Baking Maps from High-Resolution to Low-Resolution Models

Procedure

To bake normals from a high-resolution model to a low-resolution model:

1. First, make sure to align the high-resolution and low-resolution models exactly in the scene.
2. Press F1 to open the Render Setup window, and make sure the Scanline renderer is selected.
3. In the viewport, select the low-resolution mesh. The destination of the maps is the low-resolution object so they need to be created on it.
4. Choose Menu bar > Rendering > Bake to Texture to open the Bake to Texture dialog.
5. If the available maps are hidden, click Show Maps to show them in the left pane of the window.
6. Click the Add Maps to Selected Object button with the following Common Maps selected: Color and Normal.
7. Select the destination folder to save the maps.
8. Press Ctrl+A to select all maps in the list, then select the desired properties such as Image Size, File Type, and Padding.
9. From the Projection column, select Pick from List and pick the high-resolution mesh from the list.
10. Adjust the cage to make sure it contains all of the high-resolution mesh:
    1. Reset the cage.
    2. Use the push amount to push it outwards of the low resolution mesh.
11. If the two models are well-aligned and don't require a cage, you can select Raytrace as the projection method:
    1. Click Projection Options.
    2. From the Projection Options dialog, select Raytrace.
    3. Set the Max Ray Distance. The default value of 10.0 works in most cases.
12. Set the destination of the maps in the Output To column:
    • Select Create New Material.
    • From the Material/Map Browser, select PBR Material (Metal/Rough) under General.
    • Set the Color map to Base Color.
    • Set the Normal map to Norm Map.
13. Set the Normal Map options:
    1. For Normal Map Space, select Tangent.
    2. For Sync With, select 3ds Max or another application of your choice.
    3. Enable MikkT, then enable or disable Calculate bitangent per Pixel based on the requirements of the destination software. Most engines and applications use the Per Pixel option, so it is usually enabled.
    4. Disable Output into Normal Bump as this is not required by the PBR material.
14. Set the viewport to correctly display MikkT space normals:
    1. Choose Menu bar > Customize > Preferences > General to open the General panel of the Preferences dialog.
    2. In the Normal Bump Mode group, enable MikkT.
    3. In the Normal Bump Mode group, enable or disabled Calculate bitangent per Pixel depending on the selected setting in the Normal Map options.
    4. Apply the new settings and close the Preferences dialog.
15. Click Bake.
16. After the baking process is complete, compare the two meshes side-by-side:

    The object now has Shell Material and a PBR material as the baked material.

17. Adjust the new PBR material settings to match the desired look.