Beer glass scene creation
This course contains a little bit of everything with modeling, UVing, texturing and dynamics in Maya, as well as compositing multilayered EXR's in Photoshop.
# 1 24-05-2012 , 05:06 PM
goggles's Avatar
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 219

Retopologizing a high res mesh and normal mapping.

I am still working on retopologizing the high res mesh , but in some cases i stumble upon a problem which i can't figure out what the result should be like.

My question will be on retopologizing to a low poly mesh and normal mapping. Trying to get a low poly normal mapped game character and as seen on picture i am doing the feet. How ever, i cant decide how to place my polygons at that part of the model ( and some other parts also.)

If i make my polygons like in the first picture, there will be a thin polygon for the heels. Ans don't know how it will effect the texturing process.

If i make the polygons like the second picture, i can't figure out what will happen to the gap (shown with red) when i get the normal map. There will be a polygon in low poly model that is covering the air. And when i normal map this high res boot, what will happen to the gap between? How will it look? Will the normal map strech along that polygon which is covering the gap, and look distorted?

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# 2 01-04-2013 , 04:05 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2013
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Well if your worried about texturing that part in the first pic, should be a big deal just unwrap it right. If you want to leave out the geometry like the 2nd, the normal map should make it look decent, but not as good. You can always just test it out. If you don't like it just rebake a new normal map. Of course you would have to re-unwrap the UV of that though, since the geometry is different. I'd go with the 1st way though, it shouldnt add much at all to your tri count.

# 3 01-04-2013 , 10:53 AM
daverave's Avatar
The thin red line
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: England
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Any thing that will show up in a silhouette will have no effect with a normal map or bump map so you need to do it as your first shot..............dave




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# 4 01-04-2013 , 11:59 AM
Jay's Avatar
Lead Modeler - Framestore
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 6,287
Personally I wouldnt worry too much Dave, just make the heal,you will have 8 polys max there on the retopo version?? no big deal
Jay

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