alpha out an alpha?

[faulknermano]

i'm looking at way to be able to 'alpha' out a layer whose blending mode is already at alpha. what i'm trying to do specifically, is to use a procedural as an alpha, but also want to put another 'wider' procedural to further block out that alpha.

this is what i have tried already:

Layer 3: Turbulence (Alpha)
Layer 2: Turbelence (Alpha) (with different settings from Layer 3)
Layer 1: Value

what it does is it ADDS to the general alpha that i'm trying to put on Layer 1. what i am expecting it to do is alpha the Layer 2 out, so there's generally LESS alpha being applied to Layer 1. hope that's clear.

any thoughts on this matter will be appreciated.

[Mylenium]

Hi Lernie,

Have you tried inserting a simple b/w gradient set to previous layer in normal mode? This should do the trick.

Mylenium

[faulknermano]

hmm... i think i know what you're getting at. i'm not sure if that'll fit the bill though, because i need a particular procedural (fractal noise or turbulence) to knock the other alpha off, rather than a gradient. but let me fool around with it nevertheless. thanks..

these are the times i wish we had a 2d shading network instead of a linear layered system.

[labuzz]

Yes a shading tree would be great!
Another thing about procedural and bump map, I hope we won't see any longer the funky colors you have in bump and displacement channels because it's impossible to have predictable (control) result with this. Just try to have 2 differents "shaders" (fake) with procedurals is a pain in the A**.
More info here:http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18744&highlight=procedural