Baking Normal Maps - High to Low with external models

[sazberryftw]

Hey guys,

 

I was wondering how to bake normal maps in 3D Coat using an imported high poly mesh and imported low poly mesh? I have searched for how to do this and watched videos but none seem to explain how to do this.

 

Thanks

Sarah

[digman]

Here is a quick video I did today on the basic workflow... The quality is not the best and no editing is done but it is clear enough.

The video does not include all the various ways and hows of doing the workflow but only shows the most basic functions on a simple rock object.

Once you understand that, then learning in more detail comes easier.

I will make better videos in the future but these are done quickly to answer a user's specific questions.

Once through the workflow, of course ask any other questions that arise.

 

For your information: The low polygon mesh I imported was a decimate mesh to 4000 polygons of the the high polygon mesh. That is a similar method that was used in the Unreal Engine 4 Kite demo for rocks...

For some reason in the video, I said Unreal 3. go figure...   

In the video, I chose to import without voxelization which imports a model into surface polygon mode. Scaling with the gizmo does not increase the polygon count.

If your model is all quads it will triangulate the model only,

 

You can import into voxel mode but might need to scale up the object to get the require voxel density to capture all the details.

 

Edited January 26, 2016 by digman

[sazberryftw]

Here is a quick video I did today on the basic workflow..

 

 Thank you so much! That is super helpful. I couldn't work out how to have both meshes in together. Thanks!

[Ballistic_Tension]

Great video Digman :  Just to be sure when in the Retopo Room >  High_poly  is  S [1X] VOLUME 5    and  over on right side under RetopoGroup 1       Low Poly is    Volume 5 _copy000  .  these 2 must be highlighted when baking?   Also just wondering what is/why is there the   Volume5   layer in the PPP room ?  why 3dc adds that meaning is it the high poly being named the same ,or its just  a extra/new blank layer to work in? 

[ScrotieFlapWack]

Great video Digman :  Just to be sure when in the Retopo Room >  High_poly  is  S [1X] VOLUME 5    and  over on right side under RetopoGroup 1       Low Poly is    Volume 5 _copy000  .  these 2 must be highlighted when baking?   Also just wondering what is/why is there the   Volume5   layer in the PPP room ?  why 3dc adds that meaning is it the high poly being named the same ,or its just  a extra/new blank layer to work in? 

 

What I would recommend doing is renaming your voxel object layer(s) to whatever your object is let's say you are making a brick then rename the layer your high poly object is on to 'Brick'. Then rename your 'RetopoGroup1' to 'Brick' then go to the top menu and select 'Retopo' and there should be an option that is called 'Check corresponding names' (or something like that), click that option and if it comes back saying that everything is good then you are ready to bake, your objects and layers are all set correctly, you just head over the the 'Bake' tab and select 'Bake per pixel Normal' and let 3D - Coat work its magic 

 

Hope that helps.

Edited January 26, 2016 by ScrotieFlapWack

[digman]

No need for "Name correspondence for baking" when having only one vox layer and one retopo mesh. ScrotieFlapWack is correct and it is always best to have both the vox layer name and the associated retopo mesh layer named the same..I simply did not do it for the quick video, though in the future I will to avoid any confusion for the user watching the video.

 

Any visible Voxtree layer with the associated retopo mesh object layer having a uv set will bake. You do not need to select them.

 

Volume 5 in the Paint room is the layer where the shader is baked too... If I had set the vox layer name to "Rock", then the layer name in PPP would have been Rock...

 

Here is a video on using Name Correspondence for Baking and the reasons for using it. The video is 3 years old, might be a few little changes but still valid.

Edited January 26, 2016 by digman