Transfer HIGH POLY details to LOW POLY object in Blender

In this tutorial you will learn how to drastically reduce polygon count in blender by baking a normal maps to a low poly object. You can use this technique to make game ready assets.
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[@Grizzermacht]

Sad that the Starfield devs didn't see this video before release.

[@RadiantMantra]

The AutoCAD sandwich still gets me

[@brunolopez9645]

@@RadiantMantra what do you mean with AutoCAD swandich, is it mean what i thought?, like model made in AutoCAD?

[@bogdanborcea9788]

They don't have the engine for it.

[@RadiantMantra]

@@brunolopez9645 it's a sandwich seemingly made in a CAD software, no joke. The bread is like 100 n-gons and the lettuce and ham are like 20,000 faces. It's so funny

[@durt214]

@@brunolopez9645 The circulated image was fake and made after the game's release, but basically the sandwich had 70k faces.

[@Dapper_the_slapper]

When creating your texture map for your normals bake, if you check the 32bit float box it will bake a 16bit normal map. It will be a more accurate representation of your high poly and have no artifacts. Very important if you are baking normal maps for objects that have very low roughness.

[@gamingneeded1902]

Render with a single sample, it makes no difference to use more but makes the bake instant

[@ExtrymGamingLTU]

Hehe funny

[@MangaGamify]

New here. At which timeline?

[@watchitdogs2280]

Doesn't matter timeline just stay at first frame and 1 sample and bake it'll work

[@noyz-anything]

chat is this true

[@Shining4Dawn]

I think you can also go backwards with this process, meaning you can make a low poly model, then add a multires modifier, use sculpting tools to add details and then bake the normal map to keep the model low poly.

[@farisazhari3583]

nice idea! I'm new to blender, do you have a tutorial to do this?

[@Shining4Dawn]

@@farisazhari3583 Grant Abbit has a series of tutorials where he walks you through modeling a game-ready model of an axe. He makes a low-poly model, then duplicates it and increases the poly-count and adds detail with sculpting and then bakes the normal maps just as seen in this video.

[@farisazhari3583]

@@Shining4Dawn I just saw the channel and I will follow it, thanks for the info bro

[@Duhya]

This is super helpful for working quickly. But also i grew out of it because i found it easier to just work on a high poly and worry about simplifying later, as far as mental workload. Would prevent me from advancing on stuff because id just be thinking about how id low-high poly it, instead of simply adding as many details as i want.

[@grayslimeguy8444]

i mean that makes sense but why would you want a higher poly count if you can replicate the look with low poly (this is coming from the stand point as a solo developer)

[@noahbeyer7421]

I worked for 1.5 days to figure this out by using the cage method. I tried everything to get my realistic head sculpt to have detail, but this tutorial worked. For some reason the cage methods kept letting me down but this alternate way did not. Amazing work please keep it up!

[@jonmoberlycreative3d]

This is very helpful this will work great on a full landscape from millions of polys down to a minimal amount thanks for sharing!

[@RomanPittroff]

I like this Video, particularly good explanation shows all the complete workflow without confusing things added on!

[@user-yp3nl4qc1b]

This is amazing! I've been trying to find a more streamlined process to go from high poly to a model that can actually be used in maya to create large scenes and this is beyond helpful. Thanks!!

[@BarrettSmithBB]

There's an addon called "JBake" that essentially automates that whole process. If you plan on baking a lot of normals, it's a worthwhile addon to have.

[@user-ut6tw2ps4k]

Is it free?

[@user-mu9tz1xc6n]

@@user-ut6tw2ps4k completely open source add-on, it's on git-hub and downloadable from some other places as well.

[@ThroneOfBhaal]

Yes@@user-ut6tw2ps4k

[@stealthygripen]

@@user-ut6tw2ps4k Yes, it’s made by KZbinr Jayanam who also makes Blender tutorials.

[@rajendrameena150]

Yes, it is

[@sottozen]

Loved this tutorial very much! Thanks!

