# Blender 3D: Noob to Pro/Normal Mapping

|previous=Bump Mapping
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*`<small>`{=html}Noob Warning: This technique is best used for models
and animation, and is not well used and applied in the Blender Game
Engine`</small>`{=html}*

Normal Mapping in 3D graphics development is the process of using an
RGB color-map to create a three-dimensional
relief on a two-dimensional plane. The source for the normal map in
blender can either be a texture already installed in Blender, or using
an external picture-file (.jpg, .jpeg, .bmp, and so on) and loading it
as a normal map. One great aspect of Blender and normal maps is that
Blender can very easily be used to **create** normal maps that can be
turned around and used in blender to reduce poly count. This tutorial
will show the various ways to create a normal map and how to apply
different normal maps to your model in Blender.\
![](example_normal_texture_1.jpg){width="230"}
![](example_normal_texture_2.JPG){width="230"}
![](example_normal_color_map.JPG){width="230"}\
\
Sections within Chapter:

1.  Texture Normal Mapping
2.  Color Map Normal Mapping

