arma:texturing:normal_maps
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arma:texturing:normal_maps [2007-07-10 15:28] snakeman |
arma:texturing:normal_maps [2017-10-06 13:59] (current) snakeman http to https switch. |
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| Say goodbye to dull surfaces with 3D World's high-speed tour of the games industry’s hottest new technique | Say goodbye to dull surfaces with 3D World's high-speed tour of the games industry’s hottest new technique | ||
| - | If you aim to work in games, it’s worth playing around with normal mapping. Now one of the industry’s hottest topics, normal maps make the surface of a game model look much more detailed and impressive. This detail is displayed in real time: the images in the article are screengrabs, not renders. To create a normal map, a 3D software package samples the directions in which the surfaces of a detailed model (a higher-resolution version of the in-game object) face, storing the information as coloured pixels. The map is then applied to the lower-resolution object, passing information about the hi-res model to the lighting calculations. | + | If you aim to work in games, it’s worth playing around with normal mapping. Now one of the industry’s hottest topics, normal maps make the surface of a game model look much more detailed and impressive. This detail is displayed in real time: the images in the article are screenshots, not renders. To create a normal map, a 3D software package samples the directions in which the surfaces of a detailed model (a higher-resolution version of the in-game object) face, storing the information as colored pixels. The map is then applied to the lower-resolution object, passing information about the hi-res model to the lighting calculations. |
| At present, a common approach is to build the hi-res source model immediately, but I feel it can be more effective to start with the lo-res final model. Firstly, starting low makes it easier to revise proportions, and allows for vital early rigging and animation tests. Secondly, once the lo-res is finished, it is a simple job to add polish. I recommend exporting the mesh to ZBrush 2: a great tool for sculpting in organic detail. | At present, a common approach is to build the hi-res source model immediately, but I feel it can be more effective to start with the lo-res final model. Firstly, starting low makes it easier to revise proportions, and allows for vital early rigging and animation tests. Secondly, once the lo-res is finished, it is a simple job to add polish. I recommend exporting the mesh to ZBrush 2: a great tool for sculpting in organic detail. | ||
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| ====== ArmA guys ====== | ====== ArmA guys ====== | ||
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| + | Panda[PL]: IIRC one of devs once said how specular texture should look like:\\ | ||
| + | Red = diffuse\\ | ||
| + | Green = specular\\ | ||
| + | Blue = specular power.\\ | ||
| + | So if you don't intend to change specular power and diffuse then both R and B should be both set to full. If diffuse is not all white (full) then the material gets darkened, if Blue is not all white then the value you input as specular power in rvmat gets multiplied by this value (which is treated as a number between 0 and 1, not 0-255). Texture for specular should be "1,x,1,1", where x is specular, unless you want to modify the diffuse and specular power. | ||
| Panda[PL]: The problem with specular map is: it needs two channels to work! The texture is 2D, so one channel supplies only information on how the light is applied along one axis. | Panda[PL]: The problem with specular map is: it needs two channels to work! The texture is 2D, so one channel supplies only information on how the light is applied along one axis. | ||
| My advise on normal maps:\\ | My advise on normal maps:\\ | ||
| - | 1) draw a height map (lighter th color the higher the point), you can use the normal texture here if you're really in a hurry, but I advise making it by hand.\\ | + | 1) draw a height map (lighter the color the higher the point), you can use the normal texture here if you're really in a hurry, but I advise making it by hand.\\ |
| 2) use programs like Xnormal to convert it to normal map.\\ | 2) use programs like Xnormal to convert it to normal map.\\ | ||
| The correct channel settings seem to be:\\ | The correct channel settings seem to be:\\ | ||
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| ====== Normal Maps Tutorials ====== | ====== Normal Maps Tutorials ====== | ||
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| * TexView2 | * TexView2 | ||
| - | First of all I would like to say that this may not be the best way to make normal maps for ArmA, but I't works for me and I'm satistfied with the results.\\ | + | First of all I would like to say that this may not be the best way to make normal maps for ArmA, but I't works for me and I'm satistfied with the results. (My native language is not English so bare with me) |
| - | (My native language is not English so bare with me) | + | |
| In this turitorial I'm going to show you how to make a new normal map for a us soldier. I'm using my own diffuse texture as an example to show you what I want the new normal map to be based on. | In this turitorial I'm going to show you how to make a new normal map for a us soldier. I'm using my own diffuse texture as an example to show you what I want the new normal map to be based on. | ||
