- Blend using two layers with blender
- Make two normal maps as one texture with gimp(use overlay).
Which is better for use in games etc.?
I think that there is versatility in 1, but is it likely to cause problems?
The 2nd option is definitely better for games as only one normal map is being loaded, rather than two (which will also have more calculations required to blend them together). Complicated games require a lot of optimisation to work smoothly, but if this is smaller, you could possibly get away with two maps.
Which is better for good looks?
I feel that blending is difficult.
Both methods should look identical.
Blending requires a few extra nodes as the normal maps have to be separated into X,Y and Z, added together, and then combined back into one normal map channel.
Here I have added a brick texture and cliff face together.
Depends on the engine I guess. It probably feels difficult because it actually is difficult.
I don’t have any experience with engines. But I guess it depends on the normal maps - if the angles/normals described within them aren’t crucial (generic noise stuff vs a 45° and a 5° bevel which should together act exactly like a 50° bevel), just blend them together (overlay may work fine, I don’t know). For more exact stuff, search for Secrops normal map blending node.
I tend to go with just one normal map if I can, maybe feeding that into a bump map node normal socket if I need finer generic details.
thanks for comment.
i try to mix by node of game engine
Unless your game is very intensive and resource-hungry, it is probably more versatile to combine them algorithmically within the game.