9.10 Texture baking tool

As described previously, this tool allows you to bake details to a normal or displacement map, even if the surface topology doesn’t match between the two mesh you wish to bake (reference and low poly). Here are some detailed steps to use this tool:

• For a Displacement map.

Turn on.

Use current low poly mesh

Smooth mesh

Preserve positions

Turn off.

Use original positions

• For a Normal map.

Turn on.

Use current low poly mesh

Turn off.

Use original positions

Smooth mesh

You’ll need to have “Use current low poly mesh and “Smooth mesh” turned on, “use original positions” should be turned off. To get displacement map you should set “Smooth mesh” option because displacement is calculated as the difference between the object in scene and the smoothed input mesh. Check “Use current low poly mesh...” option if you want to project on current mesh. In this case it is better to check options” Use original positions...” and “Smooth mesh” if you want to get displacement and uncheck them if you want normal map only.

As you have distorted geometry, but left the texture undistorted, the mesh looks improper in the low-poly mode. In this case baking tool can help you out. You should project the new highpoly distorted mesh onto the low-poly mesh. This is the way you get distorted textures. As you can see by the normal maps images here, the lower one is more detailed then the other. It was generated using the Texture Baking tool, the upper one was done with a simple export function.