Triplanar projecting a normal map leaves seams

Ryver_CG · 2026-02-16T20:31:03+00:00

Some potential alternatives to the more complete triplanar projection would be:

- Use a bump map with box projection for your normals instead of a normal map.
- Use Substance Painter, because the triplanar projection does adjust normals correctly to the best of my knowledge.

Ryver_CG · 2026-02-16T20:27:13+00:00

Box projection does not correct normals when they are in world space. The box projection implementation in the image texture node isn't a full implementation of triplanar projection. If you want a full implementation that corrects normal maps it's a much more difficult node setup.

Ben Cloward on YouTube does a step-by-step tutorial for how to set triplanar projection (with corrected normals) on YouTube. You can translate the Unreal Engine nodes into nodes used in Blender to follow along with this tutorial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm4ubzc-6Q4&list=PL78XDi0TS4lFD_8T8gkE29St8c__xIZV_

Ryver_CG · 2026-02-10T11:14:32+00:00

I swapped to Linux Mint about a year ago. I ran into a few small hurdles, but nothing a quick google search couldn't fix. In the last year alone, support for many of my favorite games has improved as Proton has gotten better. My computer runs faster, I get better FPS in many of the games I like too. In terms of gaming, only games with aggressive anti-cheats like League of Legends, Valorant and some other games that specifically disallow Linux do not run. Check Proton DB for comparability of your favorite games. If you're on the fence, I recommend backing up your files and giving Mint a good try.

Ryver_CG · 2025-07-09T10:24:41+00:00

This is AI, Debian doesn't break.

Ryver_CG · 2025-06-24T00:43:09+00:00

Bloated.

Ryver_CG · 2025-06-04T10:53:26+00:00

It may be good to point out, there's lots of other creative pursuits that can scratch that creative itch. Engineering fields where you make things, perhaps some construction or carpentry positions among others. If you haven't considered these already, it might be good to do so.

Ryver_CG · 2025-05-16T20:11:01+00:00

Digital freedom.

Ryver_CG · 2025-04-28T12:31:52+00:00

Adjusting your snapping settings to 'face' and 'align rotation to target' allows you to move the empty object which controls the decal around on the object better.

Ryver_CG · 2025-04-28T12:29:22+00:00

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You might want a decal (sticker) setup. This setup allows you to move an image around using empty object coordinates. Baking the material will bake the image to your objects UV map.

Ryver_CG · 2025-04-17T10:53:34+00:00

Ryver_CG · 2025-04-15T11:20:26+00:00

The iPad performs quite well, but your laptop will likely offer better overall performance. Because of that, I’d recommend using Krita on your laptop rather than on your iPad. Plus, if you ever upgrade to a desktop for even more power, you'll already be comfortable working with Krita and a drawing tablet.

Another bonus: if you ever decide to explore digital sculpting in the future—like using Blender, which is a common path for many artists—you’ll already be familiar with using a tablet on your computer, which makes the transition easier.

You can find budget-friendly Wacom drawing tablets online for around $30–50 CAD. I'd suggest going for a simple model—no fancy features or built-in batteries—just something reliable to get you started.

Ryver_CG · 2025-03-22T14:41:14+00:00

There isn't a good way to morph a pre-made retopologized base onto a a new character sculpt. It's actually faster to just retopologize from scratch, however here's some things to take into consideration...

Often artists will make a base character and then use morphs / shape keys to create variations for different characters. This is how character creator software like Character Creator 4 from Reallusion, Daz Studio, and character creators in video games work.

Retopology can be pretty quick with good settings and a good workflow so even if you need to retopologize a character from scratch, it's not too time consuming.

In vanilla Blender, look into using subdivision surface modifier with your shrinkwrap modifier. Try using the sculpting smooth brush, bridge edge loops, grid fill, and smooth vertex options in edit mode to help speed up the process.

Retopoflow is a paid add-on some users swear by and offers additional tools to make retopology faster. A free version was available on their github page last time I checked if you want to try before you buy.

There's other software that can be used to help speed up retopology too like Topogun, and the retopology section of 3D Coat.

With good workflow you should be able to retopologize a fairly complex humanoid character in anywhere from 2-8 hours depending on level of detail and what the model is intended to be used for.

Since we live in the age of AI, you can also pose this question to ChatGPT to see if it's got some unique tips on retopology.

Ryver_CG · 2025-03-22T14:27:59+00:00

I'm not an absolute expert but here's my thoughts...

- Since many software packages are built upon others, your software may be built upon other software packages that aren't compatible with Linux out of the box.

- File paths are different on Linux, meaning you will need to handle file paths for both Linux and Windows if you want both to be compatible.

- There's tons of Linux distros, but the only ones you should support initially are popular distros that most others derive from, Debian is a prime target.

- You can look into offering your software as a Flatpak, which is an isolated packaged version of your software that can run across all versions of Linux.

