Depth-Map.com

Blender and ZBrush

A 16-bit PNG for a displaced plane.

The lion sample is the file. Depth is estimated on the server. Blender reads the PNG on a Displacement modifier. EXR is not an export.

16-bit PNG · Displacement · ZBrush alpha

Gray plane with the lion relief displaced in the surface
A displaced plane of the lion. Download the 16-bit PNG, not this render.

16-bit depth map

One server request. The PNG is what Blender and ZBrush import.

Balanced depth estimation — 16-bit PNG at 3 mm max depth. Works for almost every workflow.

Preview

depth map

Lion medallion

Parameters

preset: Default
3.0 mm
1.5 mm
40 mm
Local adjustments
1.00
0.00
0%
Depth map ready

Export

Sliders rewrite this result locally. PNG and STL match the preview.

Blender Displacement Modifier — the five-step recipe

  1. 1. Export a 16-bit PNG from the workbench. That is the texture. EXR is not available.
  2. 2. Add Mesh → Plane. Enter Edit Mode and subdivide 6 times, or leave the plane low-poly and add a Subdivision Surface modifier set to viewport 3 / render 6.
  3. 3. Modifier → Displacement. New Texture → Image or Movie → open your exported depth map. Set Strength 0.1–0.5 depending on how tall the relief should read.
  4. 4. (Optional) Stack Subsurf above Displace. A real-time Subdivision Surface above Displacement multiplies the effective resolution so fine details survive in Cycles.
  5. 5. Render or Apply. Cycles and Eevee both render it cleanly. Apply the modifier first if you need the baked geometry for USD / FBX / 3D-print export.

ZBrush alpha brush — the four-step recipe

  1. 1. Export a 16-bit PNG from the workbench. ZBrush quantizes to 8-bit internally for alpha brushes; exporting 16-bit still gives the sharpest import heuristics.
  2. 2. Tool → Alpha → Import. Load the PNG directly into your Alpha palette; it appears as the current alpha.
  3. 3. DragRect or Standard brush + MRGBZGrabber. For planar relief work, DragRect places the full alpha in one stroke. Standard + Zadd stamps it with pressure variation.
  4. 4. Stamp it. DragRect places the alpha in one stroke. This export is a height image, not a vector displacement map.

What the PNG is for

Blender uses it as an image texture on a Displacement modifier. ZBrush imports the same PNG as an alpha. The lion file on this page is 16-bit grayscale, remapped at 3 mm on a 10 mm scale.

Blender + ZBrush depth map — FAQ

Related

16-bit depth map generator

The export preset Blender Displacement Modifier expects.

Image to STL converter

Turn the displaced mesh into a direct 3D-print-ready STL.

SculptOK alternative

Deeper price-and-feature comparison against SculptOK.

For LightBurn 3D Sliced

The same depth map in a fiber-laser pipeline.

A new photo is one upload.

Generate sends it once. The PNG after that is remapped in the browser.