Going from crazy rainbow maps [technical term, here] to displacement maps

#1

I’ve been trying to recreate some of the locations on Mars for a short personal project, and I’ve been endlessly frustrated with the fact that most of the topography maps available online look like this…

https://lh3.ggpht.com/-d2Ei4kKx2sQ/T5m4cJVRtrI/AAAAAAAAELM/MTtRly05F_Y/s1600/Olympus+Mons+04+Topographical+Map+by+Mars+Express.jpg :banghead:

…with the ridiculous rainbow colors. AFAIK, the only maps that will work in most 3D programs [I’m using softimage 2013] for displacement are maps like this:

http://www.solarviews.com/raw/mars/marscyl2.jpg

I’ve searched for days, and I haven’t been able to find the answer, is there any way to convert the crazy rainbow into something a 3D program can actually use, or can I use the crazy rainbow directly in Softimage [or any other 3D software] for displacement (and if so, how?).

Thanks!!

#2

Looks like a DEM file, i haven’t used these at all ( I looked into it but my area had some really low res files). There is a how-to over on http://lesterbanks.com/2013/07/using-dem-data-to-render-realistic-terrains-in-maya/ Hopefully it helps?

#3

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