How do I create an Object-Space Normal Map?

[Ellwood]

Been looking all over the net and found a little on what it is and showing me pictures.

Found nothing on how to make one.

 

I do my texture editing in Photoshop CS5 by importing the 3D .obj character in.

 

I can make tangent normal maps but making object normal maps is new to me so i am asking here on how I make one and what programs I will need to make one for a character.

[ResolveThatChord]

Well, Skyrim doesn't use object space normal maps. If you can make tangent space normal maps, then you're good.

 

If you're interested in object space normals because they're intereting, then blender can bake them. If you apply normal maps, displacement maps, or anything like that to a material, then apply it to your mesh object, then by baking you can create all the effects in a single map. There is an option for that map to be an object space normal map.

[Ellwood]

Well that's a good start.

 

I'll take a look into blender.

Last time I used it my card did not like it which was quite a while ago when I was tampering with meshing.

[Cenobyte69]

Well, Skyrim doesn't use object space normal maps. If you can make tangent space normal maps, then you're good.

 

If you're interested in object space normals because they're intereting, then blender can bake them. If you apply normal maps, displacement maps, or anything like that to a material, then apply it to your mesh object, then by baking you can create all the effects in a single map. There is an option for that map to be an object space normal map.

 

I'm still a noob to modding, but I believe skyrim does use object space normal maps. They have the _msn suffix (rather than _n) on the texture file. To bake one, you can set blender to do it, but you might have to fix the RGB channels in photoshop. Xnormal would probably produce better normal maps though (both object and tangent).

[ishmaeltheforsaken]

Yes, Skyrim uses object-space normals for body and head models. You could use them with anything I believe, the engine supports it, but I'm not even sure why the bodies use them. What are the benefits?