Game Art Mini Challenge #1 - Normal Mapped Props

#21

Wow :beer:

#22

Could someone Pleeease point me to a good tut on normal mapping. I’m still not really “getting it”. Is it a greyscale flat image like a bump? I want to try but I’m lost. please help a cg newbie. I’m using MAYA 6.

thanks
the_podman
My Wacky Knight
My animation

#23

This thread will help you : http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=129627

LeeSalo: damn, that looks great :smiley:

#24

Try this thread, there’s plenty there, quite the read, but it should head you in the right direction:

http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=129627

And as far as your question - no it’s not a greyscale, but it is a flat image. It’s actually a colour bump map, and if you realise that a colour image onscreen is composed of 3 channels, red, green and blue - essentially 3 greyscales that combine to make a colour image. Now if we take these 3 channels, and relate them to the 3 axis…

Basically, it’s one colour for in and out, like a bump map (along the normal) one colour for left and right (along the U axis) and one colour for up and down (along the Y axis). This allows for a far more dynamic and precise bump map, which is, in all essence, what a normal map is.

Now the only thing is, that it would be a severe mind f*** to paint a normal map, so some companies have developed software to transfer the information from a high res model to that normal map, that can be applied to your low res model. There are a few links in the above thread to help you find those. :slight_smile:

#25

:slight_smile: Hey, thanks Dargon for the quick response. I’m reading it now and hopefully, my tiny little brain can comprehend the info. Thanks also for the clarification. It’s starting to make more sense to me now.

Just a quicky, what would be the difference between a normal map and a displacement map? Or are they the same.

Thanks,

the_podman
My Wacky Knight
My animation

#26

They don’t nessessarily have to have anything to do with each other, you can make a displacement map with a greyscale image - although I have heard talk of reasons to use a normal map as a displacement.

Normal maps are like bump maps, in the way that they push around the normal of the object, but do not actually change the shape of the object.

Displacement maps push the actual geometry around, which will affect your siholuette, unlike Normal maps.

It is not going to be very commonplace to see even faked Displacement in Real-time applicaitions, as it’s very expensive. They’re more often used in high-res modeling, and then it’s mostly to avoid modeling and rigging mid-range detail like veins and so on.

#27

my first normal maped character is well on the way, but I have some problems I need to solve. I’ve separated the mesh in parts (head, leg etc) and made one normal map for every part. I do this because I can work with higher detail without choking my machine to death. The downside is that I get these ugly seams in the pelvis and shoulder area.

  1. the seams. Right now I’m trying to correct them in ps but is there any other way? even if I set the exact same color on each part at the seam it doesn’t seam to fix it :s

  2. When I connect all the parts together (as I’ve done in my attachement) the mirrored parts (arm and leg) gets screwed up… why?

#28

Look in this thread:

http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=129627

There’s plenty of resources there for you there, the questions been answered there as well.

I’m going to make the recommendation that anybody looking for help Normal Mapping go to that location to ask them, because you’ll get more response than just me, and most questions are already answered there.

I’d like to leave this challenge open, if anybody else has any normal mapped props they’d like to submit, but please post any other queries or models in which other section they would be most appropriate in.

Cheers,

Dargon

#29

There is a photoshop plugin for generating normal maps from heighmaps, so you can simply paint them rather than bake them from hi poly models. What advantage does the high poly to low poly method have over this? It seems like a lot simpler workflow painting normal maps!

http://developer.nvidia.com/object/nv_texture_tools.html

Adobe PhotoShop Normal Map Plug-in
Creates normal maps from height maps for per pixel rendering.

#30

Thought I’d have a go though I’m no pro :wink:

150 tris (oops!)
Modelling 15 mins in Lightwave 8
Texturing 35 mins in Photoshop
Normal map generated from heightmap derived from texture using Nvidia plug-in.
Printscreen from model in Quest3d using Diffuse and specular bumpmapping.

Its a window BTW



#31

Nice job so far I really like it. Keep it up! I can’t wait to see more.

#32

I’m no where near a pro, but if this was on a quiz I sure would lose, great work guys!!!

#33

my bad wrong thread

#34

Dude, really nice, but wrong thread! This is the normal map props thread, Mini challenge #1!

I’ll post a finished entries thread in a little while, I have to do some work today first. :wink:

Until then, I suggest you make a WIP thread so you can get critiques there…

#35

yeah sorry :frowning: I just realised xD

#36

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.