Barrier

scooba01 · 21-01-2012, 01:08 AM

hey i built a couple barriers.
The damaged one i built recently using 3d coat.
it turned out pretty good but there is a problem in the normal map which i didnt get in my other barrier made with maya and zbrush.
Ive been searching everywhere for the answer but havent found a clear solution.
I figured that some one here would know the answer.
So the problem is that the low poly edges are showing in the normal map.
you can see the problem in the render. the edge crosses diagonally across the mesh.
thanks

RedAppleIvy · 21-01-2012, 12:33 PM

Did you ensure the low had smoothing groups applied before the bake?

scooba01 · 21-01-2012, 09:44 PM

Yeah pretty sure its all set to smooth but there might be a problem with doing the bake in 3d coat because it only uses objs and im not sure if objs retain the normal data/smoothing groups.

RedAppleIvy · 22-01-2012, 06:46 AM

In Max you certainly have the option of exporting smoothing groups, I'm assuming its the same with Maya. Is it possible to export everything to xnormal and trying a bake on that?

scooba01 · 22-01-2012, 01:16 PM

Hey thanks red apple. I ended up pulling everything out of 3d coat and baking the model using transfer maps in Maya transfer maps is probably one of the best ways of generating a normal map. I changed my uvs, set up my "smooth groups" in maya its just normal hard or soft edges, most of it smooth. Then baked everything out and re-did the diffuse in 3d coat, tweaked the diffuse and created the spec in photoshop.

scooba01 · 22-01-2012, 01:22 PM

3d coat is great for some high res modeling stuff and its good at getting a result quickly, but it lacks the refinement of Zbrush. The texturing tools are pretty awesome aswell, letting you paint right on to the low res mesh. But the thing to watch out for is that if you paint near a hard angle surface you get smearing on the other side, so you have to be a bit careful. And it is freaking amazing for unwrapping and retopologizing meshes.

scooba01 · 29-01-2012, 11:18 PM

PRO TIP FOR BAKING PERFECT NORMAL MAPS!!!!!!
Set hard edges for the borders of every UV shell/island before baking and presto!! Prefect map.
Dunno why this took me so freakin long to figure out.
Also if your model has severe surfaces say around 90 degrees or more split the UVs at the corner and set to hard edges.
Also if your using the model in UDK make sure you set your normal map to TCnormalcompressed or TCnormaluncompressed, it gives better results.

AndyJB · 30-01-2012, 05:18 AM

Nice work. One problem I have is that where a big chunk of the concrete is missing in the top left. The edges look too soft to be broken. Kinda looks like it's been there for a couple of hundred years and it's eroded away. Think it needs a bit more of an edge.

Good job though!

scooba01 · 30-01-2012, 03:23 PM

hey thanks! Yeah it could definitely be more rough. Will make a better sculpt for the next set of props.

21-01-2012, 01:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
scooba01 Senior Member 171 - 22	Barrier hey i built a couple barriers. The damaged one i built recently using 3d coat. it turned out pretty good but there is a problem in the normal map which i didnt get in my other barrier made with maya and zbrush. Ive been searching everywhere for the answer but havent found a clear solution. I figured that some one here would know the answer. So the problem is that the low poly edges are showing in the normal map. you can see the problem in the render. the edge crosses diagonally across the mesh. thanks

22-01-2012, 01:22 PM	#6 (permalink)
scooba01 Senior Member 171 - 22	3d coat is great for some high res modeling stuff and its good at getting a result quickly, but it lacks the refinement of Zbrush. The texturing tools are pretty awesome aswell, letting you paint right on to the low res mesh. But the thing to watch out for is that if you paint near a hard angle surface you get smearing on the other side, so you have to be a bit careful. And it is freaking amazing for unwrapping and retopologizing meshes. Last edited by scooba01; 22-01-2012 at 01:33 PM.

30-01-2012, 05:18 AM	#8 (permalink)
AndyJB Amateur Artist 76 - 164	Nice work. One problem I have is that where a big chunk of the concrete is missing in the top left. The edges look too soft to be broken. Kinda looks like it's been there for a couple of hundred years and it's eroded away. Think it needs a bit more of an edge. Good job though! __________________ Graduate Environment Artist (currently looking to break into the industry) http://www.andybaigent3d.com/

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21-01-2012, 12:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
RedAppleIvy Senior Member 156 - 53	Did you ensure the low had smoothing groups applied before the bake?

21-01-2012, 09:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
scooba01 Senior Member 171 - 22	Yeah pretty sure its all set to smooth but there might be a problem with doing the bake in 3d coat because it only uses objs and im not sure if objs retain the normal data/smoothing groups.

22-01-2012, 06:46 AM	#4 (permalink)
RedAppleIvy Senior Member 156 - 53	In Max you certainly have the option of exporting smoothing groups, I'm assuming its the same with Maya. Is it possible to export everything to xnormal and trying a bake on that?

22-01-2012, 01:16 PM	#5 (permalink)
scooba01 Senior Member 171 - 22	Hey thanks red apple. I ended up pulling everything out of 3d coat and baking the model using transfer maps in Maya transfer maps is probably one of the best ways of generating a normal map. I changed my uvs, set up my "smooth groups" in maya its just normal hard or soft edges, most of it smooth. Then baked everything out and re-did the diffuse in 3d coat, tweaked the diffuse and created the spec in photoshop.

29-01-2012, 11:18 PM	#7 (permalink)
scooba01 Senior Member 171 - 22	PRO TIP FOR BAKING PERFECT NORMAL MAPS!!!!!! Set hard edges for the borders of every UV shell/island before baking and presto!! Prefect map. Dunno why this took me so freakin long to figure out. Also if your model has severe surfaces say around 90 degrees or more split the UVs at the corner and set to hard edges. Also if your using the model in UDK make sure you set your normal map to TCnormalcompressed or TCnormaluncompressed, it gives better results.

30-01-2012, 03:23 PM	#9 (permalink)
scooba01 Senior Member 171 - 22	hey thanks! Yeah it could definitely be more rough. Will make a better sculpt for the next set of props.