9.5.2

852 • CHAPTER 18
MATERIAL EDITOR • 853
You can create Normal textures with the help of the “Bake Texture...” or “Bake Object...” options (both
located in the “Render” menu).
Left, the original object rendered with sub-polygon displacement (Advanced Render module); right, the
result using a Normal texture created with the help of “Bake Texture...”
If such a Normal texture is placed into the “Normal” material channel, the rendered result will very
much resemble the original high-poly object, especially when lights are animated. This is because
shadows and Specular lights react to the position of the light sources, which results in a very vivid
rendering.
Different positions of a light source on Normal mapping.
Strength
Regulates the strength of the Normal mapping. Do not use very high values because the effect will
be increasingly unrealistic.
Basically, the higher the value used, the more perpendicular the view to the surface must be to keep
the look of the surface realistic.
Method
There are several methods with which Normal maps can be dened. Without going into great detail,
they are: