Mapdev:howto height blender

Creating a Heightmap in Blender

Video

Steps

1. Delete Cube and Light

2. Create Terrain Mesh

- add plane
- enter edit mode
- scale plane to size you want
- subdivide plane to match grid
- enter object mode

3. Add Multires Modifyer

- set subdivision to simple
- subdivide until level 6
- set preview level to 6

4. Sculpt Terrain Mesh

- enter sculpt mode
- set transform locks
- sculpt
- enter object mode

5. setup camera

- select camera
- set position and rotation
- change to camera view
- set camera to ORTHO
- set scale

6. Setup Render

- set render dimensions

The height map resolution is defined as SMU * 64 + 1, see Mapdev:height

7. Setup compositor

- change space type to node editor
- select compositor nodes
- check use nodes
- redirect Z
- add normalise
- add invert
- render

8. Colour Management

- set display device to none

9. Save

- set type to tiff
- set BW
- set depth to 16bpp

Additional Information

• Need discussion on non square maps, camera settings for altering which dimension gets priority when rendering.
• Consider using this type of material to help understand your sculpting

• if your ram doesnt allow rendering large maps due to image dimensions, consider the render regions add on.

Examples

Height map Visual of build/walk Detail distribution