Sculpt Using Map window

See also Sculpt using a displacement map.

These options let you sculpt a model using a displacement map.

Target Mesh

Specifies the model whose vertices will be displaced using a displacement map(s). Select the model from the drop-down list.

Map

Lets you specify a Ptex file or an image file whose pixel values will be used to displace vertices on the Target Mesh. Click the browse icon to select a file.

If you're applying an image map, the model must have well-defined UV texture coordinates. If the target mesh has no texture coordinates, you can use Ptex to sculpt the surface, however the topology of the target model must match the topology in the Ptex file.

If you have multiple displacement maps extracted from a model containing multiple UV tiles, you need only specify the first UV tile image within the image tile sequence.

Note:

If your target model has multiple UV tiles, you must apply separate image files as texture maps using the naming convention <filename>_u1_v1_g1.tif, where the u and v flags indicate the UV tile coordinates. The g flag is optional, and indicates the gain value for displacement.

Map Space
For vector displacement maps, lets you specify how vectors in the vector displacement map are interpreted. This must be set to match the Vector Space used when you produced the original vector displacement map. (See Extract a vector displacement map.)

For all other map types, use the default Normal (regular displacement map) option.

Note: You can extract a vector displacement map from a model with no UVs using Ptex. However, maps created with Relative Tangent or Absolute Tangent space can only be applied to models with UVs.
Normal (regular displacement map)
(Default) Indicates that the map is a regular displacement map, not a vector displacement map. (All other options in this drop-down list apply only to vector displacement maps.)
Relative Tangent
The length of vectors in the map are expressed as a function of the tangent and the bi-normal. The source vector displacement map was created using Relative Tangent space. This allows the displacement to look correct on an object of a different scale.
Absolute Tangent

The direction of vectors in the map is interpreted relative to the surface normal corresponding point, but the distance is absolute (and not relative to the surface.) The source vector displacement map was created using Absolute Tangent space.

Object
Vectors in the map are interpreted relative to the object's local position and scale. The source vector displacement map was created using Object space.
World
Vectors in the map are interpreted relative to the X, Y, and Z-axes of the scene. The source vector displacement map was created using World space.
Advanced
For regular displacement maps, the following options let you set additional values to tweak the displacement effect.
Mid value
Regular displacement maps store a distance value that indicates how much each surface point moves up or down. If you are applying an integer-based color map (8 or 16 bits per channel), enter the value that represents 0, or no change. For example, setting this value to 128 means that any color brighter than 128 pushes a surface up, while any color darker pushes the surface down.
Multiplier
Multiplies the effect of the offset, so that the effect of displacement is increased or lessened. By default, the default value of 1 represents no change.
Mask Map
Click to browse and select another texture map to attenuate or block the effect of the source displacement map. White areas in the applied Mask Map let the effect of the displacement through, while darker areas reduce the effect.
Go

Starts the displacement operation. If multiple tile displacement maps are specified, the operation uses any values indicated by the displacement image map name (that is, UV tiles and gain settings).

Delete This Operation

Exits the Sculpt Using Map operation without affecting the model.

Related topics

Prepare a model for sculpting

UVs overview