A Roughness Map is a grayscale texture that defines how rough or smooth a surface is. It is one of the most critical components of the PBR (Physically Based Rendering) workflow.
How to Read a Roughness Map
In a Roughness Map, the values work as follows:
- Black (0.0): The surface is perfectly smooth and polished. It will have sharp, mirror-like reflections. Think of chrome, glass, or wet surfaces.
- White (1.0): The surface is rough and matte. Light is scattered in many directions, creating diffuse reflections. Think of concrete, rubber, or cloth.
- Gray Values: Varying degrees of satin or semi-gloss finishes.
Roughness vs. Glossiness
You might encounter the term "Glossiness Map" in some workflows. A Glossiness Map is simply the inverse of a Roughness Map.
If you have a Glossiness map but your rendering engine expects Roughness, you can usually just "Invert" the colors to make it work. Our online tool generates Roughness maps natively, which is the standard for modern engines like Unreal Engine 5, Blender (Principled BSDF), and Unity HDRP.
Need a Roughness Map?
Generate accurate Roughness maps from your photos in seconds.
Create Free Roughness Map