Re: King Kong Displacement map

I usually start out with a layer that I've filled with 50% black. Then I duplicate one of the channels and use that as a mask to brighten or darken areas. Then I do a gaussian blur to soften it a bit and then go in and dodge and burn the areas even more (all of this is done while the layer is set at a slight opacity so you can see the image underneath). What's nice is you can see your changes in AE and if you don't like the way the displacement map is working you can go back in Photoshop and tweak it and the reload footage and try again. I've used this technique to skew ground planes (with a simple gradient), faces, mountain ranges, clouds, fireballs, etc.