Every baked map ok except normal

Pevec

Hi,

I made a tire and wanted to bake high poly to low poly. (I'm using the cage file also)
Now, every map is baking ok except normal map.
What can be the problem?

Normal map:
https://i.imgur.com/KwIaE4u.png

AO map:
https://i.imgur.com/FsD19n5.png

Brian "Panda" Choi

The cage distance might be one issue.

Also might be an issue with the way your HP literally looks.

musashidan

You don't need to use a physical cage mesh. Set your smoothing to a single group. Don't export tangents/bi-normals(only smoothing) in your .fbx. Make sure your low matches your high as closely as possible. Bake averaged in SP. Default ray distance should be fine.

upload the file otherwise as you haven't given us enough info, leaving us to guess.

Pevec

Well, first time I tried on another tire (same low poly model), everything worked as it should.
But on the second tire, normals just went crazy, don't know why.
Models are made in Cinema 4D.

LP and HP tires where normals aren't baking properly:
Lowpoly: https://app.box.com/s/okq3x9911oz15eixcd3fg4vcem5ij65t
Highpoly: https://app.box.com/s/w4as2xfwjyu48fk9jdan4omocheyvm8p

____
LP and HP tires where normals are baking properly:
Lowpoly: https://app.box.com/s/8u8h9keepljt3ndtj27v87ze0f023jgm
Highpoly: https://app.box.com/s/r20mk13bbohyacwa2986qcgtp9jzsk9u

AlecMoody

I didn't download your files but im guessing there isn't anything in the high res for the bake to capture as normals. Are there rounded edges or surface details that would be picked up a new normal on the normal map? Intruding faces along the normal will not result in any new normals from the perspective of the bake.

Pevec

This is how lowpoly looks: https://i.imgur.com/Hjig6yn.png
This is HP: https://i.imgur.com/zLNITAP.png

EarthQuake

AlecMoody said:

I didn't download your files but im guessing there isn't anything in the high res for the bake to capture as normals. Are there rounded edges or surface details that would be picked up a new normal on the normal map? Intruding faces along the normal will not result in any new normals from the perspective of the bake.

Winner winner chicken dinner.

@Pevec there is no detail for the normal map to capture because all of the faces are perpendicular to the baker. You need to bevel the edges on the high, slope the faces or ideally both to have something the baker can record.

Check out Slopes and Bevels in the Best Results section here: https://marmoset.co/posts/toolbag-baking-tutorial/

Pevec

Oh man.., it works now.
Thanks so much.