displacement map baking is becoming a pain

#1

Hey guys - after i found out that blender had tools similar to z-brush i had to try it out. Now there is a big catch. the fact is the sculpt mode is all fine but when it comes to exporting out the displacement map all i get is just flat grey - i checked a render in photoshop and it litterally is grey no deformations are visible in the map. ive checked “select to active” but i still just get a grey map.

Could someone help this blender nub and go through what one would do right from importing an OBJ into blender right through to exporting the map please! hehehe

ive tried so many times now its just getting to the point where ill dump blenders directory into the recycle bin.

i know its possible ive seen other people do it but all their tutorials lack the “noob” aspect.

im using blender 2.49b

#2

Blender is not a ZBrush. You need 2 meshes.

#3

:hmm: hmm helpful…

i forgot to mention i tried all the tutorials i could find.

#4

The manual is quite clear for me

http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:Manual/Render/Bake

  • you got your high poly and low poly model in your 3D view
  • your lowpoly must have an unwrapped UV and empty image assigned
  • High poly and lowpoly objects must be centered to same object coordinates
  • select high poly first then lowpoly, go to render/bake panel, choose normal/displace/whatever you need (choose tangent for normals maps), clic on selected to active then bake.
  • your bake is calculated and reported on the image you set on lowpoly model, don’t forget to save it if you are happy with it.

If I’m not clear enough, just say where you’re stuck

This video tutorial shows well the process for textures and normals
http://vimeo.com/5667694#

#5

im assuming that the low poly model is a derivative of the high poly model?

#6

You assume well

A basemesh for highpoly sculpt or a retopology from highpoly, the idea is to reproject complex details from highpoly on a texture assigned to a simplified model with a shape closest to the original.

#7

i got it to work! but the displacement map is very weak. is there a way to enhance it without editing it in photoshop? the “normalise” option doesnt really make any difference

#8

Set the adequate distance parameter.

#9

thx guys i got it workin ok! thx for the help!

#10

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