View source for Creating Textures with Normals out of Models

{{Original_Reference|Fingernail|1960}}

* Set up a backdrop image with the diffuse/colour map of the texture: 

[http://img86.echo.cx/my.php?image=019kz.jpg http://img86.echo.cx/img86/4627/019kz.th.jpg]

* Set it to 1024 pixel detail and I made mine 10m large. Then I make a polygon, using the box tool (not extruded, just a flat polygon, around the texture): 

[http://img136.echo.cx/my.php?image=028cz.jpg http://img136.echo.cx/img136/5113/028cz.th.jpg]

* I decided to deal with the top & bottom separately, and just beveled flat matching the diffuse: 

[http://img94.echo.cx/my.php?image=034py.jpg http://img94.echo.cx/img94/7370/034py.th.jpg]

* Keep on bevelling in, this is all just standard boring modeling, particularly for such a panel: 

[http://img86.echo.cx/my.php?image=047na.jpg http://img86.echo.cx/img86/1869/047na.th.jpg]

* I did the top the same, in a different layer, and Boolean'd out the carved bits in the centre square: 

[http://img22.echo.cx/my.php?image=075jt.jpg http://img22.echo.cx/img22/2671/075jt.th.jpg]

* Filling up all the last bits, leaving out the top carving because it's quite blurred and would look better generated with either a heightmap or the 2D plugin. Also I'm short on time and generally lazy. 
[http://img155.echo.cx/my.php?image=083ld.jpg http://img155.echo.cx/img155/2104/083ld.th.jpg]

Then you triangulate, make sure it's facing the Y axis (the FRONT pane should show what the TOP one does in all my screens. Save it in a D3 directory, or somewhere in the darkmod directory (try to use the same paths you will for the rest of the texture).

Then open D3, drop down the console, and use this code:
 renderbumpflat -size x y path\path\mymodel.lwo
the path is the path ignoring C:\path\Doom3\darkmod\ so any folders inside the darkmod directory. Size is just number of pixels, in a power of 2. For this, to match the diffuse, I usede 256 and 1024.

D3 will render the normalmap out, and it looks like this:

http://img155.echo.cx/img155/2460/final0fh.jpg

BTW I left out several stages of the modeling, even though I took screenshots, because it's quite basic and boring.

I might do a more organic one, which obviously is more complex to model. This could have probably been done with a heightmap, but it's quite slow that way. Also, I usually blend the result from a 2D plugin normalmap for more grainy detail etc.

[[Category:Textures]]
[[Category:Models]]
[[Category:Tutorial]]