Make sure the Generate tab is selected (top of the panel), then set Image to your photo. Any single image works — architecture, a product shot, a portrait, a landscape.

Click Generate Depth Map. The local AI reconstructs a depth map directly from your photo — no internet, nothing leaves your computer. Blender stays usable while it works. Once it's done, use Export Depth Map any time if you just want the depth image itself, no mesh.

Adjust Smoothing, Black Point, and White Point — or just click Auto Contrast to let the addon stretch the range for you. Do this before Depth Cutoff (below) if you're using Detailed Mesh or Perspective Mode — it changes what counts as "near" and "far."

Pick Mode (see the comparison below — this is the most important choice you'll make), set Mesh Size/Subdivisions, then click Create Displacement Mesh.

A single flat plane with a Displace modifier — the depth map pushes vertices in and out, no per-vertex construction needed. By far the fastest of the three, and the only one with no practical subdivision limit.

Best for: landscapes, terrain, backgrounds — anything without a hard cutout edge.

Builds geometry vertex by vertex instead of just displacing a plane, and cuts out the transparent background entirely — so you get an actual silhouette-shaped mesh, not a rectangle with a hole in the texture. Slower than Simple Plane (subdivisions above 400 get capped internally, since it's built one vertex at a time).

Best for: portraits, product cutouts, any subject on a transparent/removed background.

The odd one out — instead of displacing a flat plane, it unprojects every pixel through a virtual camera into true 3D space. Floors actually lie flat, walls actually stand up, hallways actually recede — geometry that holds together correctly when you orbit around it, not just a relief that looks right from one angle. Orientation is automatic (Z is always up); adjust Field of View to match how the photo was shot.

Best for: interiors, hallways, streets — photos with strong, real perspective.

Orientation (Simple Plane & Detailed Mesh only)

Horizontal (Terrain) — lies flat on the ground, relief points upward. Landscapes, terrain, maps.

Vertical (Buildings) — stands upright facing forward, relief points outward. Building facades, portraits, posters.

Perspective Mode doesn't need this — its orientation comes from the actual unprojected geometry.

Removes geometry farther away than a threshold you set — useful to isolate a subject from a busy background even when there's no transparent cutout to work with. A live red preview shows exactly what will be removed before you commit (0 = no cutoff, keeps everything). Applied when the mesh is created, not live-adjustable afterward, since it changes the mesh's actual topology.

Current Mesh Settings

Appears right after you generate a mesh — Strength, Smoothing, and (for Simple Plane/Detailed) Black/White Point all stay live-adjustable here without rebuilding the mesh from scratch. Color Correction (Hue/Saturation/Brightness/Contrast) shows up too if your mesh has it.

One-Click Studio

In Current Mesh Settings, click the camera icon to auto-frame a camera and set up 3-point lighting around your new mesh — instant render-ready setup, no manual positioning.

Already have a depth map? Use the Load tab

Switch to the Load tab at the top of the panel to skip AI generation entirely: point Ready-made Depth Map at an existing depth image (from AutoDepth's own Export, or anywhere else) and click Load.

You can also apply a loaded depth map directly to an existing object in your scene — set Apply to a Scene Object and click the button. This doesn't touch the object's material, just adds/updates its displacement.