Sci-Fi Crate 772b

This is the creation of my 'Sci-Fi Crate 772b'. In this model all I had to do was add different maps such as: a normal map, an ambient map and a diffuse map. This teaches me the skill on how to use baking in Maya, letting me use LowPoly models but with the look of a HighPoly model.

To create the texture and the maps for the Sci-Fi crate first I had to select the target mesh of the low-poly crate and open the 'Transfer Maps' window. I then selected the high-poly mesh as the source mesh for it to copy from a place on the low-poly mesh. I then selected the normal map, ambient map and the diffuse map, saving them in a folder for the maps were they would be easy to find. I changed the size of the maps to 1024x1024 and made them into a .TGA file and then clicked bake.

Once the files had been baked I then opened them in Photoshop so that I could edit the textures to suit the model. The first map that I changed and edited was the normal map, this lets the high-poly curves and smoothness project onto the low-poly mesh without changing the amount of polys it uses.

The next map that I opened in Photoshop was the ambient map, this gave a shadow to the mesh, giving it more detail and depth to the mesh. When adding the map I duplicated it and added twice to the map to give it more depth and stand out more.

For the diffuse map I added the ambient map of it and gave it a grungy look over the top and a slight corroded metal texture. In the blending option is changed it to multiply so that it isn't so prominent and also lowered the opacity on both. This overall gave it a more realistic look.

When I had finished the metal overlay and grungy texture I added colour to the sides and bottom making them a matte black and making the screws, text and horizontal line a turquoise colour. The last colour I added was a bright white to make it stand out more and makes it cleaner and more Sci-Fi.

The next and final map that I did was the specular map, this gave the dents on the edges a light/shiny look. On SketchFab I altered how much the diffuse map showed making it less shiny, this is because sometimes it can become to shiny or not shiny at all.

Once all the maps were complete I then had to add them to the object in Maya. I found this hard to do especially the normal map. I was not able to add the normal map to the mesh in Maya but in SketchFab I was able to add the normal map and it makes the object look a lot better.

This is the final model, the top one is in Maya and the bottom is in SketchFab, there is a noticeable difference between the two as the normal map is not applied in Maya.