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where can i learn more about Normal Maps in VRay?


Coolhand78
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I don't know much about Normal maps and am looking for a good source of info on a. how to use them and b. how to make them... like do i use the Normal map in the bump slot or VRayNormalMap, do i need the additional bump map etc etc...?

 

I've tried making them with the Nvidia software in photoshop, but frankly I dont really know what I'm doing and it seems to be a bit of a laborious task with that particular pluging... I know NDo creates normal maps but I dont have that software and as I dont know much about the maps themselves as yet am not keen to buy it until i understand how they work properly...

 

I know Juraj and Bertrand (and probably everybody else) use them to great effect so I'd like to know how to use and make them myself, any info would be greatly appreciated.

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I think ndo2 might be free at this point as the 3rd version is about to come out? Pretty sure that company has a special camera rig setup to capture "accurate" normal maps rather than the kinda guessed auto/photoshop ones but don't quote me on that :) Other than that I know normal mapping is really popular/heavily used in games dev too, so might be worth searching that field if you're having no luck.

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..

 

To be honest the use differs quite bit. For viz purpose, the normal map is in 99perc. just as more powerful bump map, where displacement would yet be innefficient (the level of micro detail, or instances of vegetation), and used in very similar fashion as tiled map. It doesn't contain information from former high-poly model like in real-time where they originated and makes sense.

 

Example of where I use them: Leaves on tree. Bump map is purely micro detail and would only read as noisy unfiltered or as nothing if filtered from afar. But normal map will additionally distort reflection on already low-poly curved leaf and bring out all the necessary detail leaf contains.

Displacing ten thousands leaves is not realistic.

 

nDo(3) is now part of free beta until September here: http://quixel.se/

 

Scanned data is part of their Megascans database, not nDo, which is map generator based on Photoshop actions by large.

 

There is nothing to really research, just download and try. It's super easy.

 

To answer original question:

--) VrayNormalMap is preferrable, I am not sure how it reads classic NormalMap. No additional bump map if you're using normal instead of it. Bump map might be used if normal map is used for low-frequency macro detail and the resolution doesn't cover micro detail or different mapping is used between these.

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To be honest the use differs quite bit. For viz purpose, the normal map is in 99perc. just as more powerful bump map, where displacement would yet be innefficient (the level of micro detail, or instances of vegetation), and used in very similar fashion as tiled map. It doesn't contain information from former high-poly model like in real-time where they originated and makes sense.

 

Example of where I use them: Leaves on tree. Bump map is purely micro detail and would only read as noisy unfiltered or as nothing if filtered from afar. But normal map will additionally distort reflection on already low-poly curved leaf and bring out all the necessary detail leaf contains.

Displacing ten thousands leaves is not realistic.

 

nDo(3) is now part of free beta until September here: http://quixel.se/

 

Scanned data is part of their Megascans database, not nDo, which is map generator based on Photoshop actions by large.

 

There is nothing to really research, just download and try. It's super easy.

 

To answer original question:

--) VrayNormalMap is preferrable, I am not sure how it reads classic NormalMap. No additional bump map if you're using normal instead of it. Bump map might be used if normal map is used for low-frequency macro detail and the resolution doesn't cover micro detail or different mapping is used between these.

 

Thanks for the reply Juraj, I notice in the discussion on that new project you are working on, the one of the buildings in new york that you were using them on the bricks... can you explain a bit on how you went about creating that brick texture and how the normal map fits in, and did you use nDo for that?

 

Thanks mate...!

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There is no normal map anywhere, except for Ivy ;- ) You must have misread something.

 

sorry man, maybe i confused it with the edgestex or something that you were doing to create the brick texture...?

been reading a lot of your posts lately and am working on lots of things, sometimes they start to blend into each other... :)

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