Are 8k maps a total overkill?

james swanson

I'm modeling a gun right now, and was wondering if it'd be worth while to bake normals/AO at 8k for presentation purposes. I know it'd be unrealistic for an asset in-game, but I'd really like to make it look nice in my portfolio. Would using this map res be a bad thing? The only bad thing I can think of is that employers would want to see the asset with realistic map resolutions to see how you handle it. But I'm not sure if that's better, or more important than the look of the asset.

EarthQuake

Well, unless you've got a top of the line computer with a buttload of ram, working a on PSD for an 8K will suck.

Really, there is not much reason to use 8K for a gun. 4K is pushing it even.

BagelHero

I honestly don't think it's worth it. 4k tops, after that (unless you're staring at it super close up 100% of the time), it's a case of diminishing returns with certain items. Just prioritize and pack your UVs well, it's more practical.

Edit: EQ beat me to the punch, lol.

james swanson

Sounds good. And Earthquake, everyone knows you can just download more RAM.

Joshua Stubbles

4K is over the top, even. Unless you're going to zoom in on someone's arse dimples. I mean, HD monitor res is 1920x1080. A 2048x2048 is larger than the entire screen. Even though it wraps around a lot of mesh, it's still a lot of texture resolution. Use multiple 2048's if you have to, but 4k+ is just a waste, not to mention a LOT of real estate to paint. I get lost in 2048's as it is.

JordanN

Just having a high texture resolution isn't enough for presentation. I've seen plenty of mods of games where the textures are ridiculously high res, but the actual lighting and polycounts are hideous, making the whole thing look jarring.

DireWolf

What Jordan says. I think using low resolution textures to create impressive result is much more interesting and exciting to see.

james swanson

Yeah, that was my worry. Too high of a resolution takes away from the challenge of using all the UV space efficiently. 2k it is

passerby

How about instead of making a tread you use your eyes to decided how big a texture map is enough.