M1911 Model

SekToR

Good day polycount users. I am beginner in 3d modelling and hope for some help from interested modelers with my M1911. My purpose is baking textures from highpoly model to lowpoly and take it to game, studying to do it. At this moment i have high- and lowpoly models, so i'm trying to baking normalmap, but stuck on it. I read so in making UV i must to the seams as less as can, but in fact on render lowpoly model with normalmap i see the black line on rounded edges. The way to get rid that is making more seams, so that will be "MANY" seams, now i had not find other way to rid that. May be someone can help me with it. Below will be some picture of my model with normalmap. And i will glad to see some opinions or critiques.

skyline5gtr

pictures do not work

SekToR

Had not seen the picture, so make it othe way
www.floomby.ru/s2/EUz3uc
www.floomby.ru/s2/uUz3u9
www.floomby.ru/s2/mUz3uf
www.floomby.ru/s2/yUz3Fu
www.floomby.ru/s2/RUz3FT

3dReaper

There can be many reasons for an improper bake, read this thread:

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107196&highlight=Smoothing+hard+edges

Also I usually preview a bake in a render-er (marmoset) other than the program I used to model.

Also, when posting images use a hosting site (Imgur) and use the provided code to post the image. Attaching images, or providing links are not very user friendly.

skyline5gtr

I do not think it is a seam issue maybe the edges are too sharp or not enough geo in the low poly

Johnniewooker

You have to make seams on any edges that are required in order to maintain undeformed topology. lack of seem inside the rounded hole will produce errors and stretched texture.

SekToR

3dReaper, i had read translate of that post, but may be not so attentively. Try again. thanks

SekToR

skyline5gtr, yes its sharp edge, 90 degrees. One of the way to rid the problem on the UV is making chamfer (as i read), but it didn't rid that. What is not enough geo?

SekToR

Wrong topology?

SekToR

http://imgur.com/edit

SekToR

Or, may be, i have mistake with using smoothing groups, almoust all problem places are on the hard edges, places of contact polygons with different smoothing groups.

noosence

This is how to post images to your forum post



And read this thread for your problems with the cylinder.


this is an example of the problem I think you are having.

"not enough geo" means not enough polygons.

SekToR

Read these threads and try to get satisfactory result in XNormal. I created a simple model and the best my result i got with one smoothing group on model, with different smoothing groups i got a white line on rounded edge. Here my result with rounded highpoly, lowpoly with one smoothing group and separate cage (unsmooth, unify in edit normals modifier and push).

SekToR

It is, as i think - satisfactory result on model. So I got new lowpoly model(to get rid of possible modelling errors), done that as close to highpoly as i can, and get that render lowpoly with normal map with one smoothing group. And can see the black space on edges

SekToR

As described in those threads, one of the way to gat rid that - to do UV seams alond the edges, but result was not satisfactory too. So i added the supported loops along hard edges

SekToR

and get result: with one smoothing group
and try the different smoothing group

SekToR

You can see, the difference not so big, there are the black spaces on edges too. May be someone knows how to rid that, may be wrong settings in XNormal? may be in the render in 3D max. I want to study and rid that, but stuck at this problem almost the week, cannot find the principle

SekToR

depending on the view there are satisfactory rounded edges, but has black spaces around

SekToR

depending on the view it is look good, like that
but some turn the view - again black lines along esged, like that

And have i need to triangle the lowpoly model before getting the normal map?

shadacer

Are you rendering in 3DS Max? If so, your normal map needs to have its Green channel inverted in Photoshop to display correctly if baked in external apps like XNormal. Maybe that's why your seams are wierd.

noosence

Also can you post pictures of your UV´s?

SekToR

Simple UV, just test

SekToR

UV seams along edges with different smoothing groups

noosence

ok so yeah I would try inverting the green channel of the normal map. I can post up photos on how to do that if you would like.

