Baking Normal and AO Maps for Games with 3ds Max

Learn the pro tips and tricks to render perfect normal and AO maps in 3ds Max - faster and without errors every time!

Created by3dmotive LLC

Last updated 11/2013

English

What you'll learn

Learn to bake flawless normal maps and ambient occlusion maps
Learn tips and tricks to speed up your rendering pipeline and methods for baking high-to-low meshes

Course content

1 section • 15 lectures • 40m total length

Introduction0:36
Silhouette1:42
Detail Scale1:58
Balance high-poly detail with texture resolution and screen-space for crisp silhouettes at distance, using sharp and softened baked versions while avoiding excessive micro textures that bake into texture sheets.
Tapering1:48
Floating Geometry Waviness1:40
Triangulation0:37
Projection Modifier1:23
Apply the projection modifier to fix distortion when baking normal and AO maps, by adding supporting geometry under problem areas to create a cage with minimal, localized impact.
Triangle Stripping1:48
Compare manual vs automatic triangulation, apply the shortest edge rule for quads and triangles, and avoid skew to maintain volume and even shading in game engines.
Projection Modifier2:31
Master projection modifier techniques in 3ds Max by comparing cage-based projection with the offset texture option to accurately project normals and ensure high-quality results.
Material ID Projection1:47
Mirroring Overlapping Geo2:59
Learn how to handle mirroring and overlapping geo when baking normal and AO maps in 3ds Max by keeping halves welded, avoiding seams, and offsetting duplicates in UV space.
Different Type of Normal Maps8:13
Explore world space, object space, and tangent space normal maps, how baking and pipeline differences affect shading, and how splits and padding prevent seams for clean game renders.
Vertex Count and Smoothing Groups3:50
Normal Map Baking Walkthrough8:39
Bake a normal map from a high-poly model to a low-poly cage in 3ds Max, using padding, UV shells, splits, and projection mapping for reliable render to texture results.
Course Conclusion1:16

Requirements

Autodesk's 3ds Max - but many of the course principles apply to other 3d packages as well

Description

In this tutorial we’ll show you all the necessary tips and tricks when baking Normal and Ambient Occlusion maps in 3ds Max, as well as explain the ins and outs of how to get perfect bakes from a high res mesh down to a game-ready low res mesh.

About the Instructor:

Alec Moody has been working in the game industry since 2003 and has contributed to numerous titles as a freelance artist. He holds a B.F.A. in photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design and Co-owns Handplane 3d LLC.

Who this course is for:

Intermediate to advanced students interested in learning the tips to render flawless normal and AO maps