Make Normal Maps For Your Textures

[ihsan]

Let me start by saying that i have a lame videocard on the PC I use most so I personally haven't tested my normal maps ingame yet.

The technique used is displayed on the blender3d website http://www.blender.org/cms/Normal_Maps.491.0.html

Sorry I don't have time to go through the blender interface right now, so if you are new to Blender 3D stop at http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro/Blender_Interface first.

Ok. To get things going I chose a simple metal plate texture to normal map.


The one thing you need to know is that it is a special MATERIAL which makes ANY 3D object RENDER as a mormal map.


To keep things as simple as possible, all I did was put the texture on a plane to use as a guide (billboard style) and put another plane just in front of it which I subdivided and shaped to match the metal plate. Here is the plate with just a few subdiv's


Here you can see how easy it is to use the brush selection tool (in edit mode press
b twice, ESC to cancel) and pull or push vertices around. I used as much subdiv's ad my lame videocard could handle for the actual normal map.

Let me remind you all that you can use ANY modeling techniques or tools in blender for this, just apply the normal map material and it would render as a normal map.

To reduce the polycount i merged a lot of the vertices in the middle. It was a bad move but I had to do it to make the slowdown on my PC bearable

Here you see me pulling up the bevel and rivets.


Render and we're all done. 10 minutes well spent


Here's a link to the blender file:
http://xoopstuner.com/nex/normal-256x256.blend
YOU CANT SAVE NORMAL MAPS IN JPEG OR OTHER LOSSY FORMATS so here's a link to the normal map as a TGA:
http://xoopstuner.com/nex/d_drkmtl_mpanel_norm.tga

[Strahlemann]

hi. one question: how can i change the texture on the plane in your example-file ?

[ihsan]

hi. one question: how can i change the texture on the plane in your example-file ?

I suspect that you are new to blender 3D
The good news is that with the new sculpt mode in blender this is even easier to do.
The bad news is that i just don't have the energy to do a blender interface tutorial right now and can't seem to find an appropriate one.
To answer your question
1. Change any window (or frame) to type UV/Image editor. Choose it from the popup menu usually in the top left corner of every frame. Note: In my blend file the menu bars are in the bottom of the two 3D view frames.
2. In the UV/Image editor menu choose Image > Open . Select your .jpg .bmp or .tga. To load it into your workspace. If you don't see a menu in the frame click the mac-style triangle arrow.
3. In another frame, change the type to 3D view
4. In the 3D view frame check the combo box and make sure you are in object mode.
5. Right click on the plane with the texture to make sure it is selected.
6. Change modes from object mode to UV face select.
7. In the UV/Image editor frame. Choose your newly loaded image from the combo box. The new texture should now replace the old one in the 3D window.

Quick tips:
1. To select a different object you must be in 3D view, and object mode. Right click selects.
2. Right click on a border to split or join frames
3. In 3d view, Middle button to orbit, shift + middle to pan spacebar for popup menu. Numpad 0 for camera view, Numpad 7 for top view, Numpad 3 for front view
4. To subdivide the when in 3D view, edit mode press A until all points are selected (they turn yellow), now press space to bring up the menu, then choose edit > edges > subdivide.
5. When in 3D view, subdivide the top plane until you have a lot of points. Now try the new sculpt mode to carve out your normal map.

[Strahlemann]

Thanks a LOT !

I went through a lot of beginners tutorials but all the stuff that was handling the texturing was explained much later, so i skipped quite a lot at some point.

This was the key: 6. Change modes from object mode to UV face select.

I nearly went mad, cause i couldn't find this point anywhere so thanks a lot.

Behold of my forthcoming totally awesome-normal-mapped textures

[ihsan]

I nearly went mad, cause i couldn't find this point anywhere so thanks a lot.

Same things that frustrated me when I was going through tuts.
The blender interface is confusing at first but when you get into it you begin to wish everything was like that.
The first time you have to place a point exactly somewhere in a complex mesh and you find yourself setting up 6 different custom views of the same spot on the same screen you think "this is awesome"!

[Sindwiller]

Your method can be used for non-organic surfaces or simple ones. Or whenever you want to start off a model, make a normal map of it and then making the diffuse.

I actually prefer this method, when I have more exotic textures:

1. Open up the texture in GIMP or in PS.
2. Be sure to have the normalmap plugin for GIMP respectively Photoshop
3. Open up your diffuse map.

4. Desaturate your image.

5. Duplicate the bottom layer two times, so you have 3 exactly the same layers.

6. Use the gaussian blur on the bottom layer, with y=6 and x=6 as the strength values. Offset the image with x/2 & y/2, blur it again. Offset it back and blur the layer for the last time, so you've blurred the layer three times now.

7. Do the same with the middle layer with y=3 x=3 as the strength values. Leave the top layer alone by now.

8. Now, use the normalmap filter on the bottom layer with scale 20-25 (depends on texture). You can check the normalmap with the built-in 3d preview. Simply open the diffuse again so you can access to it through the preview app.

9. Do this again with the middle and top layer. With scale 12-15 respectively 5-10. But you need to have DU/DV map: 8 bits (unsigned) choosen.

10. Change the blending mode of the middle and top layer to Overlay and change the opacity of them until the normalmap looks nice

11. Move your lazy butt and integrate it in the engine of your choice (doom3, darkplaces, xreal, source, WHATEVER)
12. Have fun

EDIT: Added something really important that I forgot o_O

[Psychcf]

nice job.