When creating textures for use in a 3D application or game, sometimes it’s necessary to add finer detail, such as a bump map or normal map. Normal maps fake the lighting on textures to create additional detail, without adding more polygons.
For normals, I figured you had to always rely on a 3rd party application such as CrazyBump. While CrazyBump is a great piece of software, I hadn’t realized it was already possible using the popular photo-editing software, Photoshop.
Please Note: The 3D functionality is not available in Photoshop versions CS6 and prior, and therefore will be unable to create normal maps.
Open Texture in Photoshop
For this example, I’ll use a leather texture found on textures.com:
Open Photoshop and switch to the 3D Workspace:
Open the texture you want to create a bump map for. In the 3D panel, select Mesh From Preset, and choose a shape:
I like to use a Sphere, but it doesn’t really matter. Click Create. Some kind of magic happens inside Photoshop and it creates a scene with your texture loaded onto an object.
In the 3D panel, you’ll see an object name with _Material. Click that:
Create the Normal Map
The Properties panel changes to reflect options corresponding to the material properties. Right now our texture is loaded into the Base Color channel. There’s a button at the bottom labeled Normal. Click that and select Generate Normals From Base Color…
After a few seconds, the Generate Normal Map window opens:
There’s a preview of your shape, and you can adjust Contrast Details and all that fun stuff. Click OK. Your normal map is created and applied to the shape.
Note: If Photoshop locks up, you can also try this simpler method:
- Open texture in Photoshop as you would normally any image. Make sure the image mode is set to RGB. (Having tried with Greyscale, it would freeze up again.)
- Choose Filter → 3D → Generate Normal Map…
- Adjust your map as necessary (I left my to default). Click OK.
- Save your file as PNG (not sure if it really matters). You’re done!
To save the map out of Photoshop, click on the Normal button again in the Properties panel, and this time select Edit Texture…
Your map will open in a separate document window. Choose File, Save As…
Choose Tiff as the Format, and uncheck Layers:
On the TIFF Options dialog, just keep everything as default:
Now you can use this normal map inside of a 3D application or game engine to get more detail out of textures.
As you can see in the example below, a normal map can add much more realistic lighting detail on the surface of your mesh.
Leather with Normal Map
Leather without Normal Map
That didn’t work for me. When I hit Ok in the normal map window, it actually applies the normal map to the image and makes it look like its rendered with the bumps. So its not the usual purple normal map. Did I miss a step?
But I can see the correct normal map before closing the window. It’s just it applies it after Ok is pressed.
Many thanks, great tips and post! Worked very good for me in Photoshop CC.
Awesome, glad to hear it helped! 🙂
I love you man! Great post!!
Thanks so much, I really appreciate that!
I really liked reading this blog page. Now and again I find blog posts that makes me want to get started on bloggin as well. Best wishes!
Thanks, I really appreciate that man!
Just to add to the confusion. My Photoshop does not display the option “Generate normal map from diffuse” under the normal button. I only have “Mew texture” and “load texture”. Also, under Filters, there is no 3D category. I am using CS6 and recently updated to Extended version in order to obtain the 3D tools.
This is great information. Thanks so much for letting me know!
Hi. Nice tut. Could be good to mention that the 3D functionality is not available in standard versions of Photoshop. The 3D workspace is only available in the extended version. Might save some people a couple of headaches by mentioning that. 🙂
Oh I did not know that! Thanks for letting me know. I will have to put a disclosure at the top.
I got it to work finally, i had to reset my preferences and it works like normal now. Not sure what changed to make it do that. Thanks!!
Oh strange! Sorry my solution didn’t work! Well I’m glad you were able to get it to work at least haha. At least anyone else having this issue will know to try resetting their preferences will hopefully work for them 🙂
I’m having the same issue. It goes to open a new tab, shows a weird looking image then closes and goes back the the original tab. In the past I could make normal maps by clicking; Filter > 3D > Generate Normal Map and it would do it for me. Now I’m having to do it the way you are showing above. Not sure way it wont let me continue to create normal maps the same as before.
Do you by chance have a dual monitor setup?
Yes i do
I read that disabling your second monitor may temporarily fix the issue. Sounds like a bug with Photoshop. Maybe try that and let me know if that works?
I tried disabling it and it still is not working. I updated today in hopes to get it fixed but still doesn’t work. Hopefully Adobe will get this fixed soon.
I get to the part where you hit the button to Generate Normal from Diffuse. I hit it, I see it do something. I can see a new tab as if a new photo is coming up, Then it goes back to the same screen as before. It never generates the window to set up the Normal. I hit the Generate Normal from Diffuse several times with the same result. I tried it with textures from the place you got yours. I tried it with one of my own. I tried it with a jpeg and a targa file. The same thing happens.
Very strange! So the Generate Normal Map dialog never comes up at all? Could it be coming up at the very bottom of your monitor or in a second monitor you might have, but you just missed it? Also, what version of Photoshop do you have?