Category
Alphas and Displacement
Alphas and displacement maps are the fastest way to add believable surface detail without sculpting every pore or crack by hand. This category focuses on tileable 4K and 2K maps, 16-bit depth, and clean alpha edges so you can stamp detail in Blender, ZBrush, and other tools. Use them for wood grain, fabric weave, rock noise, fur breakup, and surface scratches. When your base forms are strong, alphas turn a sculpt into a production-ready asset.
Quality matters more than quantity when it comes to alphas. A good map is clean, seamless, and has enough depth range to read under different lighting. Tileable alphas let you cover large areas without visible seams, while single-use stamps are great for hero details. In Blender, use alphas in sculpt brushes, texture painting, or displacement modifiers. In ZBrush, load them into the Alpha palette and adjust intensity per stroke.
To avoid banding, always use 16-bit sources and keep your mesh density high enough for the detail you want. If the surface is too low poly, the alpha will look mushy and stretched. Rotate and scale alphas as you stamp to keep patterns from repeating. For long surfaces like cloth or hair, combine several alphas at lower intensity rather than relying on a single heavy stamp.
Displacement is also a bridge between sculpting and texturing. You can bake high poly alphas to normal, height, and curvature maps for texturing and shading. That keeps your detail consistent across software and lets you iterate on materials without resculpting. For game assets, this saves time and keeps UV layouts clean.
If you use alphas for large surfaces, build a small test plane and preview several stamps before committing. This makes it easy to compare scale and depth without adjusting the final sculpt. For hero assets, keep a few non-tileable stamps for focal points and use seamless alphas for the rest of the surface.
Organize alpha libraries by material type and resolution. This makes it easy to switch from wood to rock or fabric without guessing. If you keep a consistent naming pattern, you can quickly locate the right maps during a production deadline.
Alpha sets also work well for trim sheet workflows. You can stamp a clean high poly, bake the detail, and reuse it across multiple props. This is especially helpful for surfaces like armor panels, carved wood, and repeating fabric patterns where you need consistency across a scene.
If you use height maps in shaders, keep a simple reference material with consistent displacement strength. This makes it easier to compare depth between packs and keeps your look coherent across different assets.
Preview alphas with strong directional lighting and cavity shading so the depth reads clearly. This helps you spot banding, seams, or stretched areas before you commit to a full sculpt. A quick preview pass saves time later when you bake and texture.
When building a library, keep a small set of neutral alphas for general noise and a separate set of bold hero stamps for focal points. This keeps your surfaces from looking uniformly stamped and helps guide the viewer toward important areas of the sculpt.
This category includes fur and hair alphas, wood and rock displacement maps, and fabric detail sets. Use the best sets list below to pick the right surface library, then check the examples to see how each material reads in different lighting.
These pages are built to help you choose alphas based on the material you need, not just the number of files. Focus on clarity, depth range, and tile quality for the best results.
Best sets
These packs are the strongest fits for this category. Each set is already organized for fast browsing and has previews so you can judge the stroke quality before committing.
Examples
Real product previews showing how the brushes and alphas read on different materials and scales.