Zbrush 3.5 R3: Normal Map Extraction

In this tutorial we cover how to extract normal maps in Zbrush 3.5 R3 - there is no longer ZMapper and instead we use the options from the Tools Menu.

Thanks to Damian Thompson for requesting this tutorial.

Runtime: ~7 min.
Software: Zbrush3.5R3, Maya
Instructor: Leo Covarrubias

Photoshop: Combine Normal Maps

UPDATE: - 2/7/2010 - While the technique described in this tutorial is workable I have recently descovered a much better technique for combining normal maps in Photoshop.  Check it out here: http://www.rodgreen.com/?p=4 and thanks to Rod Green for coming up with this workflow.

In this lesson we cover the proper way to combine a base normal map with a detail normal map.  The standard technique of using an 'Overlay' layer destroys information in the blue channel of your normal map. Instead we look at another technique that always preserves all your detail.

I first came across this method here: Making of Varga - Thanks to Paul Tosca.

Runtime ~10 min

Software: Photoshop

Instructor: Leo Covarrubias