SekToR

yes, please. I tryed to find, how can i do it, but have not find at this moment. Find only how to convert all picture and all colours

noosence

Here are the steps to do it in Photoshop







Or you can bake them in xNormal with the green channel inverted

SekToR

And tell me, please, have i need to thriangle the lowpoly model before i get the normal map?

noosence

Yes you need to triangulate the low poly before you export it for baking, also make sure your cage is triangulated too

SekToR

hooray, i did it... I mean, WE did it. Thank you very much, i had suffer with it a lot of time. Hope, progress will continue much faster, result: left - old map from XNormal, right - convert the green

noosence

=] awesome! Yeah watch out for that green channel, it varies for almost every program, and it gets me everytime haha

SekToR

today tried that on other model and did not got satisdactory result, so tried to repeat on the previous model. I don't understend how it works, why today i got that result

SekToR

Can it be the UV's resolution?

SekToR

At this render there was that UV

SekToR

Or, probably, the normal map resolution

Shiv

You should straighten up your islands so major shape lines in the mesh are straight in the uv. Otherwise you will need multiple pixels smudged together to get a straight line rather than just 1 pixel width lines (or the ability to do so) Your stuff will appear crisper and you will be able to edit it later much more easily.
You also seem to have broken the gun up into an awful lot of separate islands, many of which can be combined, for example, the entire side of the gun.
And then make sure when you are laying it out you lay it out so it makes sense later. No one is going to see it in the end product, but it makes it much easier to work with if pieces that go together are together in the uv. If anyone else has to work on your stuff further down the production line they will murder you.

SekToR

i am just learning

SekToR

Has somebody knows, why that happened? i had the normalmap resolution 2048x2048 and got the result like on picture higher, so i'd done the resolution bigger and got that
Is this some limitation in program? Or an error?

noosence

Can you show us the normal map, and also can you show us the high poly model you are baking from?

SekToR

At now model with normal map - i dont know what and why is that
Highpoly
Normal ?dont what's happened with her too

SekToR

IT is broken UV's

noosence

Loosen up your edges a little bit.


Also I think your low poly has all hard edges. There should only be hard edges on UV island borders. Also are you using a cage for baking?

SekToR

it is such a model? there are many hard edges. About cage - yes, i'd did that from lowpoly model. About problem higher - it is a broken UV's, jast repair now

McGergs

I had to jump in before you spend to much time troubleshooting one thing when you really need to go back and fix another one. That UV pack is really bad and could be tantamount to the other issues you are running into. You need to try and get all of your UV shells with straight edges pointing up and down the U or V direction of your texture space. You want to try and avoid angled edges as much as possible. Normal maps and texture maps are still made out of square pixels. You want to try and run your textures along those directions as much as possible. This will help prevent edge distortion along seems. I see you are using Headus for the initial UV layout and UV packing to scale. That is good to start out with but you are going to have to manually pack that UV map in the end. You also need to make it more organized. This may be a simple gun but in a game company I guarantee you will not be the only one touching the textures for this model. As you are going through this learning process you also need to learn not to form bad habits of being disorganized with your model.

Make sure to check your face normals on that low poly model. Also I like to use Knald for all my High to Low Poly bakes. The new Knald Beta has that feature added now. You can do many iterations in 1/10 the time. I can bake a 4k 16x AA 16bit normal map in about 30 seconds. This lets you experiment more with your UV seems and smoothing groups.

SekToR

"Make sure to check your face normals on that low poly model" - you ,ean "Unify" in "Edit Normals" modifier for lowpoly model?
Knald Beta it's instead XNormal, more perfectly version? Must try

SekToR

Have someone knows, what is that? I've done new UV's, manually disposed all islands, and when tried to integrete the UV's in Max - get that

SekToR

really not my day

SekToR

who interested - there my disposed UV's, but cannot intedrete it in max

SekToR

What's edges placement?

SekToR

new UV's

SekToR

Got the render
interested in several places, identified red
there aren't the seams on UV's. Is the necessarily doing the UV's seams in every places, where i have the joint of different smoothing groups on model, or is the other way?

Stranger

looks like the HP and LP dont match up right