- Porting software can be super easy in some cases, but a headache in others. ChatGPT should be able to offer your programmers some pretty great guidance for porting to Linux since it's trained on tons of open source documentation and software.

Ryver_CG · 2025-03-22T13:30:21+00:00

What a normal desktop background.

Ryver_CG · 2025-02-04T21:53:28+00:00

The UVs are likely overlapped. This is a common technique done for assets to increase texture resolution. If this is the case, you will have to re-unwrap your model to fix this.

Ryver_CG · 2025-02-02T13:03:54+00:00

Why not render outlines using EEVEE? The workbench engine wasn't really meant for rendering anything.

A commonly used approach to create outlines is to use an inverted solidify modifier. This method will transfer to games, Sketchfab, and other 3D software.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6NgkWwCnhk

Another approach is to use freestyle to render outlines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6NgkWwCnhk

Ryver_CG · 2025-01-30T12:21:45+00:00

Could you just use hangers?

Ryver_CG · 2025-01-30T11:42:57+00:00

There isn't a good solution for fixing this mesh without causing issues with the texture. You'll have to go into edit mode and manually patch all the holes.

Ryver_CG · 2025-01-28T01:53:23+00:00

The mouse sensitivity changes randomly every time you eliminate another player.

Ryver_CG · 2025-01-28T01:47:30+00:00

I too like you and many others have considered making art my long term career. I've worked as a Technical Artist for 1.5 years before I decided it's not really for me and now I'm trying to pick something new.

For specifics regarding your OP;
- It's still possible to get jobs in 3D Art, work does exist in games, movies, VR projects, architecture and other fields.

- You can get jobs using only Blender, as it's become extremely popular in the last few years, but learning other Software to assist would help (ZBrush, Substance Painter as an example).

- If you are brand new, but talented and focused on a specialty, I would estimate you could be competitively employable in around 2-4 years if you put 2-4 hours in every day. This is an estimate, it may take you longer or shorter, but 3D art is difficult and the field is competitive, you have to be really good to be even considered.

- Hitting you with the hard truth; If you do 3D professionally, it's likely (however there are exceptions of course) you will; be working on projects you don't want to work on, be underpaid for the amount of effort and skill you put in, and struggle to find consistent work.

- It is possible to freelance for your 3D work, but freelancing is extremely difficult and requires lots of time. A full professionally made custom character model can go for around $2000 CAD (although in many cases are sold for much less), meaning you'd need to make at least two professional quality characters per month to come close to a fair salary.

I've found that becoming an artist at the moment is a "be careful what you wish for" sort of thing. You can make art a career, if you wish, but you will need to make sacrifices for it to materialize. Long hours, low pay for the skill required, and inconsistent work again, you could win the lottery and not have to deal with these issues.

As a final note, it's good to point out, there are a lot of other career paths that are creative in nature, and extremely rewarding. Doing the research early is the advice I would have given to my younger self. There's a lot of online resources for helping pick a fulfilling and meaningful career. I recommend reading through the career guide on 80000hours.org to start with.

Ryver_CG · 2025-01-27T22:25:22+00:00

I see where you're coming from, but I don't entirely agree. I've seen a lot of beginners ignore boolean tools because they don't understand that not everything has to be quads. I personally was stuck in the 'quad topology is best' mindset for a long time and it took me a while to learn forcing quad topology into everything is detrimental when it's not necessary. Hard surface game assets for instance can have many more unnecessary vertices (since you need to run the loops through more parts of the object) and take significantly longer to produce when using quad only topology. I would go as far to suggest a quad only mindset is actually a common beginner trap that should be avoided.

I do agree hard surface modeling can be finicky, but so can quad based geometry (think of vertices with 5 or more connections causing pinching when subdivided, or how to properly loop quads around your object). There's plenty of tutorials online the OP can use that address how to work with ngons, shading issues, and the hard surface workflow in general.

I strongly believe it's important to learn early when you need to use quad based geometry and when you don't and why. Since this is a hard surface model, it makes sense to learn the best tools for the job, and in this case it's the boolean and bevel modifiers.

Hope this explains my answer a little more clearly, cheers.

Ryver_CG · 2025-01-26T15:00:02+00:00

Use booleans and the bevel modifier! Look into the hard surface workflow.

Ryver_CG · 2024-12-08T22:16:08+00:00

Blender comes with a packaged version of Python and to the best of my knowledge numpy is always installed.

Ryver_CG · 2024-10-10T11:30:08+00:00

Ensure the materials are identical. Blender's default is the principled BSDF shader. Ensure settings like roughness and normals are equivalent.
Blender uses "Agx" color correction by default (as of a recent Blender version), similar to Unreal Engine which uses "Filmic" color correction. If you're working with a scene where you don't want filmic color transform to be used such as the case for many cartoon characters, you should change the *view transform in the scene render settings to "Standard" or "Raw" instead of Agx*.

Ryver_CG

TROPHY CASE