Maya 2016 Normals not acting "Normal"?

What we have here is a Normal Map applied to a model. Using Viewport 2.0 this would appear to be a problem with either Maya or bug for that matter. If your familiar with Linear workflows and Gamma Correct nodes, youll know all about how you have to add gamma correct nodes to images used as textures within Maya, however Autodesk has cleverly implimented a fix for such a redundant task through use of the new Color Management Feature in Maya 2016. See whats occuring is Maya is automatically appying a Gamma Correct node on the image however gamma correction should not be applied to alpha masks ambient occlusions and more importantly "Normal Maps"!

Simply before importing the image, change the "Color Space" from Srgb to "Raw" this will cause for the file to load without the gamma correct node attached to it; hence, you will now see a correctly applied Normal Map.

Be sure to also do this for Alpha masks and Ambient Occlusion maps that are not baked into a diffuse or texture map. If you're unfamiliar with Linear workflows and color management, here is a video you should watch:

To further iterate on the new Color Management feature employed in Maya 2016 and how to set rules, check this video out:

Thanks and come back later for more of my finds regarding Maya.

#Color #Normals #Viewport20 #ColorManagement #Maya2016