Okay, so we have a 3D model but it looks very meh. That’s where sculpting comes in. This is where 3D modelling is most like working with clay. Every mouse click is like a push or pull with a finger, or the scrape of a tool.

But! To add and subtract this detail, we need a really high resolution model. That means more polygons, a lot more polygons. And, if we remember, games have to do a lot of work to render polygons.

Luckily, we can convert this detail into a normal map. These images are basically magic tricks that fake depth. If you look at it really closely or at a sharp angle you can see the difference.

When our computer generates the lighting for these objects, it uses the red, green and blue parts of this image to move the respective XYZ coordinates of the object’s faces. That means the geometry of our object hasn’t actually changed, just the lighting.

Leave a comment and a like if you want part three explaining why normal maps are more efficient than a bunch of vertices.

And that’s why I spent day 25 of making a game learning how to bake normal maps in Blender.