How to make normal maps from real surfaces

I've devised a way to capture normal and displacement maps from real 3D surfaces. It's easy!  Just follow the steps below.

Materials

You need these things:

1. Digital Camera
2. Computer with Photoshop and Nvidia's Texture Tools
3. Movable light-source
4. Subject.  (In this example, Subject is a bowl of peanuts.)

Fig 02

Fig 02

Camera

Fig 03

Fig 03

Computer

Fig 04

Fig 04

Light source

Subject

Subject

Step 1

With your camera fixed, photograph your subject four times, lighted from each of four directions.  You'll want to experiment with the elevation of your light.  Light from a low angle, but not so low that your subject is obscured by its own shadow.

Fig 06

Fig 06

Lit From Above

Fig 07

Fig 07

Lit From Left

Fig 08

Fig 08

Lit From Below

Fig 09

Fig 09

Lit From Right

Step 2

Crop your photographs, and convert them to grayscale.

Fig 10

Fig 10

Lit From Above

Fig 11

Fig 11

Lit From Left

Fig 12

Fig 12

Lit From Below

Fig 13

Fig 13

Lit From Right

Step 3

Create a new image (hereafter called "AboveLeft"),  with your Above-lighted photograph for a green channel, and your Left-lighted photograph for a red channel.

Fig.

Fig.

AboveLeft:
green channel = Lit From Above
red channel = Lit From Left

Step 4

Adjust levels for "AboveLeft". Select output levels 127 and 0.

Fig 16

Fig 16

AboveLeft:
after levels adjusted

Step 5

Create a new image (hereafter called "BelowRight"),  with your Below-lighted photograph for a green channel, and your Right-lighted photograph for a red channel

Fig.

Fig.

BelowRight:
green channel = Lit From Below
red channel = Lit From Right

Step 6

Adjust levels for "BelowRight". Select output levels 128 and 255.

Fig 19

Fig 19

BelowRight:
after levels adjusted

Step 7

Paste BelowRight into a new layer over AboveLeft. Set the new layer's blend mode to "Overlay," and flatten your image.
(Optionally, experiment with other blend modes.  I find "Hard Light" works well for some maps).

Fig 21

Fig 21

Normal Map:
after image overlay

Step 8

Fill the blue channel with a light color.  Experiment with the shade; a lighter blue will yield a smoother normal map.

Fig.

Fig.

Normal Map:
blue channel lightened

Step 9

Apply NVIDIA's Normal Map filter, using the "Normalize Only" setting. Your normal map should now be finished and ready for use

Fig 24

Fig 24

Normal Map:
finished and ready for use

Step 10

If you need a displacement map, my href="http://66.70.170.53/Ryan/heightmap/heightmap.html" target="_blank">Displacement Map Creator will make one for you.

Fig.

Fig.

Displacement Map:
from displacement map creator

Further Examples

LEFT - Subject: Decorative Cross, CENTRE - Normal Map: after steps 1 -9, RIGHT - Displacement Map: from displacement map creator

LEFT - Subject: Decorative Cross, CENTRE - Normal Map: after steps 1 -9, RIGHT - Displacement Map: from displacement map creator

LEFT - Subject: Stones, CENTRE - Normal Map: after steps 1 -9, Displacement Map: from displacement map creator

LEFT - Subject: Stones, CENTRE - Normal Map: after steps 1 -9, Displacement Map: from displacement map creator

3D Renderings

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