Normal Map Issue

bludragon

Hey guys, I've recently been having this issue with normal maps, especially this object in particular. The wireframe is showing up on the normals.

Skull_LOWNormalsMap.jpg

I asked around, and people usually say it has to do with the Low poly smoothing groups, BUT I've tried exporting both verions of my low poly (1 with smoothing groups on, and one without) into xnormal and I keep getting the same result.

And heres the High poly model, with the low rez wireframe on top, but when i hide the wireframe its still visible on the model, which is the low rez normal map

skullWire.jpg

I tried every possible way to extract a normal map with this skull; export the high and low poly into xnormal to bake out the maps, tried using Zbrushes Create Normal map feature, GoMax that automatically extracts the normal map, AND Render to Texture inside of 3D Max.
And ALL of them have given me the exact same map.

Could it be my Uv's?
Could it be the projection cage inside the render to texture?

Skullcage.jpg

Please Help!

Moosey_G

Are you sure you're using your latest version, because I find that I sometimes bake normals to a different folder and get it switched up.

Snader

bludragon wrote: »

1 with smoothing groups on, and one without

But did you check to see if all polygons were in ONE smoothing group? If you have smoothing groups on, but every poly in a different group, you'll end up with this too.

bludragon

Latest version of my high poly? i only had 1 version of the high and low...

Hmmm.... I did select all the polys at once and added 1 smoothing group to all of them, but I might have to double check that...
Is that what you mean?

Snader

Yeah that's what I mean, simplest way I think is to select all polies, set the angle to 180 and then automatically generate smoothing groups. Could you post a picture of the lowpoly without textures but with smooth/highlighted shading?

marks

check all your verts are welded

bludragon

Sure


Ill try the angle direction and render it again....

Eric Chadwick

Looks to me like the UVs are messed up. Happens sometimes when exporting from various tools. I'd simply recreate them in Max.

bludragon

Ahh that was the main problem, my Uv's. I fixed them and their generating great now, thanks a ton!

Kkyc

bludragon said:

Ahh that was the main problem, my Uv's. I fixed them and their generating great now, thanks a ton!

How did you fix this issue? Just... it seem's like i have it too=( IDK what is going wrong

Eric Chadwick

@Kkyc what software are you using for baking, and what renderer/game are you planning to show the final model in?

Looks like unsmoothed vertex normals on the lowpoly. Also you may have a gamma correction issue with your normal map, it should instead always be used in linear colorspace.

Kkyc

Eric Chadwick I use Marmoset for baking and blender for render. I don't change tangent space and handedness.

Also i dont smooth my mesh, because i heard somewhere that you shouldn't do that for baking purposes

(and would you please explain me about linear colorspace in UV's. It mean: my uv should be in one color?)

Kkyc

Eric Chadwick I'm folloved your advice about smooth normal's, AND it's works great! IDK why i why didn't I think of this, but anyway HUGE thak you!

Eric Chadwick

Yay, happy to help!

Hopefully this helps explain the gamma issue. 


Some info here about proper gamma settings in Toolbag: https://polycount.com/discussion/150303/marmoset-gamma-lut-settings

Neox

"Also i dont smooth my mesh, because i heard somewhere that you shouldn't do that for baking purposes"

You either misunderstood something, or that person was wrong.