Help with Mudbox Displacement maps

will_mundell

Hi all,

I'm very new here and also to Mudbox (in fact this is my first attempt)and I seem to be having some problems with the displacement maps when transferred into 3DS Max. After i extracted the displacement map in Mudbox I tried to apply it using both the displace modifier and also in the material map slot. In both cases all I seem to get is a model that inflates rather than actually applying any detail. I'm not sure what I am doing wrong, normal maps seem to be behaving as expected but It would be great to find out whats up with the displacement.

Any help would be brilliant.

k@rt

I am far from an expert on displacement maps, but assuming (from your comments about the normalmap) that your Mudbox and Max model have identical and correctly defined uvw's - could this simply be a resoultion issue? My limited experience with displacement maps has led me to conclude that they don't work very well at all if the mesh you are applying them to is too low res. Unlike normalmaps, displacement maps can only effect the verticies that exist in the mesh already.... and if they are too far appart, or the detialling in the displacement doesnt match the vertex positions very well then all they do seem to do is "inflate" the model as you increase the strength.

Try subdividing your mesh 2-3 iterations and then reapplying the map, see if that helps. Maybe also the displacement map itself is too low res, in which case bake to a higher res...

Oh and one last thing, is it possible you clicked on "vector displacement" rather than just displacement? A simple but very easy mistake to make. Vector displacement maps would not work in a Max displacement modifier at all I expect!

MM

sounds like you dont have enough iterations on turbo smooth for render.

google:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U6c_u-f9L8"]How to Render Zbrush Displacement maps in MAX - YouTube[/ame]

will_mundell

Thanks guys that definitely helped to add more iterations on the turbosmooth, however it is still far from perfect. I tried using the vector displacement map and the displacement map and had much better results using the vector map with the displace modifier. The normal map is still giving the best results overall however the spines on the back are far less pronounced than i would like.

normal mapped


Vector displacement map (strength 3)


vector displacement map (strength 10)

mbischof

this should solve any issues:
http://www.cggallery.com/tutorials/displacement/

MM

it would be easier to find a solution if you can post more images of your mudbox sculpt, your model/wireframe inside Max and screenshot of your displacement map.

you dont really need a "displace" modifier. displace is for displacing mesh before render. you dont even need turbo smooth unless your model is too lowpoly.

vector displacement is not supported by default as mentioned above.

just extract regular 32bit float displacement map and plug it into material's displacement slot. then all you need is to go under "subdivision displacement" and enable it. you can set the step (iterations) and use the "regular" subdivision method. this is all in the editable poly rollout:

mbischof wrote: »

this should solve any issues:
http://www.cggallery.com/tutorials/displacement/

isnt that a vray tutorial ?

will_mundell

Thanks MM. pardon my ignorance but I cannot find the subD displacement rollout, I looked on the web and it suggested it would be under the modifier panel but all I can find is
"subdivide" which does not give the same options as the screen shot you have provided. Also I exported the map from mudbox using the subdivision method as opposed to raycasting would this be correct? Thanks for the help

MM

it is not a modifier. it is an option of "editable poly" under the main rollout menu. click on editable poly and you see menus like selection, edit vertices and so on. at the very end there should be a "subd surface" and "subd displacement" :

http://sns.xiaomei.cc/attachment/temp/img/2012/04/35000/34498/img/img_1335171906_38.jpg

i am not sure if raycasting would work(since you are subdividing in max), but doesn't hurt to try both and see which works.

will_mundell

Bingo! I was just about to respond saying that i was still getting the bloated effect however i realised I was rendering with MentalRay but using a standard material, I switched to arch and design and plugged the map in to the slot and it seems to have worked. Thank you so much for your help, I'm very new to Mudbox and not exactly a master in Max so was great to have your input.