Nornal Mapping - How to export it to Gimp/Photoshop

Hey guys,

So l have sculpted up my Mesh and have ALSO Baked it and it is all ready to be exported! Only problem is, is that l can’t tell if l am on the right track to exporting it?

Allow me to explain:
When l am in Blender, the UV Maps look like this:


However once l have tried to Export this and opened it up in Gimp - it looked like your regular UV map unwrap and doesn’t reveal the detail that l have as you guys can see in the image above. Please help me and guide me to the correct path into exporting it and what should happen! Keep in mind that l have saved the “Normal map” as a png like l normally would with any other UV map.

Many thanks,

Jack :slight_smile:

Image / Save as Image menu (F3). This will save as an image file that you can open in any image editor

Sorry for the confusion! But l have ticked off ALL the boxes that you showed me with the link. What l was asking for was how to EXPORT the Normal maps on to Gimp and how it should look? I think l have worked it out since l made this thread; So this is how my set up is on Gimp - Am l on the right track?


The normal map in Gimp looks the same as how it looks in your Blender screenshot, so i’m not sure what is the problem then ?

Like l said, l think l have fixed my problem, l just don’t know if l am on the right track to continue exporting and adding textures onto it? Before when l first started this thread, the normal map setting on GIMP looked like your standard UV Map, rather than not looking like what l have now. But yeah l THINK l have solved my problem, l just need to know if l am on the right track to go on with texturing the normal map? Once again thank you for your help! :slight_smile:

Now in the case you don’t want the transparency all around the islands in the normal map and want the classic blue-ish color like everyone else is using, before the baking, when you assign a texture -before- baking, make sure to disable “Alpha”
http://i.imgur.com/idDiXpW.jpg

Thank you so much! So this will mean l have to re-bake it and re-save the normal map?

Yes, that is if you want the normal map to look like that :
http://i.imgur.com/xj73LpC.jpg

instead of this :
http://i.imgur.com/q1bsqjn.jpg

Awesome! this has helped me out heaps! So l should pretty much just delete the Normal map l have and start a fresh? Also when texturing in Gimp, can l do it like l normally would with any other UV map?

No, now that i think about it, in Gimp just add a layer under your normal map and fill that layer with the color 8080ff (html notation)
http://i.imgur.com/NuGQq76.jpg

The merge both layers into a single image
much simpler than rebaking, just keep the alpha disabling in mind for your future bakings

Oh okay so what your saying is l can leave my normal map the way it is and just change the background color? Btw my Gimp has a different layout to yours; l have done as you instructed, so does this look like l am on the right track to what your saying?


yes, it’s that way, for the layers i mean this :
http://i.imgur.com/3Ir7CQE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/HqPmelB.jpg

This operation doesn’t matter much because when you bake there’s a bleed setting which gets normal map values over the UV island edges. Filling the rest of it won’t matter unless you’re using it for some feature detection in Gimp.

You haven’t said why you want it in Gimp but what you don’t want to do is to start changing it much more than that. You could add the background as instructed, or you could flip the channels if you’re using it for something else than Blender that might need it, but nothing else.

Reason being, a normal map is not a conventional image, it has surface direction data saved in image channels and those values aren’t there to describe color that could be easily changed with a brush, for example.

Hey could you please show me how to set up the Layers as well as possibly with textures on Gimp? Maybe like an example and demonstrate how you did them? Also another thing, I’ve two computer screens and for some reason it won’t allow me to drag or pull Layers to where l want them to go, do you know how to fix that? Cheers

To add a new layer , several possibilities :

SHIFT+CTRL+N

or
click Layer -> New Layer
http://i.imgur.com/wNZxyiF.jpg

or
click on the New Layer button in the bottom of the layer panel
http://i.imgur.com/MjoJ0xI.jpg

or right click somewhere in the layer list and in the popup select New Layer
http://i.imgur.com/JK4eITz.jpg

To move a layer if for some reason you can’t drag/move it by selecting and dragging it , just select the layer and in the layer panel click on the move up and move down button
http://i.imgur.com/TM8i1Nr.jpg

Thank you so much! This helps out HEAPS! One more question (for now hehe) with the layers, how would l set them out? Like do l just open up my Normal Map with the top layer and have another Layer underneath? How would you set up your Layers if you were to add texture to the normal map on Gimp? Sorry for all the questions - l am very new to this haha :stuck_out_tongue:

Really depends on what you’re trying to do.
Do you have an example of what you are trying to achieve by “adding a texture to the normal map” ?

Well l am trying to bring textures to the character and that would mean putting either photographic images ontop of the Normal Map/UV or l will paint on some details to the character. I just dont know how to set up the layers and what not

And l’ve applied textures on there, and they don’t seem to show the detail on the normal map… How would l bring detailed textures the model and what not (like fur for example)?

You don’t merge photographic texture or other kind of diffuse texture with a normal map in gimp ! That’s going to ruin both textures.
The normal map is a texture used as a trick of the light to make illusion of details/relief where there’s not, you can’t just add a diffuse texture to it as a layer in gimp.

What you do is assign the 2 type of texture to your model.

By example
I have my low poly model, it’s unwrapped and ready to get its textures
http://i.imgur.com/G5OGfaG.jpg

I have a diffuse texture i created for it
http://i.imgur.com/kIyQIu0.jpg

And the normal map i made from baking the sculpt normals onto it
http://i.imgur.com/2BrMKeY.jpg

I will give a material to my model
http://i.imgur.com/M26a6M1.jpg

And for that material i will assign the diffuse texture (screenshot of the panels so you can see how they’re configured) :
http://i.imgur.com/tYbLVFhm.jpg http://i.imgur.com/K6bkElbm.jpg

Then i add a new texture, this one will be for the normal map
http://i.imgur.com/9MkRuoRm.jpg http://i.imgur.com/YnM4H5Zm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/m2jkhRFm.jpg

Then to display my model with texture+normal map in the viewport i need GLSL display , so 2 solutions
Go to Textured Mode , press N , scroll down and at display change Multiresolution to GLSL :
http://i.imgur.com/4Svn9nk.jpg

Or just go to “Material Mode” that is GLSL display automatically
http://i.imgur.com/YK03zkq.jpg

If you donecorrectly, the low poly model will look like that with only the diffuse texture on it :
http://i.imgur.com/31nRbGc.jpg

And with the normal map defined too, it tricks the lights with giving the illusion of detail and relief :
http://i.imgur.com/2fPE6Gy.jpg