Vector Displacement in the Sculpting Workflow - Game Development Tools - page 222

Figure 16.3. Vector displacement applied as a stencil to achieve complex details such as
this ear map. (See Color Plate XI.)
to achieve. Vector displacement stencils provide an ecient manner for applying
complexandtime-consumingdetails(see Figure16.3 ) .
Transferring details. An entire mesh can be represented via a VDM. This provides
a means by which details can be transferred between meshes. A character head, leg,
or hand, for example, could be detailed separately and then extracted as a VDM
and applied to another mesh sharing the same UV layout. This allows for pieces
or components of a mesh (i.e., a character's hand) to be detailed separately and at
much higher resolutions than the entire mesh (i.e., the full character) would allow.
Rendering. In supported renderers, such as Pixar's RenderMan, vector displace-
ment can be used to recreate complex details at render time while working with
the lower-resolution model within a viewport.
16.3 Creating Vector Displacement Maps:
A Workflow Example in Mudbox
16.3.1 Sculpting Details
The creation of VDMs in Mudbox is a fast and straightforward process. Sculpted
details can be created and stored in a VDM format at any time during an existing
sculpting session, or created on their own in a separate Mudbox session. A fast and
ecient way to create, extract, and store sculpted details in a vector displacement