Is there a software like old NDO2 where you can DRAW normal maps - more specific for sci-fi trims.
polycounter lvl 3
Hey everyone. So is there a software like old NDO2 where you can DRAW normal or/and Height maps - more specific for sci-fi trims/atlases needs? I just start to think that I can save some time while drawing Height map + Normal map but not modelling geo for bake. Substance Designer is not what I'm looking for too because I believe that it is much more technical and will not give me that freedom of fast iterating on sci-fi trim designs - just almost painting, erasing, etc.
Sergey Tyapkin once mentioned in a 80lv article that he used NDO2 for trims so I got wondered - is there some modern supported software for Drawing normal maps (good if also height maps for pom).
Replies
you can paint in your heigth map in substance painter and use a filter to convert to normalmap in realtime, and you have the option to use alphas/stencils and different tools to generate shapes
Marmoset toolbag also allows you to paint in a bump channel and that will be automatically converted to normal map.
Affinity Photo also allows normalmap creation.
Here is a free solution for it which allows image to normalmap, AO and simple normalmap creation.
https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/137255-normal-map-generator/
There are slightly more advanced files available but they cost money so I would advice to first try out the free stuff.
There are some things to keep in mind;
Affintiy Photo has no compatibility with NDO1 and NDO2 files.
Things like slopes are (for me at least) not possible
there is no "sculpt" feature available.
Some addition to that with profiles and if it should do it inside or outside the shape would be so good!
in painter you dont need a filter, it converts to normal map automatically. you need to use anchors to pass painted height/normal info into filters but that's a different problem.
you can build painter brushes in designer that allow adjustment of falloff profile etc fairly easily,
tbh i do most of this sort of thing in designer, you can develop surprisingly interactive tools if you're willing to put a little work in and you get the benefit of all the other cunning stuff it does at the same time,
I'm surprised this doesn't get mentioned more often, but 3D Coat is pefect for this kind of workflow. I used nDo2 for a long time, and 3d Coat does all that and more, and way faster. Draw out some shapes, curves, use photoshop-style alpha brushes, whatever you want. 3D Coat even has a VERY useful thing called "strips" to draw repeating patterns with ease. For the icing on the cake, throw on a smart material and you're done. All in a familiar Photoshop-ish style workflow. You can even shoot all your layers over to Photoshop by pressing CTL-P for further editing, then back to 3d coat.
Here's my very ugly 1 minute example:
If you don't have substance painter 3d coat is not a bad shout .
If you do, then use painter cos it's just better