Export Image

Export

Saves a single image to disk in PNG, JPEG, BMP, WebP, TIFF, TGA, PSD, OpenEXR, or Radiance HDR format with filename token support.

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Export Image writes the connected image to a file. Evaluating the graph never writes anything; the file is written only when you run an export: the node’s Export button, Ctrl+Shift+E for the selected export nodes, or File > Export All (Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E) for every export node in the graph.

Each format has its own options: a compression level for PNG, Quality for JPEG and lossy WebP, a codec for TIFF. The default PNG Compression of 6 lands within a percent of level 8’s file size while writing a 16-bit map several times faster; go to 9 when the last percent matters. For formats without transparency, such as JPEG, the Matte color fills behind transparent areas.

PSD writes a flat file at 8 or 16 bits per channel (16-bit needs 32-bit (Float) Mode, as for PNG and TIFF), transparent where the image is and with an sRGB profile embedded, so it opens correctly in any editor that reads PSD. A 32-bit picture is rounded to the depth you choose; keep OpenEXR for float data. Recipes are not embedded in a PSD. See PSD Files & Color Profiles.

High-bit-depth export options

The high-bit-depth options (Bit Depth at 16-bit and 32-bit float, the OpenEXR and Radiance HDR formats, and the 32-bit Color Handling / Target Color Space controls) need the document in 32-bit (Float) Mode. They are free at every tier. HDR (RGBE) carries no alpha channel and has no bit-depth choice; it appears in the Format list only in 32-bit (Float) Mode.

Left on its default, Color Handling bakes the current view into the file (As displayed) for every format except EXR and HDR, which get raw working-space values.

An OpenEXR file is written with associated (premultiplied) alpha, the OpenEXR convention, so a partly transparent image composites cleanly in other applications; opaque pixels are unchanged. It also records the working space’s primaries (Rec.709, AP1, or P3). To read such a file back exactly, set Image In’s EXR Alpha to Associated, the default for new nodes.

Paths can be relative to your .arcb file: export/sprite.png resolves next to the saved project, so exports stay portable with it. Missing folders are created automatically, and a hint below the path field (and its tooltip) shows the fully resolved path.

After each export the node shows the file name, duration, and size (for example “Saved: sprite.png (45 ms, 128.3 KB)”). Writing happens in the background, so a large export does not block the interface. A progress bar on the node moves while the file is written, and the status bar shows the file being written and how far along it is, whatever node is selected; click it to select the exporting node. Every format writes to a temporary file and swaps it into place once complete, so a cancelled or failed export never damages the file already there. A path that resolves outside the folder you chose asks once before writing.

Export Image writes one picture. A texture set is refused at the wire; Export Texture writes a whole set, one file per map.

Output Channels sets the channel layout of the written file:

• Auto keeps the incoming channels.
• RGBA always writes color.
• Grayscale writes a genuine single-channel file, converting a color source through Grayscale From (Luminance, Red, Green, Blue, or Alpha).

JPEG and WebP have no true single-channel mode, so they write a grayscale image as gray-valued color. A line in the Parameters panel and an in/out badge on the node body show the incoming channel type and what the chosen format will write.

Filename Tokens

Tokens in braces are replaced when the file is written, and the line under the field shows the path the export will write. The </> button lists every token that works here, with its live value.

• export/{this.label|or:this.id}.png writes export/Hero full.png for an Export Image labeled “Hero full”, or export/ExportImage2.png with no label.
• export/{source}_{width}x{height}.png writes export/hero_1024x768.png.

Naming with Tokens builds a path like these step by step, and the Token Reference lists every token. Node tokens and | transforms need ArcBrush 1.7.0 or later.

Forward slashes in the path create subdirectories. ~/ at the start expands to your home directory (macOS and Linux).

Parameters

Pins

↳ImagePixels

InputRequired

Export

Output PathText

Path of the file the Export action writes. Tokens work; add a transform such as {name|snake} or a fallback such as {label|or:name}

FormatChoice

Default: Auto (from extension)

File format. Auto follows the extension.

PSD writes one flattened image, transparent where the image is, at 8 or 16 bits.

EXR and HDR need 32-bit (Float) Mode. HDR does not write alpha; EXR does.

• Auto (from extension)Detect format from file extension: .png, .jpg, .webp, etc.
• PNGLossless with transparency support. Best for icons, sprites, and assets that need alpha.
• JPEGLossy compression, small file size. Best for photographs. No transparency.
• TGATarga format with optional RLE compression. Common in game engines.
• BMPUncompressed bitmap. Large files, maximum compatibility.
• WebPModern format with both lossy and lossless modes. Smaller than PNG/JPEG.
• TIFFProfessional format with multiple compression options. Used in print and archival.
• EXROpenEXR half or float, for scene-referred HDR data with an OCIO color-space picker. Preserves overbright values end to end in 32-bit (float) mode.
• HDRRadiance HDR (RGBE), the format most HDRIs ship in. Linear float RGB with overbright values preserved and no alpha channel. Needs 32-bit (float) mode, like EXR.
• PSDA flat PSD at 8 or 16 bits per channel, transparent where the image is, with an sRGB profile embedded. Opens in any editor that reads PSD. No layers and no embedded recipe.

