[Plugin] Normal Map Maker
- 
 sorry for the stupid question but... 1 - whats the advantage of normal map over bump and displacement maps (both of which can use the same grayscale bitmap)? 2 - VRAY doesnt use normal maps, does it? 
- 
 @aceshigh said: 1 - whats the advantage of normal map over bump and displacement maps (both of which can use the same grayscale bitmap)?  a) is a bump map 
 b) is a parallax/normal map
 c) is a relief map (normal map with self shadowing)@aceshigh said: 2 - VRAY doesnt use normal maps, does it? Not sure what V-Ray 2 does - but the version V-Ray for SketchUp currently use doesn't. 
- 
 @tig said: The main issue is how do I tell if a face's material's texture is 'distorted' and needs this extra step...  
 It would greatly improve my OBJexporter and some 3rd party tools I am involved with...http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=23947&hilit=distorted&start=60#p204899 
- 
 @aceshigh said: 1 - whats the advantage of normal map over bump and displacement maps (both of which can use the same grayscale bitmap)? A bumpmap is like: Hey, change your normal (surface direction) by this grayscale amount! 
 A normal map is more like: Yo, use this normal instead of your old one!
- 
 I just downloaded and installed this plugin, but it doesn't seem to work, I am sure I missed something, nothing shows up in the plugins menu. Anybody have a step by step? 
- 
 @tspco said: I just downloaded and installed this plugin, but it doesn't seem to work, I am sure I missed something, nothing shows up in the plugins menu. Anybody have a step by step? It doesn't work for me either  
- 
 hi, did you look in the right place? 
 UI.menu("File").add_item("Export normal map")
 john
- 
 Didier's version says this quite clearly 
 @unknownuser said:You'll find the command under the **File** menu -> Export normal map
  
- 
 Great to find this Normal Map script. Thanks. I found that slows down if you have the Materials Windows open to "In Model" textures. So remember to have that closed. Was there any way to get a bump map from this ruby? I found some threads relating to bump mapping in Sketchup, but nothing conclusive, unless I missed it 
 http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=18024&start=15
 http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=16660&hilit=plugin
- 
 You can quite easily create bump maps from (raw) geometry if you project a greyscale image from one side and then export an image from the other side. 
- 
 Just browsing through, got interested, and don't understand your reply. @gaieus said: You can quite easily create bump maps from (raw) geometry if you project a greyscale image from one side and then export an image from the other side. project (from what onto to what?) a greyscale image from one side (of what?) export an image from the other side (of what?) 
- 
 I believe this is the procedure: - 
Make a rectangle with a greyscale texture in the z direction, scale it to 1.001 to ensure the top face is white 
- 
Make the texture a projection 
  
- 
Select and apply the texture to the model 
  
- 
Set the time to noon, date to 3/21, location to near the equator (in File, Geo-location). Set light & dark to 100 
- 
With a parallel projection and no edges, the top view is your bump map 
  
 
- 
- 
 You can do the same without a texture, use white Fog on black geometry. 
- 
 @thomthom said: You can do the same without a texture, use white Fog on black geometry. Hey, that's even easier. Thanks. But aren't white areas usually interpreted as higher than black. I seem to get the right result with black fog on white geometry. 
- 
 @tuttlet said: @thomthom said: You can do the same without a texture, use white Fog on black geometry. Hey, that's even easier. Thanks. But aren't white areas usually interpreted as higher than black. I seem to get the right result with black fog on white geometry. Ah, yea - my logic is inverted this morning!    
- 
 great plugin and real deserves to update :] ideas ;] 
 -read well smoothing groups!
 -Z-grab [without the need of the selection of the polygons; works with components and groups]- AO version hehe [dream:p]
 
- 
 May i ask if this works on Sketchup 2015(i am using window 10)? 
 I'm a total noob to sketchup , I've tried putting the rb file into sketchup tool folder, and it shows some error when i start up my sketchup ,so i downloaded the rbz file at extension warehouse.I try to test the plugin with a simple cube.  
 Then i select everything?->extension->Normal map maker-> export
 After its done , i went check the file , it only shows a purple square cube without the depths of other colors like the youtube tutorial shown.
  I did everything i can , things like : changing to parallel view/ top view first before activiating the normal map maker or applying material and then try again. 
 It didn't work. did i do anything wrong or ?Please help /_\ .... Thanks all.. Vic. 
- 
 You need some surfaces visible from above which are NOT perpendicular to the camera view. 
- 
 Yeah, what pbacot said is basically that all surfaces you have there have the same normal, therefore the same color and so you have a flat normal on the map. You should slitghtly taper your shape into truncated piramidal shapes. 
- 
 Ohh ok ! i got it ! 
 Thank you so much Pbacot and JQL for the help !
Advertisement








 
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                            