How to light up a bump-mapped head?

[cchangg]

I tried to put wrinkles and some bumps on my head model. Then, I light it up with a neon light and set my camera from the same direction with the light. Oddly, the bumps that are closest to the light (forehead) goes flat.

I tried to turn up the bump factor, but that doesn't work. I mean, all the bumps on the skin changed, but that forehead spot just doesn't "bump". I am sure that my bump map image is correct. So I guess it has something to do with the way I light the head. I don't really have a clue about how I should fix this. Can someone help me?

[atyss]

You should try various angles, just to see if it is actually the bump that doesn't respond or the lighting that is inadequate.

It's for sure that if you light an object that has bump maps and that the light source is perpendicular to the surface, you won't see the bump. The bump is a faked rendering effect, not geometry. So to show the bump map, you have to use a light that will have an angle with the surface.

Hope this helps
Salutations - Cheers
Bernard Lebel