[@Digital_Creation_Y.C.]

Thank you man! that was so difficult to understand before watching your tutorials , still in progress but I'm closer than ever! keep up the amazing work !

[@needthistool]

Really fantastic walkthrough. Thanks!

[@Brett3am]

Very clear and efficient process! Thank you!

[@giovafncreative]

Thank you! The decimate modifier is so good! I made a bunch of rocks to use as a landscape decoration in my game, but they were around 10k triangles, now it's 500 triangles and they still look good🙂

[@sofyamakingart]

Thank you for explaining it so well, so happy I found this tutorial!

[@valdoryon]

Excellent video, couldn't be more clear, thank you!

[@Maxwolford]

Excellent! I feel much more confident after seeing how simple you made this process.

[@bigtprime]

You will be less confident when you will apply it. The video has been made with a very simple object with not much cavity. Depending on what you intend to bake, you can encounter lot of additionnal difficulties.

[@jungcave]

thank you! super helpful!

[@davidjade1921]

This tutorial helped me out a lot! Thank you!

[@andreacrisante6575]

Finally someone who goes straight to the point! Amazing explanation about Blender bake on youtube, surely the best one. I don't like the way you unwrapp (because for sure you can do it better) but anyway nice choise, you made it simple things pretty hard to understand. Thank you.

[@J_GAN8]

Just amazing, thank you so much !

[@ravendaee]

Super useful tutorial, thank you !

[@xpmsplay]

Great lesson. Thank you.

[@najhonbanjon]

Good explanation THANKS

[@Byt3me21]

Thank you very much, this was a great lesson!

[@dertobbe1176]

I live what you did here. Rly helpful

[@MauvaisGouh]

thanks for the time it took u to share, so usefull

[@Kuyuup]

Such an important tip! Thanks for sharing you're amazing

[@arminkhorsandipour]

Wow, That was helpful Thank you so much✨

[@ArtyDc600]

Superrrr video..very helpful .. was searching exactly this.. thanks a ton !!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@liridoncani]

Thank you so much for the multires method.Something new I learnt today

[@paulrmoss]

Super useful, thanks

[@samuelsimango120]

It was a really good lesson... I always render scenes with lot of polygons.... Thanks brow.

[@JoaoVSAguiar]

You say BAKE with so much energy. Loved it, even tho I'm not into blender or 3d rendering.

[@user-gv9hd2fi5h]

Great video! Thank you 🫶🏻

[@dreddd7980]

Finally a tutorial that helped me bake the normals of my object thanks so much

[@jjjulien5380]

Thank you, for the nice video! It helped me a lot.

[@Maxboun3204]

man i was stuck on this topic for so long, just now because of you i understand it, thanks

[@moonmooooonnn]

Finally I understand about baking! Thank you so much!!!😭

[@ContradictionDesign]

Thanks! Very helpful. Good luck on your KZbin journey! It is quite the endeavor.

[@tanguybarbaray5362]

You resolved my issue with a fast video because other youtuber show plugin or other method, but this two method was fast and precise, so thanks. Ho, and now you are one French follower.

[@wulfaxe7661]

this tut would have helped me so much back in february when i started doing things with normals hahaha, all tutorials were a bit convoluted, and i couldn't understand them very well, but i eventually figured things out

[@SLEEPING313]

Thanks 🤣🙏 I tried every tutorial and it was always doing smth weird or they were not explaining well or too fast but you explained this thing so easily and clearly

[@3Dnot2D]

I'm glad that you like it.

[@joryo3d]

amazing!! thank you!!

[@vivekjha9597]

I've been learning blender for about 6 months. It's amazing in many ways compared to fusion 360. Guys like you make every little tip so easy to understand. Thank you.

[@megapixeler]

One way to make this video extra useful (specially to newbies) is to explain a little more what you are doing and why, and not just explain how to do it.