| - | {{ http://tactical.nekromantix.com/images/wiki/freddern_diffuse_texture.jpg }} | + | {{ https://pmc.editing.wiki/images/freddern_diffuse_texture.jpg }} |
| As you can see in the diffuse texture , most of the changes are on the vest and the new armpads. The rest of the texture will look great with the original normal map. So this means that I'm going to add my own vest and armpads to the original normal map. | As you can see in the diffuse texture , most of the changes are on the vest and the new armpads. The rest of the texture will look great with the original normal map. So this means that I'm going to add my own vest and armpads to the original normal map. | ||
| - | {{ http://tactical.nekromantix.com/images/wiki/freddern_original_normal.jpg }} | + | {{ https://pmc.editing.wiki/images/freddern_original_normal.jpg }} |
| But how do you do this? | But how do you do this? | ||
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| Then desaturate everything (I think just turning the image to grayscale will give you trouble later on). | Then desaturate everything (I think just turning the image to grayscale will give you trouble later on). | ||
| - | Now, give the whole image a gray background and then kind'a play with the image so that you get something similar to a height map. (White is high and black is low) | + | Now, give the whole image a gray background and then kind'a play with the image so that you get something similar to a height map. (White is high and black is low). |
| It dont have to be a perfect height map. The trick is just to give all the little details some depth. | It dont have to be a perfect height map. The trick is just to give all the little details some depth. | ||
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| Now you have somthing like this: | Now you have somthing like this: | ||
| - | {{ http://tactical.nekromantix.com/images/wiki/freddern_my_vest_height.jpg }} | + | {{ https://pmc.editing.wiki/images/freddern_my_vest_height.jpg }} |
| Use the xNormal plugin and choose Height2Normals. | Use the xNormal plugin and choose Height2Normals. | ||
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| Don't worry. Just press Image -> Adjustments -> Channel Mixer and drag the "Red" slider down to zero %. | Don't worry. Just press Image -> Adjustments -> Channel Mixer and drag the "Red" slider down to zero %. | ||
| + | |||
| + | **Note**: //I think you need to leave the red channel as it is, your original normal map above seems to be missing the red channel. Did you use TexView2 or Kegety's plugin to open the original normal paa?, if you used Kegety's plugin the red channel gets put in the alpha channel and needs to be copied into the red channel to give you a proper normal map.// | ||
| Now you can cut this layer so that you get the new vest and arm pads with the old pants and shoes etc... | Now you can cut this layer so that you get the new vest and arm pads with the old pants and shoes etc... | ||
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| Looks finished now don't it? | Looks finished now don't it? | ||
| - | {{ http://tactical.nekromantix.com/images/wiki/freddern_my_normal.jpg }} | + | {{ https://pmc.editing.wiki/images/freddern_my_normal.jpg }} |
| Not quite. | Not quite. | ||
| Line 108: | Line 117: | ||
| Now you see this: | Now you see this: | ||
| - | {{ http://tactical.nekromantix.com/images/wiki/freddern_alpha_channel.jpg }} | + | {{ https://pmc.editing.wiki/images/freddern_alpha_channel.jpg }} |
| Select the whole image\alpha picture and copy it, select RGB channel, then paste so that you get a copy of the alpha channel in a regular RGB layer and can modify it as you wish. | Select the whole image\alpha picture and copy it, select RGB channel, then paste so that you get a copy of the alpha channel in a regular RGB layer and can modify it as you wish. | ||
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| Have fun! | Have fun! | ||
| - | Source ([[http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard311/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=76;t=65558|freddern in BIS forum]]) | ||
| ===== Normal Maps Tutorial by Skaven ===== | ===== Normal Maps Tutorial by Skaven ===== | ||
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| (as a side note, I didn't just write it for myself. Somebody on Ars Technica's Macintosh Achaia (http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/...m/726000575831) expressed the same complaint with NMG as I felt, so I figured, why not write it. | (as a side note, I didn't just write it for myself. Somebody on Ars Technica's Macintosh Achaia (http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/...m/726000575831) expressed the same complaint with NMG as I felt, so I figured, why not write it. | ||
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| ===== Nvidia Tools ===== | ===== Nvidia Tools ===== | ||
| - | Nvidia tools are supposedly doing normal maps (automatically?), some filters or something. Check out [[http://developer.nvidia.com/object/photoshop_dds_plugins.html|Nvidia Adobe Photoshop Plug-ins]]. | + | Nvidia tools will create normal maps automatically. Check out [[http://developer.nvidia.com/object/photoshop_dds_plugins.html|Nvidia Adobe Photoshop Plug-ins]]. |
| Includes: | Includes: | ||
arma/texturing/normal_maps.1184081319.txt.gz · Last modified: 2007-07-10 15:28 (external edit)
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