I developed a theoritical system of capturing heightmaps from something like a quarter, but I do not have the equipment to make it work. Not that the equipment is expensive, I just don't have it. Here's what it requires: Scanner Murky liquid (food dye?) Clear bottomed container (petri dish?) If I immerse the quarter into the murky liquid it should fill into the recesses on the quarter, shading them darker than the parts that are actually sitting on the glass. Now if we take the glass and place it on a scanner and scan it, it should give a somewhat accurate heightmap. With a little postwork, we should be able to fine tune it into what we want. Anybody want to give it a test run for me, and document what you get? My original plans for the problem involved sonar equipment (which I don't have), or like one of those toys with all the pins that you can put your hand in to get the imprint (which would only give 0 and 100 percent values) Any other theories are welcome as well.