Creating Height Maps from Normal Maps

Creating Height Maps from Normal Maps

Nathan Cournia

acnatha@vr.clemson.edu

Clemson University

Computer Science Department Colloquium Series ? p.1

Goal

Goal: Given a normal map, produce a height map

Computer Science Department Colloquium Series ? p.2

Motivation

Original height maps may not be available Height maps are easier to edit than normal maps Constructing a surface from a height map is trivial

Computer Science Department Colloquium Series ? p.3

Background: Normal Vector

The normal vector of a surface is a vector perpendicular to the surface

Usually a unit vector

Given a surface define by the bivariate vector function P(u, v) the surface normal for a point on P is defined by:

N(u, v)

=

P(u,v) u

?

P(u,v) v

Computer Science Department Colloquium Series ? p.4

Background: Normal Map

A normal map is a RGB image, each pixel of which represents a normal Each channel of each pixel represents a component of the normal

r x gy bz

Computer Science Department Colloquium Series ? p.5

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