Published on

Blender procedural textures

Authors
  • avatar
    Name
    Rodney Zamora
    Twitter

In computer graphics, a procedural texture is a texture created using a mathematical function instead of image data. The function can be anything, but is usually based on simple geometric shapes like spheres, cylinders, or noise. Procedural textures are often used to create naturalistic textures like wood, marble, or clouds.

Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software toolset used for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D printed models, interactive 3D applications and video games. Blender's features include 3D modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, raster graphics editing, rigging and skinning, fluid and smoke simulation, particle simulation, soft body simulation, sculpting, animating, match moving, camera tracking, rendering, video editing and compositing. It also features an integrated game engine.

Blender has a built-in node-based texture editor for creating procedural textures. The nodes can be connected together to create complex textures. The textures can be animated by changing the values of the nodes over time.

Blender's procedural textures are very powerful and can be used to create a wide variety of textures. In this tutorial, we will go over how to create some basic procedural textures in Blender.

First, we will need to create a new texture. To do this, go to the Texture tab in the Properties editor and click the New button.

In the resulting dialog, select Image or Movie from the Type drop-down menu. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will be using an image, so select Image from the menu.

Next, we need to select an image file to use as our texture. Click the Open button and navigate to the location of the image file on your computer. Once you have selected the image file, click the Open button.

The image will now be displayed in the preview window. You can use the Scale and Offset sliders to adjust the size and position of the image.

Now that we have our image texture, we need to add a Texture Coordinate node. This node will be used to map the image onto our 3D model.

To add a Texture Coordinate node, click the Add Texture Coordinate button.

In the Add Texture Coordinate dialog, select UV from the Type drop-down menu. This will cause the image to be mapped onto the 3D model using the UV coordinates.

Click the Add button to close the dialog.

Now we need to add a Mapping node. This node will be used to control the way the image is mapped onto the 3D model.

To add a Mapping node, click the Add Mapping button.

In the Add Mapping dialog, select whatever type of mapping you want to use. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will be using a simple cylindrical mapping.

Click the

Q: How do you add a procedural texture in Blender?

A: In the Texture panel in the Properties editor, select the type of texture you want to add. For example, to add a noise texture, select "Noise" from the drop-down menu.

Click the "Add Texture" button.

In the UV/Image Editor, click the "Image" button.

Click the "Open" button and navigate to the image you want to use as a texture.

Click the "Open" button.

The image will appear in the UV/Image Editor.

In the Texture panel in the Properties editor, select the image you just added from the drop-down menu.

Click the "OK" button.

Q: Are procedural textures better?

A: There is no definitive answer to this question as it depends on your specific needs and preferences. Some people prefer procedural textures because they offer more control and flexibility, while others find them more difficult to work with. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide which type of texture is best for your project.

Q: How can I learn procedural texturing?

A: There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best way to learn procedural texturing will vary depending on your specific goals and needs. However, some useful resources for learning about procedural texturing include online tutorials, books, and forums dedicated to computer graphics and digital art.

Q: How does procedural texture work?

A: Procedural textures are created by algorithms instead of being directly created from images. This allows for more complex textures to be created, as well as textures that can be easily modified.