How to Use the Brick Texture Node in Blender

The Brick Texture node in Blender is a powerful procedural tool that allows you to create realistic brick, tile, and masonry patterns without relying on external image files. This guide covers how to add the Brick Texture node to your shader network, understand its primary settings, align it correctly using texture coordinates, and add realistic height detail using bump maps.

Setting Up the Brick Texture Node

To begin using the Brick Texture node, open the Shader Editor with your target object selected:

  1. Create a new material or select an existing one.
  2. Press Shift + A in the Shader Editor, navigate to Texture, and select Brick Texture.
  3. Connect the Color output of the Brick Texture node to the Base Color input of the Principled BSDF node.

Your object will immediately display a basic procedural brick pattern.

Understanding the Node Settings

The Brick Texture node provides several parameters to customize the appearance of your bricks and mortar:

  • Color 1 & Color 2: These define the primary colors of the individual bricks. Blender randomly mixes these two colors across the pattern.
  • Mortar: Controls the color of the lines between the bricks.
  • Scale: Adjusts the overall size of the brick pattern relative to the object.
  • Mortar Size: Controls the thickness of the mortar lines between bricks.
  • Mortar Smooth: Blurs the edges between the bricks and the mortar, useful for worn or weathered surfaces.
  • Bias: Determines the color weighting between Color 1 and Color 2. A value of -1 uses only Color 1, while 1 uses only Color 2.
  • Brick Width & Row Height: Adjusts the dimensions of individual bricks.
  • Offset & Offset Frequency: Controls how much alternate rows shift horizontally. An offset of 0.5 creates a standard running bond pattern.

Controlling Mapping and Scale

To control how the bricks wrap around your 3D model, connect a mapping setup to the Vector input of the Brick Texture node:

  1. Press Shift + A and add a Texture Coordinate node and a Mapping node.
  2. Connect the UV (or Object) output of the Texture Coordinate node to the Vector input of the Mapping node.
  3. Connect the Vector output of the Mapping node to the Vector input of the Brick Texture node.

Tip: If you have the Node Wrangler add-on enabled, simply select the Brick Texture node and press Ctrl + T to generate this setup automatically.

Using the Mapping node, you can scale, rotate, or shift the brick pattern along the X, Y, and Z axes without altering the node settings themselves.

Adding 3D Depth with Bump Mapping

To give your brick material realistic depth and surface lighting, use the Fac (Factor) output of the Brick Texture node:

  1. Press Shift + A and add a Bump node (Vector > Bump).
  2. Connect the Fac output of the Brick Texture node to the Height input of the Bump node.
  3. Connect the Normal output of the Bump node to the Normal input of the Principled BSDF node.
  4. Lower the Strength value on the Bump node (typically between 0.1 and 0.3) to prevent the surface detail from looking overly aggressive.

This setup makes the mortar lines recede and the bricks stand out, creating an authentic 3D illusion under your scene's lighting.