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noob texturing questions

polygons
polycounter lvl 4
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polygons polycounter lvl 4
I found this image of a diffuse and a spec map while reading through the vertex 2 magazine and I had some questions about spec maps.
jRFFHVf.png
I was wondering how they are created as well as how they would be applied in maya? I tried looking it up and I was told that you are supposed to invert the diffuse color for nonmetallic materials but I don't know what to do for metallic materials. I read somewhere else that you're supposed to desaturate the colors for spec maps. Why would it be wrong to use a greyscale image for a spec map and what is the difference between a spec map and a gloss map?
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  • ZacD
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    ZacD ngon master
    Well, that workflow is outdated if you are going to use a engine that supports PBR or physically based rendering.
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  • polygons
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    polygons polycounter lvl 4
    Do game models still use these types of maps? Im very ignorant when it comes to these types of things because i generally just do modeling/sculpting. The only rendering Ive touched is cycles and some mentalray. Im looking for the maps needed to make my mentalray models not look like crap. Im used to just being able to use a normal map and some hdr lighting in cycles in order to get decent looking starts quickly but everything i do in mental ray looks bad.
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  • MikeF
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    MikeF polycounter lvl 19
    using a traditional specular workflow you'd plug the spec map into your specular color channel inside of maya.

    Spec maps should always be created from scratch, inverting your diffuse will only produce results out of sheer luck.

    at the most basic level white = full spec, black = no spec, though a pure grayscale spec map is not going to work well for most situations, you'l want to add in some color

    gloss map defines the sharpness of your specular highlight. white = sharp/tight highlight and the darker you go will soften the highlight.

    PBR is a whole different workflow though.
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  • Mr.Moose
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    Mr.Moose polycounter lvl 7
    Heres some solid info on PBR:

    http://www.marmoset.co/toolbag/learn/pbr-theory
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  • Neox
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    Neox godlike master sticky
    MikeF wrote: »
    PBR is a whole different workflow though.

    metalness workflow is different, but pbr doesn't mean you can not use the specular workflow. you can still use physical based values going the specular route.
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  • MikeF
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    MikeF polycounter lvl 19
    Neox wrote: »
    metalness workflow is different, but pbr doesn't mean you can not use the specular workflow. you can still use physical based values going the specular route.

    Sorry, you're totally correct. Late night post, brain skipped a beat :)
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