anyone know if or how one would go about using a depth map to help model. like the depth maps they use for sterograms. i was thinking the depth info could be use to project the depth some how. like the way bump mapping works kinda. or projecting it?
tia
hey,
can you explain how such a stereogram-depthmap looks like? is it kinda image or is it a something like a file with depth information stored?
EDIT: i googled a bit and found out, that a depthmap for stereograms is a greyscalimage, just like the Alphas used in ZBrush. So you can easily use them in ZBrush. There are several ways, just browse the quicklinks. the AlphaCentury thread would be a good start.
greetings
froyd
attached is a depth map. its just a b/w image with the white areas means more closer and darker color means more depth.
Take a plane3d, make a polymesh out of it, divide it until it has 1 mill polygons, then cklick alpha->import and load your greyscal, set Alpha>blurslider to like 5, mask the plane with the greyscal by clicking Tool->masking->alp. Now you should see your greyscal as a mask on the plane. Now slide Tool->deformation->inflate to 100 once and the plane should get deformated.
another way is to import the greyscale as a alpha and click the make3d-button in the alphapalette. play a bit with the settings.
hope that helps. for more information browse zbc quicklinks 
greetings
froyd
you need to up the mres, smooth and depth settings to achieve similar results as Froyd. They are in the alpha menu.
another way is to use it as a displacement. bring it in as an alpha. Load a poly plane and make sure your resolution is high - same as froyds’ example. Assign a texture to the plane. In tools/ displacement click mode. set intensity above 0. click “apply displacement”. You will have to experiment with the intensity slider to get the correct form.
this is different than froyds’ way in that it can be a 16 bit depth map. otherwise, even a 16 bit file will be reduced to 8 bit and cause stair - stepping. many DEM’s are 16 bit so this is important for landscaping and terrain generation.
good luck.
r