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Mudbox/Maya 2016 Normal Map Help

12 REPLIES 12
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Message 1 of 13
Anonymous
1799 Views, 12 Replies

Mudbox/Maya 2016 Normal Map Help

Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi Guys,

 

I am pretty much a lightweight with Mudbox. Just want to get that out front. So, if anyone can advise me on normal map settings to get better results than I am getting, I would be grateful.
I am making a game res set of FPV hands. I have, what I think, are some pretty good hi res sculpts and diffuse maps I created in Mudbox 2016. I extracted normal maps using both subdivision (default settings) and raycasting (default settings). The lo res looks great in Mudbox, but when I send the lo res mesh and maps to Maya, via the "send to Maya" function, I get some weirdness in the display of the normals. The maps are 1024 for use in Unity. I am attaching some images to show what I am seeing.
If I need to provide more information, please let me know. I could also share the file if necessary.
Any advise would be treasured ๐Ÿ™‚

0 Likes

Mudbox/Maya 2016 Normal Map Help

Hi Guys,

 

I am pretty much a lightweight with Mudbox. Just want to get that out front. So, if anyone can advise me on normal map settings to get better results than I am getting, I would be grateful.
I am making a game res set of FPV hands. I have, what I think, are some pretty good hi res sculpts and diffuse maps I created in Mudbox 2016. I extracted normal maps using both subdivision (default settings) and raycasting (default settings). The lo res looks great in Mudbox, but when I send the lo res mesh and maps to Maya, via the "send to Maya" function, I get some weirdness in the display of the normals. The maps are 1024 for use in Unity. I am attaching some images to show what I am seeing.
If I need to provide more information, please let me know. I could also share the file if necessary.
Any advise would be treasured ๐Ÿ™‚

12 REPLIES 12
Message 2 of 13
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Anonymous
Not applicable

Going to throw a little more fuel on the fire. I used Maya and Transfer Maps to make a normal map from the hi and lo res meshes. The results looked good. It seems I just don't know how to get these results from Mudbox. Any ideas?mud_low.JPGmaya_low.JPGmaya_Transfer_low.JPG

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Going to throw a little more fuel on the fire. I used Maya and Transfer Maps to make a normal map from the hi and lo res meshes. The results looked good. It seems I just don't know how to get these results from Mudbox. Any ideas?mud_low.JPGmaya_low.JPGmaya_Transfer_low.JPG

Message 3 of 13
RobinBall6995
in reply to: Anonymous

RobinBall6995
Collaborator
Collaborator
Looks like a green channel inversion. Did you extract the normal map in Maya format or Max format? I would have thought Maya, but maybe not. Max saves normal maps inverted in the green channel compared to Maya. You can just invert the green channel in Photoshop or any other image editing software to quickly test it.
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Looks like a green channel inversion. Did you extract the normal map in Maya format or Max format? I would have thought Maya, but maybe not. Max saves normal maps inverted in the green channel compared to Maya. You can just invert the green channel in Photoshop or any other image editing software to quickly test it.
Message 4 of 13
Anonymous
in reply to: RobinBall6995

Anonymous
Not applicable

I am pretty sure I extracted them in the Maya format. I will go back again and see what exactly is happening with the green channel. Thanks for the advice!

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I am pretty sure I extracted them in the Maya format. I will go back again and see what exactly is happening with the green channel. Thanks for the advice!

Message 5 of 13
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Anonymous
Not applicable

No, it's definitely set for Maya/SoftImage for the normal type. I inverted the green channel in photoshop and here is the result, applied in Maya:
FPV_Hands_InvertedGreen_Normal.JPG

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No, it's definitely set for Maya/SoftImage for the normal type. I inverted the green channel in photoshop and here is the result, applied in Maya:
FPV_Hands_InvertedGreen_Normal.JPG

Message 6 of 13
RobinBall6995
in reply to: Anonymous

RobinBall6995
Collaborator
Collaborator
Weird. Inverting the green channel should only affect the vertical lighting. If anything, I'd have thought inverting the blue channel would make the lighting go black.

Just to be sure, this is a tangent space normal map isn't it?

Can you post a picture of the normal map itself? Or part of it?
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Weird. Inverting the green channel should only affect the vertical lighting. If anything, I'd have thought inverting the blue channel would make the lighting go black.

Just to be sure, this is a tangent space normal map isn't it?

