Mapping sci-fi crate

So the final step for my sci-fi crate was to create a specular map as well as a normal/bump map to go along with the diffuse map I talked about in my latest blog post. For those of you not familiar with the concepts of diffuse, specular and normal/bump maps when creating materials in 3D modeling I will explain this further on in the bullet points below.

Diffuse – The diffuse map is arguably the most important map when creating a material because it is the one that contains all the color information of the model. It does also inform us of the surface of the model and it contains some occlusion and lighting that needed to be emphasized in order to read clearer. The shadowing and lighting however must only be done in such a way that is only depending on the form of the model and not the setting. It can’t be done with a specific light source in mind because it will look odd within the renderer.

The diffuse map for my crate

Specular – The specular map contains all the information of how much specular reflection a model should have and where. In other words, the specular map tells us of how shiny or matte an object is in a 3D environment. This map is important because it is used to differentiate textures in a model and reinforces the texture information already given in the diffuse map by showing how it will act in the environment. The specular map is created in greyscale where the lightest part ofthe map will read as the shiniest and the darker parts will read more matte.

The specular map of my crate

One thing to keep in mind when creating a specular map is to know what materials your model is made of and how much reflection will happen in those areas. For instance, if you look at the lightest parts of the map shown above you will know that those are the parts I want to be shinier than the rest. The reason why they are lighter is because they are of a different material than the rest of the model and those materials I’m trying to emulate usually shine more. The light pattern that goes all across my model and the 4 big light squares are more of a glass kind of material that would appear shiny in a lighted environment. The 4 thick lighter lines on the bottom left corner of the map are made of metal that surely would also give off more shine than the rest.

Normal/Bump – The normal or bump map is used to reinforce irregularities and reinforce the physical surface of a model. Its main purposes are to emulate a high poly surface on a lower poly model and also not making the model appear flat. When modeling a 3D object it’s great to plan ahead what parts you are going to model and what parts you are going to leave to the normal/bump map. These maps work the best when you want to emulate somewhat indented parts in your model and texture. Unfortunately they don’t do that great of a job when you want to model something that is extruding because it will be rather visible that it’s not actually modeled. You would be better off modeling the extruding parts instead of using normal/bump maps to emulate them.

The normal/bump map of my crate

As you can see the only thing I really wanted to be indented was the pattern going all across my model. The reason being that it should look more that the pattern comes from the inside of the model and not just something lying on top of it. I believe it adds an interesting touch to an otherwise simple 3D model.

Below is my final texturized crate as shown in the game developing software UDK.

In conclusion I have to say that I’m pleased with what I managed to create remembering that just a couple of weeks ago I was a complete beginner with the 3Dsmax software. I’ve learned a lot during these past few weeks and I sure am excited for what is yet to come.