Tutorials

Maya
Beginners: Intro to Maya
How to Make a Normal Map (2 Ways)

Photoshop
How to Make Brushes

zBrush
Brushes


How to Make a Normal Map (2 Methods)

Jump to Method 1 | Jump to Method 2

Don't know what a normal map is? If you have the time, please read What is a Normal Map?

This tutorial will walk you through the basics of making normal maps in cg using programs such as Zbrush's Zmapper and Photoshops NVDIA normal map plug in.

Before we start, have a mesh ready and be sure to have the NVDIA normal map plugged into your Photoshop. You can find the plug in through this link.

Method One (Recommended!)

For this tutorial I will use a simple human head that I have created to get started. (Picture1)

  1. Export your mesh as an obj file. You can do this by selecting your mesh then going through file export selection. Make sure it's under an obj format. (Picture 2)

    Note: if it's not plugged in you need to plug it in manually to plug it in manually go to windows> Settings and preferences > plug-in manager (pic3)
  2. Now lets get started. Make sure your mesh is unwrapped nicely and evenly within a square-group in your uv space editor. Make sure it stays within a square and stays there. If any of the uvs overlap, you might have a hard time fixing this problem later down the road and chances are you're going to have to resculpt all over again.
  3. Make sure your UV looks something like this. (Pic4)

    If you need help uwrapping please watch the video on this tutorial or click this link to view my tutorial for unwrapping

  4. Now we're going to load it into zbrush. Open zbrush and click on import an obj file. And load the mesh you exported as an obj file into zbrush. (Pic 5)
  5. Now go nuts! Sculpt all the details you want in the mesh. If you want to learn the basic sculpting techniques in zBrush click on this link for my tutorial (Pic 6)
  6. Once you are happy with your mesh. We'll move on to making the actual normal map by using zmapper. Zmapper is a built in plug in for zbrush 3.1 or higher. We need to go to our lowest subdivision level and click on the zmapper button located at the top left side of the interface (Pic7)
  7. Once the zmapper is open, you can now see a bunch of options at the bottom. Those options are there to control your normal maps. You can make the cavity deeper or lower in your mesh's detail with those options. But for now we are just gonna go open up the preset settings for zmapper and use those. As you can see there's a hand full of presets. We want to use tangent space normal for maya as seen in the picture (Pic8)
  8. Just click on that preset and at the buttom right hand side, click the button that says generate normal map as seen on the picture.(Pic9)
  9. There! Easy as that! All you have to do is wait for the normal map to start generating. And if all goes well it should show you a preview of how the map looks like in real time! (Pic10)
  10. You can now export the normal map out of zBrush and use it onto Maya. zBrush should make a texture map of your normals for you. All you have to do is click on the texture and save the normal map! (Pic11)

    Now back to Maya.
  11. With whatever shader you have plugged in, apply a bump map to it by having the shader up in the attribute editor then clicking the flag beside the bump map option. It will give you a row of selection to pic out here. Just pick file. It will then direct you to the bump map window. Instead of having use as bump on, pick use tangent space normals. (Pic12)
  12. All you need to do now is to confirm its function. Click on the high quality display on shaded mode then there you have it! A full functioning normal map! (Pic13) (Pic14) (Pic15)

    You may edit your normal map with photoshop. You may also use the NVDIA plug in for this map to edit normal maps further! There are other programs out there that can help you tweak your map as well. Programs such as CrazyBump to name a few.

Method 2

For this Tutorial. I am going to use a basic cube mesh. The reason being for the simplicity. This method works best on simple objects such as this cube. I want to make a simple stony castle (i.e. a building) out of this cube.(Pic1)

  1. This cube needs to be unwrapped You don't need to worry soo much about coordinates like the first method. But still it's good to keep to your space. (Pic2)

    Before we go into depth, take the time to actually paint out the diffuse first. If you need assistance with making diffuse maps please follow this link for my tutorial.
  2. Have your diffuse ready. I will once again persistently repeat myself, you need to have the NVDIA normal map plug in installed into your Photoshop. (Pic3)
  3. Make sure your file is flatten. You may have no layers for this plug in to work. Just go under Filter> NVIDIA tools > Normal Map Filter (Pic4)
  4. You will see that you will have all these different types of options. You can play around with the scale. The higher the amount you input into this box the deeper the detail and cavity the normal maps will give.(Pic5)
  5. Pick generate after you are done then there you have it once again A fully functional normal map! (Pic 6)
  6. For the cavity, it's pretty much a trial and error game till you get the perfect amount of cavity you desire! That's pretty much all there is to it. Just plug in the normal map onto your model as shown above (in Method 1) and you are golden! (Pic7) (Pic8) (Pic9)

Normal Map Hints and Tips.
Adding to your normal maps
Patching normal maps
Editing normal maps
Common mistakes
Fixing UV space for normal map (Zbrush)

Don't like this method? Jump to Method 1

If you have any questions, please contact me via email.