Hi all, I've just finished modelling a character that I intend using in an online game. My question is, I have never really textured before and although I am determined to have a good go at it I would like to produce the 'bump' effects and contours etc. I do not know anything about 'bump mapping' so any insight would be brilliant. Eg. Do I pre texture my model now in photoshop then 'apply' the bump map or visa versa, help I'm stumped.

Thanks guys.

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If you believe in telekinesis, raise my right hand.

I've only just started experimenting with them but I basically did the texture and then used the texture as a basis for the bump map. Basically greyscale the texture map (or color map whichever the real term is) and then tone up and tone down the areas you want to be high or low.
Additionally you can create normal maps from bump maps with some tools out there (good info and tools are here: https://www.monitorstudios.com/bclowa...mal_maps1.html )

I'm sure someone with far more experience will give you better info though

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Thanks for the reply, I've finally found some info on the net and a decent enough tutorial to get myself a little understanding of what bump mapping is about, for anyone else that may be interested the tutorial is at

https://imaginecube.com/text_tutp1.html

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If you believe in telekinesis, raise my right hand.

If you have Maya 6 -- you can generate normal maps then switch those normal maps to displacement (which can be used as bump) maps using:

https://66.70.170.53/Ryan/heightmap/heightmap.html

How to use Maya's TransferSurface plugin to create the normal map is something someone else will need to explain. Never did it yet and I don't want to copy verbatem from a book.

The basic gyst is: You duplicate your model and add a shit load of detail to it in geometry. Then you overlap them and say "Maya, give me a map to make the low-poly one look like the high poly one" And then Maya says "Fine but you better not be playing games in the background, I need your CPU's loving" and then you say "Oh quiet Maya, I saw you kissing up to the Videocard last night... swapping with its GRAM." And then Maya blushes and does your job.

lol.
yea a simple thing i never realised also is when u finish ure bump map like when i first did it only shows up when u render ure scene, at least for me anyways, hope this helps someone out.

Yea -- it'd take too much processing power to rip out various shader-components so the videocard basically just does color and alpha channel until you render.

Its so you can build larger scenes than your computer can actually render in realtime... because rendering is slow.