The Normal menu is divided into two tabbed sections: Controls and Texture.
Controls Tab
Use the Encoding and Orientation settings to help Action with information on how the normal map was encoded and rendered. Then use the Normal Controls to tweak the map in Action.
(a) Encoding box (b) Normals box (c) Orientation box (d) Camera box (e) Up Axis box
- Encoding box
- Select the order that the normal map is encoded based on the interpretation of the RGB channels (XYZ or XZY).
- Range box
- When working with floating point normal map media, select the range of the normal map media: [0, 1] or [-1, 1]. When working with 8-, 10-, or 12-bit images, the Range box displays the appropriate range for Action, but the box is greyed out.
- Orientation box
- Select whether the orientation of the coordinate system of the map is Left Hand or Right Hand.
- Up Axis box
- Select which axis is the up axis of the map.
- Camera box
- Select which axis of the map corresponds to the Z axis in Action. The selection in the Up Axis box determines the available selections in this box.
- Normals box
- Select whether to combine or replace the normal map with the surface normals.
Select: To: Combine Normals Combine the normals map texture with the surface’s normals. Replace Normals Apply only the normal map texture to the surface (ignoring the surface normal properties).
- Softness X field
- Displays the amount of X-axis blur applied to the normal map. Editable.
- Softness Y field
- Displays the amount of Y-axis blur applied to the normal map. Editable.
- Attenuation field
- Displays the level of amplitude of the effect caused by the normal map texture. Editable.
- X Normal axis
- Displays the amount of offset in pixel units along the X axis.
- Y Normal axis
- Displays the amount of offset in pixel units along the Y axis.
- Z Normal axis
- Displays the amount of offset in pixel units along the Z axis.
- Show Normals button
- Enable to display normal vectors over the surface.
- Normals colour pot
- Displays the normal vectors colour. Editable.
- Scale field
- Displays the scale of the normal vectors. Editable.
- Regen button
- Enable to dynamically refresh the image as changes are made to the normal settings.
Texture Tab
(a) Repeat Mode box (b) Mapping box (c) Camera Type box (d) Fit Method box (e) Filter box
- Repeat mode box
- Select how the normal map pattern is repeated on the surface.
- Fit Method box
- Select a fit method option to be applied to the normal map.
- Keep Aspect button
- Enable to preserve the aspect ratio of non-square pixels (not available for the Fill fit method).
- Use Cropped Size button
- Enable to replace the normal map with the cropped size of the normal media. Disable to use the cropped normal media as is.
- Mapping box
- Select the type of texture mapping.
Wrap (Geom UVs) Wrap mapping completely envelops the 3D model with the texture map according to the object’s texture coordinates. To use this option, you must import a model that has its own texture coordinates. When using Wrap mode, you can also apply UV mapping settings from the Geometry menu. Plane Planar mapping applies the map without distorting the front plane of the 3D model, similar to a movie projector casting an image onto a screen. All 3D coordinates of the geometry are mapped to this plane to generate the texture values. Planar mapping positions the lower-left corner of the map on the 3D model’s axis. When you apply planar mapping, any surfaces on the 3D model perpendicular to the front plane cause the pixels at the edge of the texture to project along the “sides” of the object. Perspective Perspective mapping is similar to planar mapping, except that it performs a perspective transformation of the map based on the selected camera’s field of view (FOV). When you select Perspective as the mapping type, the Perspective Camera box becomes active, allowing you to specify the active camera. The FOV of the camera has an impact on the resulting effect of any transform applied to the parent axis of the texture. On stereo cameras, the interaxial distance between left and right cameras also has an effect on the resulting perspective transform. Projection The texture behaves as if it is projected by the selected camera. Projection mapping is useful as an alternative to projecting textures using the Projector node, especially when it is necessary to project while preserving a specific camera POV.
- Camera box
- Specify which camera's FOV to take into account when using perspective or projection mapping.
- Camera field
- Displays the active perspective or projection camera number. Non-editable.
- Stereo Camera Projection box
- Select whether to use the centre, left, or right camera from a stereo camera rig when projection mapping.
- Filter box
- Select the type of filtering to apply to the normal map.
Select: To apply: Nearest No filtering — the pixel of the texture closest to the screen pixel is displayed. Linear Basic bilinear filtering. Anisotropic Non-proportional filtering between X and Y (faster to process than EWA, but with a lesser quality). Aniso+Linear A combination of Anisotropic and Linear filtering. EWA A high-quality elliptical weighted average filter to produce enhanced rendering results (slower to process than other filters). EWA+Linear A combination of EWA and Linear filtering (offers the most advanced filter processing). Tip: You can set the default filtering type in the Action Setup menu Preferences tab.
- Camera Type box
- Select the camera type visibility for the normal map. For example, you can use this setting to apply a Left Eye and Right Eye camera type for two maps that are children of the same surface or geometry in a stereo scene.
Note: If the Normal node is attached to a 3D Geometry node, you may need to select a UV Mapping mode other than Default in the Geometry menu for the normal pattern to have an effect on the geometry. See UV Map Settings.