QualityInteger

Default: 90 Range: 1–100

JPEG / WebP only

JPEG/WebP quality

MatteColor (RGB)

Default: rgb(255, 255, 255)

Background matte for formats without alpha

PNG CompressionInteger

Default: 6 Range: 0–9

PNG only

zlib compression level (0=none, 9=max)

TGA RLEToggle

Default: true

TGA only

Use TGA RLE compression

WebP LosslessToggle

Default: false

WebP only

Lossless WebP encoding

TIFF CompressionChoice

Default: None

TIFF only

TIFF compression codec

• NoneNo compression. Fastest, but largest files.
• LZWLossless compression with a good balance of size and speed.
• DeflateLossless compression with smaller files than LZW but slower.
• PackBitsSimple RLE compression. Fast, but less effective on complex images.

Embed RecipeToggle

Default: false

PNG, WebP, JPEG, TIFF

Embed this graph into the exported file's metadata so it can be reopened in ArcBrush.

Includes all node settings, notes, and input files; Private Paths decides how their paths are stored. Adds a few KB.

PNG, WebP, JPEG, and TIFF only.

Private PathsToggle

Default: true

Embed Recipe = on

Store only file names in the recipe, so the exported file is safe to share.

Turn off to keep full file paths, including those in Project variables, for your own machine or a trusted studio.

Output

Output ChannelsChoice

Default: Auto

• AutoMatch the incoming image: write a single-channel source as grayscale and everything else as RGBA. The default.
• RGBAAlways write full-color RGBA, even from a single-channel source.
• GrayscaleWrite a genuine single-channel grayscale file (PNG, TGA, TIFF, or PSD), reducing a color source using the Grayscale From channel. JPEG and WebP still upcast to color.

Grayscale FromChoice

Default: Luminance

When Output Channels is Grayscale and input is 4-channel

How a 4-channel input is converted to grayscale for export.

JPEG and WebP have no single-channel mode, so they write a grayscale image as gray-valued RGB.

• LuminanceDerive the gray value from perceived brightness (weighted RGB). The most natural choice.
• RedUse the red channel as the gray value.
• GreenUse the green channel as the gray value.
• BlueUse the blue channel as the gray value.
• AlphaUse the alpha channel as the gray value.

High-Bit-Depth

Bit DepthChoice

Default: 8-bit (EXR half)

32-bit (float) mode (FL-12)

Output bit depth, 8-bit by default. The dropdown offers only what the selected format can write: 8-bit, 16-bit, or 32-bit float for PNG and TIFF; 8-bit or 16-bit for PSD; 16-bit half or 32-bit float for EXR. Changing format does not disturb the depth you chose for the other one

• 8-bit (EXR half)Standard 8-bit-per-channel output, the existing behavior.
• 16-bit (EXR half)PNG, TIFF, or PSD at 16 bits per channel, for a higher-precision deliverable.
• 32-bit float (EXR half)TIFF at 32 bits per channel; use a 32-bit float source to preserve HDR and scene-linear values.
• 8-bit (EXR float)Standard 8-bit-per-channel output, the existing behavior.
• 16-bit (EXR float)PNG, TIFF, or PSD at 16 bits per channel, for a higher-precision deliverable.
• 32-bit float (EXR float)TIFF at 32 bits per channel; use a 32-bit float source to preserve HDR and scene-linear values.

Color

Color HandlingChoice

Default: Auto

32-bit (float) mode

How working-space color is converted when the file is written (32-bit mode; applies at every bit depth):

Until explicitly set, the default follows the output format: EXR writes working-space values, other formats bake the view.

• As displayed (bake view)Bake the current Color menu Display / View into the file so it matches the viewport. The right choice for a normal file that looks like your screen. Until you set this control explicitly, the default follows the output format: EXR writes working-space values and every other format bakes the view.
• Convert to color spaceColorimetric conversion into the chosen Target Color Space (e.g. sRGB). No tone-map, so highlights clip rather than roll off; use it for a precise, standardized deliverable.
• Working space (no conversion)Write raw working-space (scene-linear) values untouched. Offered for 16-bit, 32-bit float, and EXR output, for handing scene data to another color-managed application.

Target Color SpaceText

Color Handling = Convert to color space

Color space the image is converted into before writing, for example sRGB Encoded Rec.709 (sRGB) for a standard sRGB file. Same as Working Space writes it unconverted

Usage Tips

• Use PNG for transparency or lossless quality.
• JPEG Quality of 85 to 92 balances file size and quality for photographs.
• WebP lossless is smaller than PNG for most images.
• Set Output Channels to Grayscale to save a mask or height map as a real single-channel PNG, TGA, TIFF, or PSD instead of a 4-channel file.
• Turn on Embed Recipe to store a copy of the graph inside PNG, WebP, JPEG, and TIFF files. Dropping that image back onto ArcBrush, or File > Open Recipe from Image…, reopens the graph. It adds a few KB per file. With Private Paths on (the default) the recipe keeps input file names only, never full paths or export folders; turn it off to keep every path for your own machine or a trusted studio. See Recipes in exported images.
• Format defaults to Auto (from the path’s extension). Picking an explicit format updates the extension to match, keeping .jpeg and .tiff if you typed them, and warns if the extension still does not match. A filename with no extension gets the chosen format’s, so exporting to hero as PNG writes hero.png.

Related Nodes

• Export Batch
• Export Texture
• Export Data
• Resize
• Pad