This tutorial will show you how to create a sculpting alpha. You will learn how to use a photo to make a displacement map to be used as a sculpting alpha in Blender 4.3. The final render was done in Blender.
Photo Setup
I make a 2048 x 2048 document
I import the image I am using into Affinity Photo (this can be done in any photo editing software)
I then export the image as a PNG
Displacement Map
I will be making a Displacement Map using Normal Map Online
This can be done in any other software that produces a Displacement Map or a Height Map
I will just use the defaults and export the Displacement Map as a PNG
Making a Sculpting Brush in Blender
I have a UV Sphere with a Subdivision with 6 levels
In the Sculpting workspace, I choose the Draw brush
I add a new texture and open my Displacement Map
I change the Stroke to “Anchored” and lower the Strength [0.15]
I can now drag my brush over the surface