Normal Mapping Certain Shapes...

SyaPed

Hey there,

I'm wondering how you guys would go about normal mapping an object like this. 'Cause I can't seem to figure out an effective method.

Here's the low and high poly meshes. You can probably already see where this is going.



Here's the lowpoly with the generated normal map. As you can see the broad surfaces look all nice and smoothy, but the edges are messed up because the edges on the lowpoly and highpoly don't line up properly so...It doesn't...Work



Here's the lowpoly with a normal map generated from another lowpoly mesh, but with bevelled edges. It works ok (pic is bad example) because the edges on both models lined up. But this way you don't get nice smooth broad surfaces or other details you'd otherwise model in.



Is there a way to combine both ways? Or some other method which works well? I've just played through Quake4 and it seemed to me that alot of characters basically looked like bodysuits with insets and extrusions on them. Not alot of right angles. So maybe there isn't a way around this, I dont know

Joshua Stubbles

Well, your low poly mesh is just that, TOO low poly. The lower res mesh needs to conform pretty close to the higher end mesh. Keep it low poly of course, but not THAT low poly. If you have a 1million poly char for example, the normal map will look amazing on a 6000 poly base mesh. If you try to put that same map on a 1200 poly character, it won't look half as good. You can only go so low, before the normal map just doesn't work. Afterall, normal maps fake high poly detail, they don't add it.

SyaPed

That's a good point. I guess I just thought it'd be too expensive to spend polys on all the areas that will need to match the hi-poly so closely.

Especially when it looks like there will be alot of these type of areas on the model I'm attempting.

KDR_11k

Shrink the lowpoly a bit, that way the rays won't miss the hipoly anymore.