Megalos Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Hey folks, thought I might do a bit of modding (namely texturing) for Skyrim. I was experimenting today, but my normal maps came out really gross! I was wondering what you folks who do normal mapping use, and what settings? I was using the Nvidia filter for photoshop, so probably not very good. Has anybody had success using that filter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747823 Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 (edited) The normal map filter is fine for small details - wood grain, fabric. Bigger ones are meant to be baked from a high-poly mesh. If you don't know how to do that, I'm guessing that you aren't modeling a new mesh... If you want to fake it for "plates" and things, you can draw a solid Heightmap and use the nvidia filter on that. Lighter areas will be "raised" by the filter. You can put dark lines with the pen tool to make seams. You can use gradients or blur to make more slope-like areas. Then you can use the filter on a material texture like wood/leather/metal and overlay it on the texture you just made. Edited December 4, 2011 by 747823 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megalos Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 Cheer's 747, it's been a long time since I did any modding, I was guessing it was done via a 3d modeling program. Used to know max, but it's been many years since I used that, and I can't afford to renew it now. What's the easiest program for an old man to pick up, that is very cost efficient? What settings should I save my normal maps and textures, when converting into (DXT3 or 5) .dds in photoshop, or is there issues with compression when using it through PS? Are there any good .dds converters that would make it worthwhile saving as a .tga or .png then converting it to .dds afterwards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CampanaAliquanta Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Blender is free, and it can do everything you need in terms of modelling. Guides aplenty on the website, youtube etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghogiel Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 (edited) What settings should I save my normal maps and textures, when converting into (DXT3 or 5) .dds in photoshop, or is there issues with compression when using it through PS? Are there any good .dds converters that would make it worthwhile saving as a .tga or .png then converting it to .dds afterwards?http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/474851-texture-best-compression/ I'll not get into mipmap filtering. But it might be wise to one day read up on it, then save a texture out with the different filters, then open them back up into photoshop while viewing mipmaps, then you compare a few to see how they work/differ. imo ones that are *Not* so sharp are better for normal maps. Just a rough piece of advise. each to their own though. edit: missed a *not* Edited December 4, 2011 by Ghogiel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megalos Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 Thanks for the advice & tips guys, keep it coming! I think I'm going to start retexturing already made models and skins for now (eager beaver)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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