Regarding seperate accessories for character models

KojimaKid390

As I start to get into more complicated characters, I have always had this question in mind. Is it necessary to have separate maps like diffuse, specular, and normal maps for separate accessories on characters? Such as bookbags, belts, straps etc? I normally just have the character's unwrap which includes all of the accessories but I feel I lose all of the detail like that.
If separate maps are necessary, how big should the maps be? I know it depends on how much detail you would want to show off but pretty much what would the average size of the maps be?

SlyRipper

Well I would just create a new texture file for each stuff, if you need the details, else it's ok to use just 1 or 2 maps for everything (as long as you're happy with the detail/result). The only thing you have to think of is, that different surfaces need their own materials (like, flesh, metal, leather, etc).

If you have to do seperate maps, then you're right, basically it's up to your choice and how much detail you want. There's no common sizes as the Engines use different standards. (For CE there's also an information in the doc's that give some limits. See here)

Mainly I use 2 maps for characters (Head + Body) It makes also sense to create a seperate file that holds the accessories, so they just get loaded if needed inGame. The size depends on what model and how much detail i want from 1024-2048 (head/body) and adjusted for weapons, etc. mainly 512 maps are enough for weapons (still depends on how much details/objects you've placed on it.) Also custom sizes like 512x256 are allowed and should be used if you don't need the full 512x512 space for your object.

There's no thumb rule, but hope this helps you out a bit ^^

KojimaKid390

Ok, thanks for the info! I have a character in mind that will probably have tons of accessories so I will do separate maps for the extra stuff this time.

Ashaman73

As an intermediate step you could start with single textures for each accessore and once you got the feeling that most of the stuff is stable, bake it on a single texture (optimize unwrapping) . But be aware, that baking will have some drawbacks (depends a lot on the resolution, best to test it out before), therefor do this as intermediate step before going too much into the detail or even after you have finished the texture.