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Description
ok, heres a little image i made to show some basic princepals of normal vs. Bump.

Imagine we zoomed in real close, and each one of these squares is a pixel on an image.

On a Bump Map, white pixles get pushed up, black pixles get pushed down. In a 3D view this creates a staircase of pixles that cast tiny shadows. It is a very sharp and blocky look because there are only a few hundred levels of grey.

A normal Map, uses 4 colors to determine what DIRECTION each pixle is facing.

Light blue faces up ^

Purple faces down v

red faces left <

Dark blue faces right >

The normal does not raise or lower the pixel like a bump map, it TILTS it to face another direction. This gives the illusion of a high poly mesh on a flat surface.

In Normal map #1 - I converted the bump above into normal mode. The highest point (white) sits flat in the neutral blue color. Sense all the pixles fall downward around it, they take the appropriate color to the angle they should be facing in 3D space. (red left, purple down, etc....

In normal Map#2 - I put purple on the top and bottom of the image. when you look at this in 3D space, you see it does not do the 'bulge' from #1. The purple pixles face downward, level out to neutral blue, then face downward again.

The purple is a marker for DIRECTION, not depth. Like all the colors.

Hope this helps.
-Adam

Description
ok, heres a little image i made to show some basic princepals of normal vs. Bump.

Imagine we zoomed in real close, and each one of these squares is a pixel on an image.

On a Bump Map, white pixles get pushed up, black pixles get pushed down. In a 3D view this creates a staircase of pixles that cast tiny shadows. It is a very sharp and blocky look because there are only a few hundred levels of grey.

A normal Map, uses 4 colors to determine what DIRECTION each pixle is facing.

Light blue faces up ^

Purple faces down v

red faces left <

Dark blue faces right >

The normal does not raise or lower the pixel like a bump map, it TILTS it to face another direction. This gives the illusion of a high poly mesh on a flat surface.

In Normal map #1 - I converted the bump above into normal mode. The highest point (white) sits flat in the neutral blue color. Sense all the pixles fall downward around it, they take the appropriate color to the angle they should be facing in 3D space. (red left, purple down, etc....

In normal Map#2 - I put purple on the top and bottom of the image. when you look at this in 3D space, you see it does not do the 'bulge' from #1. The purple pixles face downward, level out to neutral blue, then face downward again.

The purple is a marker for DIRECTION, not depth. Like all the colors.

Hope this helps.
-Adam