I finally got the result I wanted after adding a Color Ramp to the Noise Texture mask for the grunge, but I don’t quite understand why it works. As you can see in the screenshot, without the Color Ramp, the colors look much duller than with it. I also assumed this Color Ramp would affect the Ambient Occlusion (either toggling or masking the effect). Honestly, I’m struggling to wrap my head around this topic. Masks are a completely new concept for me since I’ve never used Photoshop or similar software. I’ve even started looking into the math behind these nodes to understand how they work; I’m really trying to grasp the logic behind Jonathan’s actions and the specific impact they have on the shader.