[@alexandrearaujo4256]

great video. thank´s

[@ahmetomercicek5848]

Thank's brother , it helped me .

[@williammccormick3787]

Thank you for this

[@dertobbe1176]

Best guy for this. Ty

[@GRUBBNSTUFF]

I'm working on a tree for project of mine and I got it from 8 million faces down to 996!!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[@madbeef.]

Using a decimal separator in the thumbnail makes it seem like your turning a really low poly model into a higher poly one!

[@jungcave]

for some of you who will bake diffuse color from high poly mesh to simple 2d plane for texture atlas - dont forget in ouliner to turn off all render icons of the rest unbackable objects, because it may collide with your baked map )))

[@igorgilewicz1549]

Just see this video in my youtube suggestions. Watched it and subscribe immediately. You making good explanation of things! Keep going!

[@3Dnot2D]

Thank you.

[@neondaybreak4548]

Thanks so much 🙏🙏🙏

[@Artistram3d1]

Nemanja, I never knew you had a Blender channel, this is Exciting! I've always followed your Outstanding tutorials on Photoshop!

[@3Dnot2D]

I started this channel recently, because a lot of people requested Blender tutorials. And I can't do it on my Photoshop channel. 💪🏼😎

[@mntota]

Thanks, man!

[@randomtask99]

I couldn't get the first technique to work on Blender 3.6 but the multires modifier worked OK. Thanks.

[@sandom_saddom]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@n0ni22]

earned a sub!

[@kekekepi]

i needed this so badd

[@mertality2329]

ThX

[@Hydr312]

0:00 left high poly and right low poly. You can see it in the silhouette. The left one has way more structure/smooth the right one has harder egges.

[@user-ll4on9my7h]

Texture baking is very important to learn.

[@tapikoBlends]

thanks

[@NN-wc7dl]

Nice!

[@adamzeiun892]

so smart 👍

[@taftphotography]

Very helpful Nemanja as usual

[@3Dnot2D]

I'm glad that you like it.

[@Jackson-bh1jw]

he never deleted the high version and always covered the low one, gg genious.

[@omiorahman6283]

suppose i want to paint the rock do i paint the high poly and just transfer the color using normal maps or do i have to add another color image for the low poly and uv unwrap both high and low poly mesh

[@JJforYoutube]

thank you i finally baked a normal map

[@kampkrieger]

you can tell which is which. Look at the edges (transition to background) the low poly version has uglier more clunky edges. This is important, that is how you know how far you can go with this. You example is still high poly enough that it does not become apparent enough to be a problem.

[@kmanL3G3N3D]

Simple bake is a must have for Blender. It would help save time

[@dertobbe1176]

It probably could save time If there were an option in the remesh Systems

[@Danny-rp2hk]

Thanks this video is so helpful to all 3d artists

[@3Dnot2D]

You're welcome.

[@Krakius]

Thanks

[@3Dnot2D]

Thank you!

[@KidamaruDesigns]

In fact, it's amazing why such a basic tool as baking can't be made easier. Conditionally, you do low and high. Click bake, make small settings in the window that appears and bake occurs with automatic binding of normal maps to the low model. Baking one object is still OK, but if there are 20 such objects, it's terrible.

[@starfoxdelta]

Does this work for character models as well, or would another method be needed?

[@fabians7807]

Is there a possibilty to automate this process of several manual steps or is there maybe a tool / addon doing this job?

[@LafeSpace]

Nice

[@SayceBuckleyFreak]

i loved that HDRI lol ! do you know which one you used?

[@Yassinos_Gaming]

The Garten of banban devs played this video in reverse lol

[@milanzeeman4454]

I could also just use quad remesher from exosuit?

