Master Chief armour - Need help please!
Hi Polycount!
I'm Tim, a 15 yr old who models (with 3ds max) as a hobby. I've just finished the high and low poly models of the Mjolnir MkVI armour from Halo, but have been encountering problems.
I unwrapped the low poly and used xNormal to generate a normal map, but when I applied the normal map to the low poly I kept getting artifacts when I rendered.
If any of you know the solution to my problem I would be most grateful.
I've never really gotten past the modelling stages of my projects so please post tips on how I should go about rigging and suchlike.
I'm Tim, a 15 yr old who models (with 3ds max) as a hobby. I've just finished the high and low poly models of the Mjolnir MkVI armour from Halo, but have been encountering problems.
I unwrapped the low poly and used xNormal to generate a normal map, but when I applied the normal map to the low poly I kept getting artifacts when I rendered.
If any of you know the solution to my problem I would be most grateful.
I've never really gotten past the modelling stages of my projects so please post tips on how I should go about rigging and suchlike.
Replies
For in-depth explanation, here's the wiki on normal maps
http://wiki.polycount.com/NormalMap/
Simple advice is to make a cage and use that when you bake.
What's a cage? It's a copy of your low poly model that should completely cover your high poly model. If any parts of your high poly model stick through the cage, they will not be seen by xNormal, and you'll get holes in your bake.
How do you make a cage? xNormal has a built-in tool for making cages, or you can make one in max and export it out as an obj or fbx or whatever. Just right click your low poly model in xNormal and click "browse for external cage".
Also, this thread should probably be in Technical Talk.