is baking viable when...

[Jenry29630182lyc8]

Is baking a high poly onto a low poly viable when you have a mesh that is going to be seen from multiple angles? I don't think so, but I'm not sure.

[Cyril Dellenbach]

Hello @Jenry29630182lyc8,

Except for specific projects, I don't see a reason why this shouldn't work. A 3D Baking is basicaly the act of printing info from the High poly model onto the Low poly model. However, we're working on 3D spaces, with 3D objects, so as long as these objects are entirely modeled, the angle won't matter.

Best regards,

[Jenry29630182lyc8]

I mean it looks 3d from one view like the front view. Then I put it in left view, an I don't see any of the detail. Am I making my low polys wrong?

[Cyril Dellenbach]

Could you share some visuals/screenshots?

[Jenry29630182lyc8]

here

[davescm]

For comparison, what did the high poly look like from those angles?

[Jenry29630182lyc8]

this

[Jenry29630182lyc8]

and this

[davescm · Accepted solution]

OK so the baking looks to have worked but - baking does not actually raise or lower the surface of the low poly. It simulates details on the surface when rendering so when looking at the surface straight on or at angles the light paths are changed to give the appearance of surface height changes in accordance with those those baked details. However if a surface is viewed at a very low angle or even at 0 degrees i.e. looking straight along the surface, to the object or background behind it, then that simulation falls down as there is no actual surface displacement so no real height changes in that surface.

In short a normal map merely simulates detail on a surface it doesn't actually raise that surface. To do that requires both a height map and tessalation of the surface - which of course adds polygons.

Example below

A plane cube:

A normal map used to add surface details

Top and side viewed at low angle that detail almost disappears as it is not really there:

Surface tessalated and surface displacement driven with height map. Now those low angles have real surface detail so are visible at low angles, but that is at the expense of adding polygons:

Dave

[davescm]

Remember though that baking merely simulates detail from the high poly  on the surface of the low poly. It does not smooth out low poly edges or corners so when viewed against a background those edges will still show as low poly. 

Dave