Texture Bump / Relief - Where Am I Going Wrong?

[tommyleeh]

Hello,

I am trying to learn more about how to properly add texture bumps / reliefs to my renders. In the context of a different project, I experienced an issue implementing a checker-style bump pattern on a material. To understand what was happening there, I modeled the material preview cube as a "specialty equipment" family and applied a checkered bump texture to the cube. I then rendered it to see how it compared with the render preview. The result is attached - it looks nothing like the material preview.

I have attached screenshots to show the rendered image, the preview image, and the Revit file that contains this cube and the material. I cannot tell where I am going wrong with this, so any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[tommyleeh · Accepted solution]

To follow up on this with my own investigation, it seems that Revit's built-in checker pattern doesn't process properly as a bump / relief... perhaps. The exact reason is still unclear. However, when creating my own pattern (attached), the texture bump processes and renders correctly.

[rrenderMDLPG]

This is a specific solution. Please show me how to create the bump for exterior stacked stone or tiled stone flooring, etc. when I have the bump and albedo maps. Using both, I can get my images to look great head on, but how do you get the edges to bump in and out instead of a straight line, particularly at the outside edge or inside corner with exterior stacked stone on a wall? Is it even possible to achieve or do I need to hire Lucasfilm Industrial Light & Magic (I'm frustrated, yes)? When I bring up the Texture Editor, then scroll to Scale, there is a Sample Size Width and Height to change, but there should be a Depth or Depth Amount to change, but it's not showing up. I'm using Revit 2021 and here are the particular stacked stone files attached. Forgive me, it's obvious which is the bump file, but I attached the jpg and png because I don't know which is a albedo file. Please help/respond. Thanks!!

[tommyleeh]

Hi rrenderMDLPG,

It sounds like you are successfully able to use the images you've provided to achieve a render that looks right head-on, is that correct? I could be mistaken, but I do not believe a texture bump is enough to get the sort of effect you are looking at for the corners and edges. Here is a link to a video that explains bump textures - this is in the context of a different software, but the lesson from 1:10 to 2:30 is still relevant to your question:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdl7sInBp9w

As I understand it from the video above, a bump map is just a "camera trick" that makes the rendering engine think there are different heights on the surface even when the 3D model is flat or smooth. But because it does not affect the actual geometry of the part, the edges remain flat / smooth (as you can see in the video looking at the edge of the sphere). This means that at corners and edges, you'll still see the same geometry that exists in your 3D model.

I realize that this does not necessarily answer your question, but I hope it is still helpful. For how to achieve the effect you are looking for in Revit, I would need to defer to someone else.

[rrenderMDLPG]

tommyleeh,

You definitely understood & answered my question! I just knew Revit could make the edges "bump", but not understanding how this technology worked, I got frustrated. The YouTube link cleared all that up. If there is tech that WILL allow edges to "bump", please let me know. With Unreal Engine 5 out, I thought I was behind the times with just the bump map and no edges showing. Unreal Engine 5 Revealed! | Next-Gen Real-Time Demo Running on PlayStation 5 - YouTube Although I don't feel much better, I thank you for your quick & appreciated reply!

[ToanDN]

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@rrenderMDLPG wrote:

tommyleeh,

I just knew Revit could make the edges "bump", but not understanding how this technology worked, I got frustrated. The YouTube link cleared all that up. 

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Not sure where did you get the idea that a bump map can 'bump' the edge (actual geometry) in Revit.  Even the YouTube video does not say that. Historically, the only way to do that is via Displacement Mapping, available in most advanced rendering software (the one in the YouTube video shows it as well).

[tommyleeh]

Happy to help! It was a pleasure speaking with you. I wish you the best of luck in your future modeling efforts.

[tommyleeh]

ToanDN,

Thank you for providing the terminology that seems to match what rrenderMDLPG is looking for. I think the difference between bump maps and displacement maps will help to address the issues that they are facing.

To my knowledge, Revit does not have a displacement map feature. I would expect that 3DS Max has that capability, but I do not have experience with that software.