We investigated the use of a novel class of porous thin films for the characterization of tapping mode atomic force microscope (AFM) tips. Chromium and titanium films were evaporated using the technique of glancing angle deposition (GLAD) onto rotating silicon substrates. The morphology of the resulting films consisted of isolated vertical posts of sub-micron size. These isolated topographical features are small enough to provide useful information about tip morphology and aid in assessing tip wear and damage. The films were imaged using an AFM, and previously published tip reconstruction algorithms were used to obtain three-dimensional tip functions. These compared well with envelope profiles determined from scanning electron microscope images of the tips.