How do you turn a 3D model into a height map?
Emma Johnson
Updated on March 03, 2026
Here are the basic steps:
- Find the area of the world that you want to 3D print.
- Download the height data as a grayscale PNG.
- Use a java script to convert the greyscale image into a STL.
- Scale the STL.
- Print on your machine of choice.
- Decorate.
- Print more!!!
Is height map same as displacement?
Height and displacement are considered the same thing, where height is usually used on large scale (ie terrain) and displacement on smaller scale (ie hero asset/prop). Both of these will displace and change the geometry.
How do height maps work?
A heightmap contains a channel that is interpreted as a displacement or “height” from the “floor” of a surface and sometimes visualized as a lume of a grayscale image, with black representing the minimum height and white the maximum height. You can also use individual color channels to zoom in on details.
What is the difference between a normal map and a displacement map?
They are used in the same way as normal maps, except they only contain height information and not angle information. Displacement maps are sometimes used to change the location of actual vertices in a mesh. Normal Maps, on the other hand, do not contain any height information whatsoever.
What is height map in blender?
Blender has the ability to use height maps to create meshes. Height maps are black and white images with white representing the highest point and black the lowest.
How do I use OpenEXR images in Blender?
Load the OpenEXR image in the Image Texture node. In the Material panel > Settings > Surface > Displacement, choose Displacement Only. It should work: Thanks for contributing an answer to Blender Stack Exchange!
What does height map mean in ZBrush?
The thing is that these texture (mostly or entirely, i guess), are made for Zbrush Height map means that it has values of height from the surface mapped to color values in an image file.
What’s the difference between a height map and a bump map?
A height map can be a displacement map as well as a bump map, however a displacement map does not necessarily need to be a height map. A bump map is pretty much always a height map. That is all as far as I know. Thanks for contributing an answer to Blender Stack Exchange!
