User Guide > Rendering and Render Setup > Shading > About shading and texturing surfaces > Mapping and positioning textures >
Transfer Maps
You can transfer mesh characteristics from one mesh to a texture map on another with the Transfer Maps editor. The Transfer Maps editor creates a texture map of the mesh attributes of one object (source) and then bakes that map to the mesh geometry of another object (target). Use the Transfer Maps editor to generate normal maps and other texture maps like displacement and light maps.
The most common application of this tool is in the creation of high-performance, real-time models where some mesh detail cannot be adequately represented within the polygon limit required.
Mapping techniques determine the relationship between the texture and the mesh. The texture maps created in the Transfer Maps editor are wrapped around the target mesh of an object so that the patterns in the map curve and distort in a realistic manner.
For example, you can generate a normal map from a high resolution object and then bake that map to the mesh of a low resolution object to make the low resolution object appear to have a high resolution.
This is useful when you want to create a game-friendly model with the look of a high quality film model or when you want to reduce the number of calculations for the objects in your scene.
The Transfer Maps editor is located in the Lighting/Shading menu ( Lighting/Shading > Transfer Maps).