Image to Metallic Converter

Image to Metallic

Generate binary metallic maps from texture images using saturation and luminance analysis. Adjust the threshold and inversion for accurate metal detection. Real-time 3D preview. All processing happens in your browser.

Drag & drop your texture here or browse
Supports PNG, JPG, WebP, BMP

Generated Maps

texture

Metallic Map

3D Preview

Click and drag to rotate • Scroll to zoom

Preview Settings

Sphere
Sphere
Rounded Cube
Plane
#ffffff
#1a1a1a

How It Works

1

Upload texture

Drag and drop any image file: PNG, JPEG, WebP, or BMP. The tool loads your texture map for saturation analysis. Nothing is uploaded to a server.

2

Tune Threshold

Adjust the threshold slider to control metal sensitivity. Lower values mark more areas as metal; higher values are more selective. Toggle inversion to swap metal/dielectric regions.

3

Preview & Download

Inspect the metallic map on a 3D sphere with adjustable lighting. Download the binary map as PNG to use in Unity, Unreal Engine, Blender, or any PBR workflow.

Algorithm Breakdown

The metallic map is generated using saturation and luminance analysis. Here's how the detection works.

Saturation Detection

The tool analyzes color saturation and luminance to identify areas that are likely metallic (saturated, darker colors) versus dielectric (desaturated, lighter colors). Metals reflect colored light, giving them strong, dark saturation.

Binary Output

Metallic maps are typically binary: white (1.0) for metal, black (0.0) for non-metal. Some workflows use grayscale for blended materials like worn paint revealing metal, but best practice is pure black and white.

PBR Workflow

In metallic-roughness PBR workflows, the metallic map controls whether surfaces reflect using the texture (metal) or a fixed 4% specular (dielectric). This determines the fundamental look of the material under any lighting condition.

Real-time 3D Preview

The generated metallic map is applied to a Three.js mesh alongside your texture. Rotate, zoom, and adjust lighting to check which areas reflect as metal before downloading.

Tutorial: Creating a Metallic Map from a Photo

Follow this quick workflow to turn any photo or texture texture into a usable metallic map for PBR materials.

1

Choose Your Source Image

Upload a high-resolution photo or texture texture. The saturation algorithm works best on images with clear color differences between metal and non-metal areas. Gold, copper, silver, and steel should have saturated, darker tones; wood, fabric, and plastic should be lighter and less saturated.

2

Set the Threshold

For mostly non-metallic scenes (wood, fabric, skin), keep the threshold high (60–80) to only mark the most saturated spots as metal. For images dominated by metal surfaces (coins, machinery, armor), lower the threshold to 30–40 to capture the full metallic area. Use the Invert toggle if your result has the logic reversed.

3

Verify in 3D & Export

Check the 3D preview, metal areas should show colored reflections matching the texture, while dielectric areas should show white specular highlights. Rotate the mesh to confirm. When satisfied, download the metallic map as PNG. Pair it with a roughness map for a complete PBR material set.

Related Texture Tools

The Image to Metallic converter is one step in a complete PBR material workflow. Combine it with these free tools.

Image to PBR
Generate all PBR maps (roughness, metallic, normal, height, AO) from a single image at once.
Image to Roughness
Extract roughness maps from texture to pair with your metallic map.
Texture Channel Mixer
Pack roughness, metallic, and AO into a single ORM RGB texture for performance.
Color Correction
Adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, and hue on your metallic map.
Normal from Height
Convert height maps into normal maps for complete material sets.
Image to Normal Map
Generate a normal map from your texture to add surface detail.
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

A metallic map defines which parts of a surface are metal (white) and which are non-metal/dielectric (black). In PBR rendering, metals reflect light using the texture, while dielectrics (wood, plastic, fabric) use a fixed specular color of approximately 4% reflectance. The metallic map is binary by nature surfaces are either metal or they are not though soft transitions are sometimes used for material blending effects like worn paint revealing metal underneath.
Start at 50 and adjust. Lower values (20–40) detect more areas as metallic use this for images dominated by metal. Higher values (60–80) are more selective use this when your image is mostly non-metallic with a few metallic elements. Look at the result: gold, silver, copper, and steel should be white; wood, fabric, plastic, and skin should be black.
Ideally, metallic maps should be binary: pure black (0) for dielectric and pure white (255) for metal. While some engines accept grayscale values for transitional areas (like worn paint revealing metal), most PBR best practices recommend keeping values close to 0 or 1. This tool produces binary output by default via saturation vs. luminance thresholding, which is the industry standard approach.
No. All metallic map generation happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript and the Canvas API. Your images never leave your computer, ensuring complete privacy and security. There are no server-side processing steps for this tool everything is client-side.
Download the metallic map as PNG and import it into your 3D software or game engine. In Unreal Engine, plug it into the Metallic pin of your material. In Unity (HDRP/URP), connect to the Metallic input. In Blender, connect to the Metallic socket of the Principled BSDF shader. In Substance Painter, add it to the Metallic channel. Make sure the texture is imported as linear (non-sRGB) for correct PBR shading behavior.
Yes! Download the roughness, metallic, and AO maps individually, then use our Texture Channel Mixer to pack them into a single ORM (RGB) texture. This reduces texture memory by combining three grayscale maps into one RGB image a common optimization for real-time rendering and game engines. The ORM texture packs AO in the Red channel, Roughness in Green, and Metallic in Blue.
Yes, this tool is 100% free with no limitations, watermarks, or sign-up requirements. All processing happens locally in your browser for maximum privacy and speed. Generate as many metallic maps as you need with no daily limits.