Can you post a picture of the normal map itself? Or part of it?
Message 7 of 13
Anonymous
in reply to: RobinBall6995

Anonymous
Not applicable

I sure can. Here it is.fpvNew_Norm.png

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I sure can. Here it is.fpvNew_Norm.png

Message 8 of 13
RobinBall6995
in reply to: Anonymous

RobinBall6995
Collaborator
Collaborator
Hmm, yeah looks fine. The geometry normals aren't flipped are they? Usually that would show in Mudbox as it backface culls by default.

No mirroring in Maya? That flips normals. Again, it would show.

What shader are you using in Maya? Maybe there is a green channel flip that's set on there.
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Hmm, yeah looks fine. The geometry normals aren't flipped are they? Usually that would show in Mudbox as it backface culls by default.

No mirroring in Maya? That flips normals. Again, it would show.

What shader are you using in Maya? Maybe there is a green channel flip that's set on there.
Message 9 of 13
Anonymous
in reply to: RobinBall6995

Anonymous
Not applicable

Ok. This is weird. I went back into the maya file, replaced the normal map with the one I generated with mudbox. I now get the expected results. It's just the stock blinn shader. I can't tell you why, but I'll try another "send to" operation and see what happens.

maya_low_02.JPG

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Ok. This is weird. I went back into the maya file, replaced the normal map with the one I generated with mudbox. I now get the expected results. It's just the stock blinn shader. I can't tell you why, but I'll try another "send to" operation and see what happens.

maya_low_02.JPG

Message 10 of 13
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Anonymous
Not applicable

Get ready. I tried the process again. Mudbox>send to Maya. Maya makes the shader a phong, with the associated diffuse and normal maps. *But* The seams are weird as hell. I then reload the mesh, apply a phong, plug in the maps, and it now looks as it should. Here are some images. I suppose my problem is solved? What do you think?

mudTest_02.JPGmudTest_Maya_02.JPGmudTest_Maya_03.JPGmudTest_Maya_UV_02.JPG

0 Likes

Get ready. I tried the process again. Mudbox>send to Maya. Maya makes the shader a phong, with the associated diffuse and normal maps. *But* The seams are weird as hell. I then reload the mesh, apply a phong, plug in the maps, and it now looks as it should. Here are some images. I suppose my problem is solved? What do you think?

mudTest_02.JPGmudTest_Maya_02.JPGmudTest_Maya_03.JPGmudTest_Maya_UV_02.JPG

Message 11 of 13
santd
in reply to: Anonymous

santd
Autodesk
Autodesk

Hello,

 

Thank you for posting to the Area forums and for adding all the details of what it is you are experiencing.

 

I haven't had a chance to try this out, but will be doing so and if need be I will report it to our development team so that they can take a closer look at the issue.

 

I have seen similar reports but with mirrored geometry so I don't think you are running into the same problem.

 

I will update you soon.

 

Cheers,




David Santos

0 Likes

Hello,

 

Thank you for posting to the Area forums and for adding all the details of what it is you are experiencing.

 

I haven't had a chance to try this out, but will be doing so and if need be I will report it to our development team so that they can take a closer look at the issue.

 

I have seen similar reports but with mirrored geometry so I don't think you are running into the same problem.

 

I will update you soon.

 

Cheers,




David Santos

Message 12 of 13
Anonymous
in reply to: santd

Anonymous
Not applicable

Thank you for looking into this. I don't think it is a mirroring problem, and I believe the normals are good as well. It seems to be "fixed" if I quit Maya and start it again, then add the normal map to the attributes. If you need the mesh and maps, let me know.

0 Likes

Thank you for looking into this. I don't think it is a mirroring problem, and I believe the normals are good as well. It seems to be "fixed" if I quit Maya and start it again, then add the normal map to the attributes. If you need the mesh and maps, let me know.

Message 13 of 13
santd
in reply to: Anonymous

santd
Autodesk
Autodesk

Hello,

 

I just wanted to get back to you and let you know that I have been testing the issue and have been seeing similar results on my end. However, it doesn't seem to matter what I do except for changing the Viewport renderer the seams are present.

 

I have reported this issue to our development team and they will be looking further into it. I'm glad to hear it hasn't affected you much.

 

Cheers,




David Santos

0 Likes

Hello,

 

I just wanted to get back to you and let you know that I have been testing the issue and have been seeing similar results on my end. However, it doesn't seem to matter what I do except for changing the Viewport renderer the seams are present.

 

I have reported this issue to our development team and they will be looking further into it. I'm glad to hear it hasn't affected you much.

 

Cheers,




David Santos

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