How to Make a Displacement Map
Displacement maps sound more complicated than they really are. They're actually quite simple. A displacement map is just a 2D image that a computer can create 3D information from by measuring high and low points based on dark and light values. There are many interesting techniques, such as "text wrapping," that you can do once you know how to make displacement maps.
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Instructions
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Launch Photoshop on your computer.
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Go to the file menu and select "Open." Find a picture you would like to use for your displacement map. If you're just practicing, any picture will do.
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Go to the "Window" menu and select "Channels." This will bring up the channels pallet on your screen.
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Select the channel that produces the most black and white contrast. The red channel usually works best, but in some cases the green or blue channel may be more what you're looking for.
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Right-click on the channel and select "Duplicate channel." A new dialog box should appear with some options.
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Click on the "Document" drop-down menu and select "New." The copy of the channel you selected will now open as a new document.
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Working within your new document, go to the "Filters" menu and select "Gaussian blur." Set the amount around "1.0" and click "OK." You may want to play around with different amounts depending on the image. The goal here is to reduce the sharpness of the image so we get a smoother result in the end.
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Go to the "File" menu and click on "Save as." Save the document as a PSD file. You can give it any name, but you probably want to include "map" or "displacement" in the title so you can find it easily when you need it. You've just created your displacement map and now have it saved for future use.
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Tips & Warnings
Images with lots of contrast will produce more dynamic results.
Images with a medium contrast that have mostly gray tones will produce very smooth results.
Avoid images that might resemble a checkerboard or polka dots. They probably won't produce the results you're looking for.
