Arnold Normal map not rendering?

[Anonymous]

Hi guys, I've got what is probably going to be a dumb question - I'm struggling to get my normal map rendering in Arnold.

I exported it from Mudbox as a PNG, created an aiStandardSurface > Geometry > Bump and connected a bump2d node with Use As: Tangent Space Normals. I've then plugged in the file node with the Colour Space set to Raw. My normal map appears perfectly fine in the Viewport but not at all in renders. I've tried adjusting the Bump Depth but it solely changes the appearance in the Viewport and not in renders.

What am I missing here? I'm sure it's something simple, like one unticked box. I've attached 3 screenshots of my shader setup but I can't upload the actual file as it's a private company file.

Edit: Okay I seem to have discovered the issue. When Subsurface weight is increased it appears to deactivate the normal map. The map works when Subsurface isn't used, just Base. However I need Subsurface to give this character a lifelike feel, is it not possible to have both Subsurface and a normal map?

[mspeer · Accepted solution]

Hi!

You can have both but not both at 100%.

It's like saying i want my object transparent but clearly see it's surface.

If you want to preserve as much surface detail as possible, don't use a normal or bump map (it's only a 2.5D fake effect). Use real geometry or add a displacement map. You still will loose surface detail when increasing the Subsurface effect, but it will look much better / "correct".