Normal Map Generator

Create a normal map online with controls you can inspect

This online normal map generator encodes surface direction in RGB channels so a renderer can react to light without adding mesh geometry. Red represents the horizontal direction, green the vertical direction, and blue points away from the surface. It works as a practical normal map maker for materials, sprites, UI relief, mockups, and rapid look development while keeping the source in your browser.

To make a normal map, use Sobel for a balanced result or Scharr when small diagonal details need more weight. Strength controls the apparent slope rather than merely increasing contrast. Blur can suppress compression noise before derivatives are calculated, while edge wrapping avoids a hard border when the source is intended to tile.

• Switch between OpenGL and DirectX green-channel conventions.
• Preview on a plane, sphere, or cube before exporting.
• Choose Unity, Unreal Engine, Blender, or Godot defaults.
• Inspect clipping, flatness, seam risk, and power-of-two sizing.

OpenGL versus DirectX normal maps

The two formats usually differ only in the green channel. OpenGL treats green as positive Y, while the common DirectX convention points it in the opposite direction. A map with the wrong convention makes dents look like bumps and lighting appear to come from the wrong side. The format switch flips the channel deterministically, so you can export the correct orientation without round-tripping through an image editor.

Engine presets are transparent shortcuts, not opaque corrections. The status line names the selected convention, and the quality panel keeps orientation visible before download.

What luminance conversion can and cannot recover

A single color image does not contain true geometry. Brightness may describe height, paint color, lighting, or all three at once. The generator therefore creates a useful artistic approximation, not a physically measured surface. Start with an evenly lit source, remove baked shadows when possible, and compare the result under a moving light.

For photographed materials with baked illumination, the height inversion and blur controls can correct the most obvious direction and noise problems. For depth inferred from scene context rather than brightness, use the optional AI depth workflow only after reviewing its upload disclosure.

Questions about creating normal maps

These practical answers explain when local conversion is enough and when a different workflow may be useful.