Today we learned about normal maps and used mudbox to do some texturing. We started by finding out about the different types of texturing methods and about what normal mapping is.
Normal mapping is texturing a model to look like it has finer details and shading for different perspectives. In simple terms, shading on objects that reacts to the direction and angle of said object.
There are also two types of normal mapping. The first is called tangent space, which is a texturing method that shows up in the image file as a blue and purple mess. It is useful for models that will be moving, such as people or enemies in a game.
The second type of normal mapping is called object space. In an image file the colours are multi-coloured, and it is a good method for texturing static models or anything that doesn't need to move.
We created both of these types of normal maps and put textured the original item in Maya. This is how we did it.
1. The first thing we did was download the file off weblearn and open the file in Maya and send it to Mudbox, which is also Autodesk. We made sure the wireframe was on to give us a sense of scale. We also increased the amount of subdivisions to make it less pixelated to model.
2. We then added some stencils from our files and moved them around to fit in the spaces to create some indents and outcrops in the model. We did this by using the Sculpt and Imprint tools in Mudbox, decreasing the strength and enlarging the brush size. The reason this is done is to ensure that the indent/outcrop is equal in depth/height.
3. After doing this on all sides, we zoomed in to check the pixels. Because I didn't increase the subdivisions enough, it appears pixalated, however, anymore and the program would have crashed.
4. After all the sides have been decorated, we saved the textures by going to UVs & Maps and Extracting the texture to either tangent space or object space. This was so we could apply the textures to the model back in Maya.
5. We saved the texture maps as png files, and then went back to Maya. We selected the model and assigned the 'blin' material to it, to give it a shinier texture. What we did next was add a texture map and selected either tangent or object, and tried both of them out.
This is how mine turned out.
The first is the object space texture, and the second is tangent space texture. Both work very nicely, and give the illusion of greater detail. However, because I made the quality on the extracted textures poor, it looks pixelated by close.
I know how to change this, however I ran out of time before I could correct it.
Overall, I think I did well to texture something in Maya using another program. As I am still new to all of these programs, I was impressed I was able to do such a good job in my opinion. If I was asked to do this again, I would definitely be able to do the majority of work without help.