Normal map info to base color map

Question

I´d like to improve my models and been trying to find a way to get some color (like shadows) in to the skin wrinkles and pores. My model does not have any micro surface detail, but all the wrinkles and pores are made with alphas. This way I can export some nice normal maps, but when rendering the model, some skin details are still missing. I´ve seen some diffuse maps what others have, and there they have those wrinkles and pores baked also to the diffuse map for better contrast. Hand painting the bottoms of all wrinkles and pores is out of the question.

So, the depth feeling comes from the normal map, but how to get the normal info also to the diffuse map so that there was some contrast as well? Or perhaps to make curvature map based on normal map?

antti_6685 · Accepted Answer

Hello Cyril and thanks for your tip! I solved the problem with Substance 3D Sampler by opening a normal map there and convert it first to height, then AO and finally adjusting brightness and contrast so that all pores and wrinkles are visible. That was the mask I was looking for and then, as you suggested, I used it as a mask on fill layer to give some contrast for the pores and wrinkles.

Cyril Dellenbach · Answer

Hello @antti_6685,

Usually people are using a Fill layer with a Mask. The Fill layer drives the Base Color plus the Height (natively converted into a Normal) and the Mask drives where the Fill layer is visible or not.

If you've built details in the HP model, you could also use another baked map (usually AO) as a mask.

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