Sword and Shield 2.0

Artwork Works in Progress
#1

I made a sword and shield a LONG time ago, and I’m back with a revision.

Just started this a few days ago, and I have a few good ideas for the detail.

However I do need help with the Normal Map bits of this. I’m using GIMP to hand-generate the normalmaps, because I’ve tried doing that via Blender [didn’t turn out to well]

Basic idea is to make some scratches and small details like that in the sword, and the outer metal area of the shield.

I know how to work normal maps and everything like that now (yay) however, I need some helpful advice as to, if anybody else generates normals by hand via Gimp or Photoshop, what is your method of doing fine scratches in metal?

I know of two methods: One - Generate Noise and motion blur it at [X Degree] Angle. or, Two: Do the scratches the hard way with a 1px Soft/Hard brush.

The models are pretty basic - made mainly for experimenting with Normalmaps on low-poly models.

Here’s the sword and shield:

sword_shield_2.jpeg568×552 38 KB

I’ll be tinkering with specular lighting, and a few other techniques with these, but I like to focus at the task at hand. Don’t want to get to far ahead of myself.

Critique, advice, comments, all welcome on anything I mentioned, and welcome on the models themselves. Don’t be shy about it.

#2

Don’t get confused between normal maps and bump maps. Normal maps usually need to be calculated in a 3d software, Blender for instance can bake high poly detail onto a lower poly mesh thus generating a normal map, and it comes out as a colorband from green to red. Bump maps are black and white, white being raised detail, and black sunk in.

#3

Gimp will create Normal maps, it has an awesome normal map plugin. Just apply the filter to an image and it does an amazingly good job of turning it into a normal map.

I like to use the airbrush in gimp with opacity set to about 60% and black, and for the brush shape I like to use something without regular edges. The galaxy brushes seem to do quite nicely, just scaled down to the size of line I need.

#4

Sweet! That’s really good to know. Thanks charlesc.

#5

Good stuff! Much better than my own sword and shield when I started out with blender.