Normal Maps

[LucentDreams]

what exactly do you mean?


for generating or for rendering with. you'll need sadies normal map shader which isn't available, or ditools V1 which I guess has a normal map shader to render with normal maps in cinema 4D. as for generating them, while sadies can generate with baker, ATI normal mapper is how I"ve been generating mine from the very start. I'm sure if you did a search in the C4D section regarding my name and normal maps you'd find I"ve mentioned it once or twice.

Nice thing about ATI's normal mapper is its great ability to generate a normal map from a highres mesh onto the UV for a lowres mesh with great accuracy, assuming your UV's for thw two objects ae consitent too.

[crgowo]

do you need to have an ati card for the ati normal mapper to work, Kaiskai?

[LucentDreams]

not sure if you use the UI for the application as I don't bother with an interface you don't need one, just run the bat and it does its thing.

So it shouldn't matter what graphics card you have at all without the UI for sure, I doubt there would be anything in the UI that is ATI specific either. your not viewing or displaying anythihg it simply looks at one mesh and then the other and does its thing.

[crgowo]

just downloaded both. whats an nmf file? never seen that before. Using the ui its asking for an nmf file for the models


edit: one more thing this link
http://home.pacific.net.au/~phourmouzis/research.htm
states you can get the displacement map using it the ati normal mapper. It can do that too?

[LucentDreams]

yes you can, again not sure how it works in the UI, but you can set it to give a greyscale displacement map or a redgreen positive negative floating point tiff normal map (far superior but doesn't work incinema as cinema doesn't recognise the redgreen displacement map as a different type of map, Sadies plugin has the ability to read and adapt these maps if memory serves me right but yous till won't get the full advantage with our displacement system)

NMF, did you download both the app and the UI, the UI itself doesn't include the actual app I beliee.

[crgowo]

is there a help or a manual that shows you what all the commands do. I typed normalmapper at the comand prompt and it gave me a list of things but didnt see displacement map anywere in that list. Thanks again.

[Caravaggio]

I only just recently heard about normal mapping, during the debate about Deus Ex 2's engine capabilities over at ion storm's forum. I was a little puzzled, at first I thought it was just a different applications term for bump mapping, but then people started talking about that seperately and I thought it was another term for a displacement map.

Coudl anyone fill me in? How different from a bump and displacement map could normal mapping be if someone is here asking about adding it into c4d?

[srt]

this may help, i am not sure i understand all of this myself :shrug:

http://members.shaw.ca/jimht03/normal.html

steve

[LucentDreams]

Originally posted by Caravaggio
I only just recently heard about normal mapping, during the debate about Deus Ex 2's engine capabilities over at ion storm's forum. I was a little puzzled, at first I thought it was just a different applications term for bump mapping, but then people started talking about that seperately and I thought it was another term for a displacement map.

Coudl anyone fill me in? How different from a bump and displacement map could normal mapping be if someone is here asking about adding it into c4d?

Normal maps acutally control the shading along the objectr, Displacement physically moves geometry, bump mappin simply simulates a rasied or lowered surface like an embossed effect, normals maps actually control the directions of the shading unlike a bumpmap. Some reyes renderers can even use the normal map to displace which has an added bonus in that it can control direction of the displacement unlike a typical displacement mapo which only goes in or out.

Do a search of normal maps in the C4D forum and you'll see sadie and I have explained it numerous times and there are links to two examples Sadie and I have from his development of a normal map shader for cinema.

[dAfTiE]

If you're trying to get into normal mapping or micro-poly displacement,
I'd give this thread a go:
http://cube.phlatt.net/forums/spiraloid/viewtopic.php?TopicID=9&page=0

Some of those guys are using the ATi app at least,
and as far as I can remember some of them actually changed the ATi map to do new stuff as well :)

[AdamT]

This tutorial (http://members.shaw.ca/jimht03/normal.html) has a very good discussion of normal vs. bump maps and also explains how to make normal maps in Cinema.

[Caravaggio]

Thanks.
*Reads page*
Yup, still don't get it. :)
Maybe sometime in the future when I get a chance to actually play with it.

[LucentDreams]

Sigh, references don't get any better then this site

http://www.drone.org

searching can always help, Im sure the spiraloid thread has many lnks form this site throughout its discussion.

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