Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
The smoothness and quality of the resulting mesh depends on the original base mesh,
the tessellation factor, method of tessellation and the displacement scale. The following
skull jaw figure shows the data from the displacement and normal maps that affect the
mapping process:
Skull jaw showing the impact of normal (left) and displacement (right) maps (displacement scale 0.020),—using the
Backspace
key within the completed project cycles through the available models
The displacement and normal maps for the models used in this recipe were generated by
baking the normals and displacement between too meshes into textures within Blender.
This is done by creating a low-poly version of a model by decimating it, then selecting the
high and low-poly versions, and running the baking functions.
The displacement process presented in this recipe cannot add detail under the displaced
vertices; for example, the simple plane we have rendered includes a spiral like cone in the
original model. However, the displacement map does not include enough information to
produce the same output. Instead, it results in a stretched region under the overhanging
geometry as shown in the following figure. Therefore, it is necessary for the base model
to contain enough geometry to approximate the final surface topology, and then the
displacement can be applied for the final touches.
Comparison of missing 3D detail in the left cone between original model (left) and displaced render (right)
