Are my edge to hard for normal mapping?
I all,
Im currently modeling a M1A socom 16, but before i go any further i would like to know if my edge are too hard for a good normal map done with a projection cage? and by the way that's the front part of the barrel... the muzzle flash reducer.
Thx
Im currently modeling a M1A socom 16, but before i go any further i would like to know if my edge are too hard for a good normal map done with a projection cage? and by the way that's the front part of the barrel... the muzzle flash reducer.
Thx
Replies
If you're really unsure, you should make a quick lowpoly, bake out a normal map and see how it looks for what you plan to do with it.
Wow, 2048^2 for a gun prop? That's a bit excessive IMO! But do what you want (Maybe you want super-duper realistic for portfolio or something).
As Bal said, context is very important. Different situations call for different solutions. However, if this is indeed an FP gun model, you're not going to see the front of this thing to begin with, so I wouldn't put too much priority on it. But if you just want to do thIngs correctly I can understand that..
It doesn't look like you have any truly hard edges there. Everything looks chamfered or beveled. Try baking a normal map and see what happens!
sure ce3 can handle a 2048x2048 texture, and im sure your model will look better with one, but it wont help much in your portfolio because it doesnt show your skills as an actual game artist who needs to take performance limitations in to account when making props.
quite honestly there is no such thing as a "too sharp" edge. The important thing is that your edges are as sharp or blunt as they are on the actual real world counterpart! whether or not they are sharp or blunt enough to bake in to your normal map is irrelevant, because if you differ from your refs, essentially you will be making a soft edge where there shouldnt be one.
thats just my 2 cents btw..
putting an FPS gun on a 2048 is very common these days. in FPS games the gun is right in your face 95% of the time, so a map that large is warranted. it may get scaled down to 1024 for consoles, but in all my time working for clients i've always been asked to texture fps weapons at 2048.
tbh you're totally off-base about making edges 100% accurate to the real thing. the actual important thing is to make sure your edges come through on the bake, and to make sure your materials read properly from just edge widths alone (example: metal should ideally get hard but fat edges, plastic should get softer, wider edges). having a good bake is a primary step to a good texture, so, real or not, when your edges barely exist on the normal map it makes texturing a lot more difficult. it's worth it to break realism for the sake of a good bake.
i wrote a post about edge widths a while ago, might be worth checking out: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1517040&postcount=28
and the ever popular example chart: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1725586/crits/edgewidthmodel.jpg
anyway, i think you should probably model the rest of the gun before anyone can judge edge widths. finish the model, do some test bakes, zoom all around and it should be pretty obvious when edges are too thin or not.