Bump map via texture

[KarenMobius]

now this can be done in 2 different way 1 bumping striaght from the main texture using darkness or bump via another texture. Now my question is how can i get bump via texture to work properly as if i was bumping from the normal via darkness? reason i ask is I have tried many times, i will use an example, scales, now i want them to bump in to out from the creases ( crevases )  to look like real scails. I am using a mesh body and when i try this the side that recieves light the crevases are dark and the side with shadow is light, like it inverts. I was paying around a bit, and found that having the scales crevases white and the surface scale black it would function close to properly. now I am still new to texturing and would greatly appreaciate some helpful tips to getting this to display properly

[MIstahMoose]

You need to be using a normal map not a bump map. Normal maps interpret light, bump maps interpret geometry. In a game setting you'll never be changing geometry, So you'll always be using a normal map.
It should look like more like this. Maybe im understanding your question wrong.. It was typed very confusing-ly

 

[KarenMobius]

ah ok so i need to uv map it to get it to show properly, but as i said, then normal texture cannot be bumped since it's alpha masked to remove head, hands, and feet. this is what i have to work with and maybe you can point me to a program to make this easier. This is just a basic alpha to give an idea.
 

 

[MIstahMoose]

That will not even come close to working. To even be considered a normal map you have to be in the right color spectrum. Just google "Hand made normal maps" Its incredibly difficult and tedious to draw one by hand. If you do not have any 3d modeling experience I recommend getting someone to do it for you, or finding one online. There are tons of tutorials on it, Just google "Normal map tutorial" or even "scales normal map" for some free normals ^.^

[Drongle McMahon]

Yes. Too much to learn to put it in one forum post. To encourage you, here is a prim cylinder textured with diffuse, normal (bumpiness) and specu;ar maps. The maps were all made from your picture in a few minutes in Gimp. The normal map used the Normalmap plugin (inverting green channel). Various amounts of blurring ere added in layers, and layer masks were added to make the alpha channels of the normal and specular maps. All derived from your texture. It will take you a lot of experimentation and/or tutorial following, but it's worth it. Of course you gave to have advanced lighting to see the effects, and you have to adjust the 'Glossiness' and 'Environment' soinners to get the efffects you want.

ETA added a version of the normal map without alpha channel at the bottom right, because the background showing through obscures what the noamal map really looks like. (The alpha is the specular exponent).