What do you use to show off normals

meshfx

Hey all,

Old dog here trying to learn new tricks!  I am mucking around with ZBrush and 3ds Max to make some normal maps.  I have only just started so they are quite poor, but what I am finding is that 3ds Max renders don't really show off the texture like I see amazingly done on here.

This is the best I can make it look in 3ds max.  No need to slam the work, I am learning.

I would just like to know what you guys use to really show off the texture to it's fullest effect.

Appreciate any suggestions - sticking with my day job isn't an acceptable suggestion

musashidan

Max now ships with the stingray setting in the directX material, but having tested it I found it poor in comparison to the likes of Substance or Unreal Engine4/Unity.

Incidentally, you can try out UE/Unity as a free download. A lot of people still use the popular real-time asset viewer Marmoset Toolbag, but with the ability now to display your assets in UE4 as practically 1:1 with Marmoset, I can see it slowly  become less popular.

Sadly Max lags behind in the ability to view normal maps in the viewport as the 2 best plugins/scripts no longer work in Nitrous viewport (if you're on Max 2011 you may still be in luck) whilst the likes of Blender, 3D coat, and now Modo all have modern PBR implemented.

The other option is to just keep going with your offline renderer(you haven't said what you're using) and improve the lighting.

meshfx

Thanks for the reply.  Do you know if there is any sort of template for Unity.. something like a sphere and a plane and then replace materials with my own.  I am sure I can nut it out, just not sure if they run with a base project or something to use.

The render in that pic is just from the Max viewport (2014)

musashidan

I'm not sure about Unity but there is a great user-created Hdri asset showcase setup in UE4 that mimics Marmoset very closely.

meshfx

oh ok thanks for that.  I haven't really used it but will have a scratch around.  Is it something that installs with it or do I need to find it as a web download?

meshfx

Thanks for that, I will go on the hunt and see what I can find.  Yeh you are right, I was assuming the wrong thing in relation to my render.. the normal looks ok but the final presentation is what I was unhappy with.  I'll track down some more info based on your suggestions.