Member JBT27 Posted September 29, 2016 Member Share Posted September 29, 2016 I'm having problems exporting normal maps from 3DC for use in Element3D. This is purely the normal map. All other maps do not show the UV seams - I deliberately UV'd with these seams so I could check the problem. I don't know what normal standard Element3D uses, but so far, I cannot get round the normal generating these seams. If I export a displacement map from 3DC and have Element3D 'convert grayscale', that works, but actual normal maps don't work, so far. Does anyone have this workflow up and running? I've tried the presets one after the other, but cannot get round this. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlosan Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Appears normal is inverted on green channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member JBT27 Posted September 30, 2016 Author Member Share Posted September 30, 2016 Thanks. But I have tried multiple combinations of inverting channels, including just the green channel, but all it does is alter the problem, not remove it; those seams are still made visible. All other maps map correctly - it's the normal map only that is causing this trouble. In fact this problem also crosses into Lightwave. The only workflow I'm getting a clean export is with Unity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlosan Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 What if you export any default model created inside 3DC ? Can you drop an email at support@3dcoat.com asking for this issue ? ty ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member JBT27 Posted September 30, 2016 Author Member Share Posted September 30, 2016 I'll try that - thanks Carlosan. I have resolved the Lightwave issue, which was setting the normal map to linear within LW - I should have remembered that. Element3D is proving more thorny. I'll drop an email - thanks again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member JBT27 Posted October 2, 2016 Author Member Share Posted October 2, 2016 It's been confirmed that Element3D supports tangent space normal maps, which is what I'm baking to. So that's one thing down. I'll still email - just pursuing the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlosan Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 You asked about this issue at videocopilot forum ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlosan Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 What about this option ? http://www.videocopilot.net/docs/element2/texturing_and_materials/surface_uv_mapping/ AUTO NORMALS This auto-calculates the normals for shading based on a mesh’s geometry. This can be used as a solution to generate smoothing if your model was not able be exported with smoothing groups or normals. This may prove helpful in many scenarios, although it is more efficient to have the normals and smoothing fixed before importing into Element.Edge Threshold Adjusts the angle at which auto normals will generate a sharp edge.UV Repeat Invert Normals Inverts all polygon normals. For more info and uses for Auto Normals and Edge Threshold see 3D Object Troubleshooting and Exporting 3D Objects for Element 3D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member JBT27 Posted October 2, 2016 Author Member Share Posted October 2, 2016 Thanks very much. Yes, I tried this, but it makes absolutely no difference to the visibility of seams with the normal map. This is definitely something to do with the normal map from 3DC ported straight into Element3D. In the first attached screengrab, you can see the normal map in Element3D's Normal Bump channel - it looks kind of washed out too. But the thing is, if I use the Convert Bump checkbox, the seams disappear and I get the correct relief. I guess it's just treating the map as a greyscale and converting it to a normal. Interestingly, the manual only contains a link to Crazy Bump, suggesting to convert bump maps to normals. I know this works, via ShaderMap in my case. Maybe I do that and don't worry about it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member JBT27 Posted October 3, 2016 Author Member Share Posted October 3, 2016 Yes, I have posted a question in the Element forum over on VC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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