normal map problems

[obsolete]

Hello everybody.

1_i have a problem with setting up good UVs.
since XSI 7.5 does not have a good enough relax tool, i have been trying to find a good UV software. i am actually aiming to get the checker texture perfectly spaced on my mesh (if you know what i mean). What do you guys advise?

2_ when i use symmetrical mapping, i get a harsh seam in the middle of the mesh that is caused by the normal map. is there any way to get rid of normal map seams?

[dustinbrown]

Unfold 3D
Roadkill
Headus UVLayout

[Baj Singh]

2_ when i use symmetrical mapping, i get a harsh seam in the middle of the mesh that is caused by the normal map. is there any way to get rid of normal map seams?

When baking out normal maps, be sure to duplicate your mesh and flip your UV's before you bake the normals.

1) - Mirror the part of the mesh that is symmetrical.
2) - Offset the UV coordinates so that they do not overlap the original UV parts.
3) - Bake.

For more information, try this site:

http://wiki.polycount.com/NormalMap?...mal)#Mirroring

[obsolete]

hello Dustin, very cool soldier piece.
Unfold 3D's viewport displa isn't updating on my workstation, roadkill's link is dead and i did not like headus UVlayout's relax tools, although you have full control, it creates too much overlapping, which forces you to create more seams. i decided to set my uvs in xsi and export every chunk to deep UV for relaxation. works pretty good.

hello Baj,
thanks a lot! everything worked properly, no more normal map seams! very informative link by the way!

[shadowmonkey]

dustinbrown said some good ones I use Roadkill because its free and is pretty solid, its pretty basic not much to learn a little clunky but like I said its free

Baj Singh has got the right suggestion to question 2

[obsolete]

yes shadow monkey, i agree, dustin did suggest some excellent and pretty effective applicatons, but they just did not work on my workstation properly!

for the normal map seams problem, it worked impeccably on the lower body of my characte, but it is not working on the head. i first tried offset mapping, to try to get the face to be asymmetrical and the rest of the face symmetrical, but i always had a seam at the jaw. turns out offset mapping can only be used in last-gen games because they did not have normal maps.

i then tried symmetrically mapping the head...
1_set UVS
2_split and delete the left side
3_duplicate right side
4_offset UVs
5_bake
6_apply textures, middle seam still there!

it is working on the rest of the body strangely........

[Baj Singh]

Try to increase the "padding" on the model before baking the normal map. I don't know if its called this in XSI, but the padding essentially stretches the normal map a few extra pixels along the edges of each UV set to help with seams. If you have done everything else correctly then this might be the issue.

If not, and you cannot find a solution then I would find another program to bake off your normals (XNormal for example).

[obsolete]

thanks Baj. everything is working properly now. i do not use XSI's baking tools. too slow.