Unreal Engine Normal Map Settings

Updated: August 30, 2026 • 6 min read

Create a normal map, import it into Unreal Engine, and check the three settings that most often cause problems: green-channel direction, normal-map compression and sRGB. The exact right green direction depends on your source and pipeline, so verify it on a lit surface rather than relying on a filename.

Create a Normal Map for Unreal

Use the Unreal export preset to create a green-channel-flipped variant, then check it in your material.

Open Unreal Export

Normal Map Generator Interface for Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine Normal Map Import Settings

A normal map encodes surface direction in colour channels. A mismatch in the Y (green) channel makes lighting look inverted. Unreal provides a Flip Normal Map Green Channel import option, and this workspace's Unreal export preset creates a green-channel-flipped version.

⚠️ Check, don't guess: If bumps appear to light from the wrong direction, flip the green channel once—either in the export workspace or Unreal's import/texture settings. Do not flip it twice.

Step-by-Step: Creating Normal Maps for Unreal Engine

1Open the Normal Map Generator

Visit the free normal map generator. It runs in your browser and keeps the source image on your device.

2Upload Your Source Image

Drag and drop your texture or height map. Unreal Engine works great with:

Height maps from Substance or World Machine
Sculpted textures from ZBrush
Photogrammetry textures
Hand-painted height maps

3Create a green-channel variant

Select the workspace's Unreal export button to create a flipped-green-channel version. If your existing pipeline already delivers the correct direction, leave the green channel unchanged.

Green channel: flip only when the lighting direction proves it is needed
Strength: begin modestly and compare on a lit material
Blur: smooth noisy input before export when necessary

4Download Your Normal Map

Preview the result in the 3D viewer, then download a PNG for import into Unreal.

5Import into Unreal Engine

In Unreal Engine:

Drag the file into Content Browser
Double-click to open the texture
Verify Compression Settings is set to a normal-map option
Ensure sRGB is unchecked for the normal-map texture

6Create Material with Normal Map

In the Material Editor:

Create a Texture Sample node
Assign your normal map texture
Connect the RGB output to the Normal input
Optionally add a FlattenNormal node to control intensity

Unreal Engine Material Graph Normal Map Connection

Unreal Engine Normal Map Best Practices

Resolution: Use power-of-2 sizes (1024, 2048, 4096)
Compression: use Unreal's normal-map compression setting for the imported asset
sRGB: leave it disabled so direction values are not gamma-corrected
Large textures: choose streaming or virtual-texture settings based on your project, not every material

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Lighting appears inverted or wrong

The green channel may be in the opposite direction for your pipeline. Flip it once in the workspace or Unreal's texture settings, then preview the material again.

Normal map looks washed out

Check that sRGB is disabled in texture settings. Normal maps should never use sRGB color space.

Details appear too strong or too weak

Use a FlattenNormal node in your material to adjust intensity, or regenerate with different strength settings.

Create Unreal Engine Normal Maps Now

Generate DirectX-compatible normal maps for UE5 in seconds with our free tool.

🎮 Open Normal Map Generator