# Normal Maps In Mental Ray?

**URL:** https://forum.highend3d.com/t/normal-maps-in-mental-ray/45275
**Category:** Maya
**Tags:** mental-ray
**Created:** [August 3, 2009, 7:48am UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/normal-maps-in-mental-ray/45275 "2009-08-03T07:48:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![s3th](https://forum.highend3d.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@s3th](https://forum.highend3d.com/u/s3th)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2009, 7:48am UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/normal-maps-in-mental-ray/45275/1 "2009-08-03T07:48:25Z")

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I'm running Maya 2009 and I've been trying for the past several hours to use a normal map I made in zbrush on my model in maya and render it with mental ray.

I've done as many suggested and tried to use JS\_normalmapper from pixero. After a lot of fumbling with it I finally got everything linked properly, but just as severl others I have run into the problem where it appears blacked out and when I attempt to render it anyway, absolutely nothing renders. It won't render at ALL. I don't even get an error. It just flat out refuses.

Perhaps it's because I'm using maya 2009... or some unknown factor I can't find. I've been able to render the map in software (though it has some odd distortions I've seen others have had, which were solved by rendering in mental ray ![]()

Is there any other way to render normals in mental ray? Or if you're familiar with the method I've attempted, do you have any idea what I may be doing wrong?

Any help would be appreciated a lot...

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### Author: ![joojaa](https://forum.highend3d.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@joojaa](https://forum.highend3d.com/u/joojaa)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2009, 8:40am UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/normal-maps-in-mental-ray/45275/2 "2009-08-03T08:40:18Z")

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You dont need js normalmapper for this. Maya now supports normnal maps natively just attach the map into bump slot and go tho the bump node and sey ist a normal map.

QUOTE  
I've done as many suggested and tried to use JS\_normalmapper from pixero.

Well thsit might have been a good suggestion back in 2006 but not now. Stop reading tutorials that are outdated. ![]()

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### Author: ![s3th](https://forum.highend3d.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@s3th](https://forum.highend3d.com/u/s3th)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/normal-maps-in-mental-ray/45275/3 "2009-08-03T15:39:32Z")

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AHhhh!!! THANK YOU ![]() IT WORKED.

Wow I can't believe I spent so much time trying to get that stupid shader to work when it was this simple. ARGH!