Thanks Brent!
I hear ya, I'm mostly self-taught and it was trial and error for years.
The "problem" with Normal Maps is that sometimes it should render correctly, but it doesn't, and then to find what's wrong... sometimes it's stuff that shouldn't happen. Even though generating Normals can be a time consuming process, sometimes the only thing we can do is take even more time and do test renders. You don't always have to render deep recesses separately, or use separate objects, it depends on the cage setup, on the model, sometimes on the actual topology of the mesh. It can be a pain!
I hear ya, I'm mostly self-taught and it was trial and error for years.
The "problem" with Normal Maps is that sometimes it should render correctly, but it doesn't, and then to find what's wrong... sometimes it's stuff that shouldn't happen. Even though generating Normals can be a time consuming process, sometimes the only thing we can do is take even more time and do test renders. You don't always have to render deep recesses separately, or use separate objects, it depends on the cage setup, on the model, sometimes on the actual topology of the mesh. It can be a pain!
Pain is right... but it's too fun not to do it.
Not to mention you can make some money doing it if you're lucky (and by lucky I mean talented, hard working, and know the right people).
Not to mention you can make some money doing it if you're lucky (and by lucky I mean talented, hard working, and know the right people).
And it's a great feeling when you get your hands on the game you helped make. Having that box on the shelf, and you know your name is on the credits and you helped make it!