[Character] Link. Learning modeling and texturing.

PrayingMantis

Hi, I'm fairly new in the game modeling field, and I am encoutering many problems.
I am able to sculpt a high res model but I got so much problem for baking my normal maps.
I'm sure that's because I'm lacking of knowledge, and my low poly mesh is probably crappy.

I'm totally stuck and I don't know what to do, that's why I'm here
I am trying to do Link, in a more realistic fashion.
I have done his shield and his sword, and I got the same problem for creating the normal maps, for the sword, I got some little artifact (red dots).
There are some holes in the high poly mesh of Link, on the ribs, but he's wearing a chainmail underneath.
That's the area where I got the more errors, the normal map is not generated here, I got a flat area, even if I tweak my cage.
Here are the models. It's still in progress, but I tried to bake some normal maps at this stage, to see if I was able to do it

Em.

I'm not 100% on this, but you'll probably get more help with this if you post it in the 2D/3D discussion forum, along with your messed-up normal maps. There's also some good threads to pick through on baking normals and workflow.

PrayingMantis

I don't know if the normal map will be helpful, it is really crappy.
But here are they, for the blade of the sword, and the body.
I made the normal of the blade with 3Dsmax, and of the body with Xnormals.
I tried to import a low resolution of my High res mesh in 3dsmax from Zbrush to use it as a template for tweaking my cage, then I imported the cage in Xnormals, but it didn't works well.
And for the blade I got small little red dots/pixels that I can't get rid off. And my cage doesn't cut the mesh at these point.
Here are the pix.


P.S: Sorry if I post my thread in an wrong section, I thought this was here it fit the best.

PrayingMantis

I got an other problem, I have baked my normal map for my sword, tweaking it in photoshop.
But now I want to bake this normal map on an other low poly object that is only the half of the sword. (I tried to follow the advice post by Vig on an other post).
Is it possible to do this?
And can I transfer my uv from one model to an other?
Thx.

PrayingMantis

It drives me crazy.
Here is an other problem.
I baked a normal map for a props, and at a groove I got some wavy edges.



The normal map is for the end of the cylinder, where there is a bulge. And the first circled area is the area where the cylinder is bended.

PrayingMantis

I am texturing my sword (I need to train my texturing skill who are null ), and I really need crits, because that's the first texture I am doing and I got no experience at all (I looked at texture from artist from this board to try to learn).
I worked the more on the blade, but you can give me advice on every part. The more I will get the more it will help me

So here it is, the diffuse and specular map, and a render of the sword with both of these maps plus a normal map.

I used some photo reference to do some texture on the sword, I have also baked a diffuse an height map and a specular map, but because I don't know how to set it up right I'm sure I used them wrong.

I didn't use the resulting specular because it didn't give me anything helpful.
I wanted to bake the diffuse map to be able to get quick selection area, but for the strip on the handle the resulting selection were to rough to be able to use it.

To bake the diffuse map I put some material (a simple blinn) with an approximate color of what I needed, but finally I didn't use it
I saw that it was a worflow use by some artist so I tried to find how it works.
So if anyone got some clues about it, let me know.



An other question, do I have to get a special setup for my lighting while I am previewing my textures in Max, or a simple 3point ligthing setup is enough?

Thx


P.S: If I am on the wrong section excuse me, but I thought that wip should be posted here.

HonkyPunch

New?
That's pretty damn good.
I cant help you, but your highpoly looks very nice.

Michael Knubben

The specmap could use a lot more work, for starters. Just paint some thin strokes of white along things like sharpened edges and corners (anything that you want a thin hgihtlight on), and darken parts that are meant to be dull. Add some scratches on the flat surface for goot measure, and presto! specmap. Also, if there isn't a normalmap-eqiuvalent for the blood, that'll look very bad. This looks like wet, diluted blood, not dried up, so i'd a representation of it to the normalmap as well. You could use something like nvidia's normalfilter for it.

PrayingMantis

Jimmies: I'm not new in high poly modeling, I spent my time to learn sculpting, but I really miss the skills for game modeling, and I want to learn it.
But for texturing I am fairly new, I have done 1 texture before for an orc body some years before, and I have never done any further texture, especialy for props or other things like that.

MightyPea: Thx for the tips, I will add this on my specular map.
I didn't add some thin stroke on the edge because I thought it happened only on painted surface, where the paint disappear to let the metal appear. I really need to study real object better
For the normal map, You're right I forgot to add the fine details I made with photoshop in my normal map.

PrayingMantis

Here is a progress of my sword, I'm slow because I'm learning I'm so poor in painting I have to increase my painting skill, I don't like the top of the sword, the handle.
I didn't added the fine details I made with photoshop on the normal map, I am focusing on the diffuse for the moment.
Here it is.

Joseph Silverman

The blade and the hilt seem like entirely different styles. The blade looks like a pretty well rendered realistic style, but the hilt is the same old cartoony zelda -- muck things up a bit. Think of the wear on the grip, the notches and strikemarks on the crossguard, and the dulling and damage that would happen to that blue stone, over the centuries that sword has been around. Your blade is worn, so the hilt should be too.

PrayingMantis

Thx for the comment SupRore.
I totally remade the diffuse because I was not happy with it, and I tried to make the blood looking better.

Here is a comparison with the last diffuse map.


I put only the diffuse map because I didn't remake the rest of the hilt, you can still crit it