Texturing & materials · Beginner

Height map

A grayscale image where brightness stands for height

Also called Heightmap

What is a height map?

A height map is a grayscale image where each pixel stores a height: white is high and black is low. It is shape data that other tools read, to raise terrain, move a surface through displacement, add parallax depth or make a bump or normal map.

Think of it like this

It is like a relief map of a country shaded instead of drawn with contour lines: lighter means higher ground, darker means lower.

Where it fits in a 3D project

  1. Create
  2. Surface
  3. Rig
  4. Animate
  5. Render
  6. Export

Surface: Giving the shape its color and material: UVs, textures and shaders.

Base colorNormalRoughnessMetallicHeightMaterial
The height map is one of several texture maps a material combines.

How a height map works

  1. 01Each pixel’s brightness is read as a height value.
  2. 02A setting decides how far apart white and black are in real units.
  3. 03The surface or terrain is raised, or its shading adjusted, to match.

Height map vs displacement map

PropertyHeight mapDisplacement map
What it isHeight data stored as an imageA height map used to move geometry
Used forTerrain, bump, parallax, displacementMoving the surface only
Needs a dense meshDepends on the useYes

Every displacement map is a height map, but a height map can also drive bump, parallax or terrain without moving any geometry.

Where a height map is used

  • Terrain and landscapes in games and simulations
  • Driving displacement on stone, bark and brick
  • Parallax effects that fake depth in real-time engines

Beginner tip

Use a 16-bit height map when you can. An 8-bit image has only 256 gray steps, which shows up as visible terraces on smooth slopes.

Terms related to a height map

Height map FAQ

How is a height map for terrain made?
It can be painted, generated from noise patterns, sculpted in a terrain tool, or converted from real elevation data. The engine then lifts a flat grid by each pixel’s brightness to form hills and valleys.
Is a height map the same as a bump map?
Nearly. Both are grayscale images where brightness means height. “Bump map” names one use, faking detail through shading, while “height map” names the data, which can also move geometry.
Why does my height map look stepped?
The image probably has too few gray levels. Save it at a higher bit depth, such as 16-bit, so slopes between heights come out smooth.

Updated October 29, 2026 · Browse all 3D terms