Zbrush Normal map export issue

ben1000 · Sep 2016

Hi, I was wondering if someone could help me? I have a face mesh and when I go to export the normal map the result is blocky. Maybe Im just being stupid but I thought the export should reflect the smooth (final layer) of subdivisions. Instead it shows the selected layer ? I think im selecting the wrong settings but am following the tutorial(s) by the steps.

Thanks (and sorry if this is a newb question)!

CharacterCarl · Sep 2016

Do you have the "Smooth Lowres Normals" setting enabled?

musashidan · Sep 2016

Zbrush NMs are not the best quality, and probably the last place I would choose to bake. Have you considered Xnormal or handplane? Both are free.

ben1000 · Sep 2016

ah thank you DerRazputin ! I missed that setting.

CharacterCarl · Sep 2016

No problem. I'd also second what Dan wrote though. In ZBrush you won't be able to edit the normals of a mesh (that also means no smoothing groups) and it doesn't allow you to specify what tangent basis to use for baking (necessary, in order for the normal map to behave properly inside a game engine).
ZBrush might be OK for test bakes but especially if you want normal maps that look good inside a game engine you will have more luck with the apps he's recommended.
Handplane is nice to use and faster than xNormal from what I have tested so far. At the moment, xNormal still provides some more settings/features. See which one suits you best.

fuzzzzzz · Sep 2016

the main issue with Zbrush normal map baking, it's not synced with tangent space data from the model, that unity (unityTspace) or Unreal engine 4 (mikktangent) deals with.
So best is to find the baker that make your normal map to match the game engine requirements.

Zbrush Normal map export issue

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