) | Rotation map to create an anisotropic brushed metal pattern. |
| ![image](media://aab19fcb-1b81-4905-b3fb-15aff29a50cf) | Vector map to create an anisotropic brushed metal pattern. |
| ![image](media://cbd11da6-495e-4665-b483-d519c55c0f5c) | Vector map to create an anisotropic fiber mesh pattern. |
| ![image](media://46dee18b-0521-4155-bf59-5bb410c4109d) | Vector map to create an anisotropic carbon fiber mesh pattern. |