---
title: "PxrNormalMap"
canonical: "https://rmanwiki-25.pixar.com/space/REN25/20416318/PxrNormalMap"
format: markdown
---
Produces a bumped normal from a normal map (a color map encoding the normal). Bumps are applied in  object  space. The change in scale between  object  space and  current  space is automatically applied by the node. Like the other texture nodes, this node takes a manifold which describes either a 2D or 3D domain to apply a the texture to. The default behavior if no manifold is attached, is to apply over the s,t domain defined on the geometry. Texture atlas format files can be read in either UDIM (Mari) format or Mudbox format. Input Parameters Bump Scale Scale the bump effect. Typical range is from 0.0 to 2.0. Input Normal Specifies normal map color (this parameter is ignored if  Filename  is provided). Filename Normal map filename. The shader reads only one channel of the file from the Mapping Controls'  Channel  specified below. Note that this will be read in as the Mudbox normal map format in tangent space. Bump Overlay Connect a  PxrBump  or  PxrNormalMap  node here if you need to combine multiple patterns. Bump Orientation Invert Bump Invert the bump orientation. Concave becomes convex and vice versa. Orientation Some texturing applications offer different orientations, like OpenGL or DirectX. You can also go manual (choose "Custom") to try to fix your normal map's appearance. Flip X Flips the x axis (red channel) of the normal map. There isn't any standard to encode normal maps and every application will encode them differently. This switch, combined with  Flip Y  and  Invert Bump  will allow you to set the correct orientation. This switch is only visible when  Orientation  is set to " Custom ". Flip Y Flips the y axis (green channel) of the normal map. There isn't any standard to encode normal maps and every application will encode them differently. This switch, combined with  Flip X  and  Invert Bump  will allow you to set the correct orientation. This switch is only visible when  Orientation  is set to " Custom ". Mapping Controls Manifold Provides the range over which to apply the texture. Defaults to s,t. Advanced Reverse Normal Reverse the resulting normal. Adjust Amount Amount to adjust the normals when they are facing away from the camera Surface Normal Mix The amount to mix the resulting normals with the surface normals Disabled Use the geometric normal Output Parameters resultN The bumped normal. Normal Maps Orientation Sometimes you might apply a normal map to your geometry and it will look wrong. Generally, it's an orientation problem and you will have to find the correct combination of  Invert Bump ,  Flip X , and  Flip Y . The best method is to start an IPR/LiveRender session and try various combinations. Once you have found the correct combination for your authoring application (ZBrush, Mudbox, 3DCoat, etc), it should be good for all maps exported from that application with the same settings.