How the Bump/Normal map works and how can i take/made one?

[=GEMINI=Hawkmoon98]

hi guys i noticed that a lot of you are talking about Bump maps, used for making the plane "bumpy" with 3d rivets0, giving a proper 4k skin and etc.. but how it works? and where i can find this map in the templates?

Thank you to anyone willing to teach me

Edited September 21, 2019 by =GEMINI=Hawkmoon98

[Danziger]

Are you using Photoshop or gimp?

[=GEMINI=Hawkmoon98]

14 minutes ago, Danziger said:

Are you using Photoshop or gimp?

Gimp

[Danziger]

I take the regular skin template and convert everything to greyscale. I delete layers like weathering and markings or camo patterns and just keep the structural parts like rivets, screws, panel lines, aircraft parts, tires, exhaust pipes, control surface shadows. The basic skin part I leave a neutral grey color with a middle kind of value. Anything that is darker is sunken in. Anything lighter is raised above. I usually put panel lines, rivets and screws darker to look carved into the surface. You will have to experiment and play around a lot to get things looking how you want. 

 

When you are ready to export just flatten the image and go to Filters>Map>Bump Map. Feel free to play around with settings. I found that using a deeper setting allowed me to get better results on things like tire tread and more 3d stuff but I had to really tone down the difference in color value between more subtle things like rivets and panel lines.

Also the bump maps have an alpha applied as a layer mask just like a regular skin. Only instead of controlling the shine like a normal skin, this alpha has the black bullet holes for the damage model. This is what those missing spots are when you open the stock purple bump map. Don't forget to grab the alpha from the old bump map and save it to your alpha channel in the template. Otherwise you will have grey scrapes with no bullet holes when the plane is damaged.

[=GEMINI=Hawkmoon98]

36 minutes ago, Danziger said:

I take the regular skin template and convert everything to greyscale. I delete layers like weathering and markings or camo patterns and just keep the structural parts like rivets, screws, panel lines, aircraft parts, tires, exhaust pipes, control surface shadows. The basic skin part I leave a neutral grey color with a middle kind of value. Anything that is darker is sunken in. Anything lighter is raised above. I usually put panel lines, rivets and screws darker to look carved into the surface. You will have to experiment and play around a lot to get things looking how you want. 

 

When you are ready to export just flatten the image and go to Filters>Map>Bump Map. Feel free to play around with settings. I found that using a deeper setting allowed me to get better results on things like tire tread and more 3d stuff but I had to really tone down the difference in color value between more subtle things like rivets and panel lines.

Also the bump maps have an alpha applied as a layer mask just like a regular skin. Only instead of controlling the shine like a normal skin, this alpha has the black bullet holes for the damage model. This is what those missing spots are when you open the stock purple bump map. Don't forget to grab the alpha from the old bump map and save it to your alpha channel in the template. Otherwise you will have grey scrapes with no bullet holes when the plane is damaged.

thanks, sounds a bit complicated but i'll try

Edited September 21, 2019 by =GEMINI=Hawkmoon98

[Danziger]

It's just like skinning. Play around and experiment with things to get comfortable with it. I came into it knowing nothing about it. 

[=GEMINI=Hawkmoon98]

Just now, Danziger said:

It's just like skinning. Play around and experiment with things to get comfortable with it. I came into it knowing nothing about it. 

aye, i'll try i also started skinning from nothing too from the Standard skin to knowing what is an alpha layer and how it works and now i'm willing to end "the skinning tutorial" with learning how the Bump maps works
 

[Danziger]

Yeah I didn't even know how gimp works lol. I was an MS Paint guy jumping into skinning with Gimp and then making a 4k template and normal map and cockpit textures and so on. I'm still not as good at weathering as I would like to be.

[=GEMINI=Hawkmoon98]

1 minute ago, Danziger said:

Yeah I didn't even know how gimp works lol. I was an MS Paint guy jumping into skinning with Gimp and then making a 4k template and normal map and cockpit textures and so on. I'm still not as good at weathering as I would like to be.

yeah same, i usually try using all the resourch the template gives me so basically if a template is a bit empty with content i struggle a bit