Helix > Normal Mapping?

katana

Yep I have a Helix which is converted to Poly and I want to map it. I thought I could use a cylinder with a lot of segments, but I'm getting inside and outside and a lot of red. Also since the splines twist around the helix, there doesn't seem to be a way to just delete the inside.

The only other thing I could think of was to make a LP version of it, but I was hoping to get the tri count down a lot more.

Any suggestions?

(This is where you tell me what the obvious solution is and I mumble something about feeling stupid....:))

Eric Chadwick

Pics would help a ton. Hard to understand what your problem is. Need to UV a helix mesh? Need to bake a highpoly helix? Delete the inside, wha?? LP version of what?

katana

I want to bake this down to a simpler geo shape...like a cylinder.



It is right where the player will see it. The only other thing I thought of was to take the HP spring into Topogun and do a retopo.

But I was hoping an even simpler shape than another helix with lesser sides could be used.

Eric Chadwick

You could extrude a flat plane along a helix, but the silhouette is not noticeable enough to spend 700 or so tris to make a decent outline there.

I would just use a cylinder there. If you really needed the silhouette (no, you don't), but just for the sake of argument, you could make a cylinder and add little notches to the top and bottom, only along the edges where you see the silhouette. Normal map takes care of all the rest.

katana

Thanks Eric. Yes, I tried to do a projection on a cylinder but the projection wouldn't grab the entire cage. I'll keep trying , maybe it will take some PS work to.

s6

Try to excuse the crude execution here, Rushed it out before leaving class :P

But as Eric said, the piece really isn't worth the geometry. The only reason i could see justifying the addition of geo to support the silhouette (as he said, Just some, Not the entire spiral) is if the model is going to be right in front of the players face when they look down the sights. Otherwise, I'd stick to a cylinder.

will look strange close up, But zoomed out to final render size, it won't be noticeable.

Eric Chadwick

Did you do an exploded bake?

katana

Actually I isolated it for a test, but I think I figured out why it wasn't working....I'm going to work on it today.

@s620ex1 : Thanks for doing that.