[@feraspielt]

This is the first tutorial which I understand with first try xD thanks! as my model has 20 million polygons, I still wait for the result^^ Hope it worked Can I display the baked texture in texture painting or vertex paint, so I could for example paint dino scales scale for scale in different colours? I have another question: in sculpting my model mirror is not 100% the same... Normaly I model the clay on the right side with X mirror... But the left side (the mirrord side) isnt exat the same.. its like you modeling the right side with 100% strengh and the left side just with 90% strengh. Do you know why this happens? its with every model i made

[@stevannikolovski]

Seems like Multires bake way is faster and easier. Thanks for nice and straightforward video.

[@pedroc3948]

I'm burning my brain trying to understand the relation between "Max Ray Distance" and "Extrusion" options. All tutorials just give you a number, so I guess nobody knows how it works exactly.

[@deltagaiya7681]

Great video! Question, which Mac are you running for your work? OR just straight up how much memory do you have?

[@3Dnot2D]

Thanks. I'm using M1 Max MacBook Pro with 64 GB of RAM

[@untrollable3212]

I’m sorry if I misunderstood or I missed some thing but I am having an issue with this so I needed everything or I think I did everything that you said in the video but after I saved my project I closed out of everything and I hopped back on later that afternoon, and all the details were gone and there was no normal map. No nothing and I don’t know why it keeps being removed, and should I paint first and then do that or do that then paint and how do I make sure everything is saved?

[@abstrakt4life23]

I am also having this issue

[@Null_DreiAcht]

Can I make a normal map from a collection instead of one object ? I've made a 3D model for a game and I want to bake a normal map to gave it a smoother look. But I couldn't build my object as one mesh. Instead, it's 7 meshes clipping together to form one object.

[@grey3318]

Normal maps are witchcraft. Super helpful video though. Saving this one for reference.

[@vizdotlife]

Thanks for the tutorial! This is great. One question. You mentioned it was very important to switch to Cycles from Eevee. Does this not work in Eevee too, but of course lower quality?

[@3Dnot2D]

In order to bake normals you need to switch to Cycles. You can later use Eevee for render...

[@mr.j7899]

I think you can optimize it more by manually doing retopo. 1.2k tris is still a lot as a rock. But important thing is you demonstrated the worflow. Subbed!

[@pumpkinpiecrust8435]

Geniunely wondering where manual retopo fits into this workflow. Would you do it instead of the decimate? Do it with a fairly high poly count just to have nicer topology (not necessarily more optimized just cleaner to work with for UV's and such) and THEN decimate it? Im curious

[@mr.j7899]

@@pumpkinpiecrust8435 I do both. I decimate in ZBrush then place it in Maya for retopo. Great for creating assets for games. You just gotta know how to UV unwrap properly.

[@aramsavci483]

Thanks for the helpful video. So if i understand it right , the low poly mesh just uses a image texture ( so it doesnt really have the real textures) but looks the same and doesnt use as much faces / triangles as the high poly one .

[@3Dnot2D]

The low poly is using the texture that is baked from a high poly model. We are making the texture here.

[@fearfxsquared]

I have 4 rocks, they are seperate objects sharing the same UV1. Can you still do this with multiple rocks selected?

[@kolper6799]

We need to send this to that guy who made 70k polygon sandwitch in starfield.

[@satriadiutama7010]

i cant believe this channel only have 3k subs, i thought some 600k

[@3Dnot2D]

Thanks. Maybe one day 🙂

[@AlisonReidMe]

Thank you, I'm glad you showed both methods. Excellent !! A very helpful video for a difficult concept.

[@3Dnot2D]

You're welcome 😊

[@thomassilvestri4434]

Does this work well with characters, or do you need to strategically retopologize and seam for unwrap.

[@3Dnot2D]

Depends on a character. It can work. But you should always have a good low poly topology and transfer details on that one.

[@Tenchinu]

works with the normals but not with base color. It copies the height instead :( im using UDIMS, so maybe thats why?

[@mshkfrede3168]

Wery useful for starfield

[@gustavonix]

I'm making a game with many animated NPCs, can applying this technique to NPCs reduce the quality of the animations within the game?