Teksturing

Teksturing is the process of applying textures to the surface of a 3D model to achieve color, detail, and material properties. It relies on texture mapping, where two-dimensional images or procedural patterns are mapped onto the model’s geometry using UV coordinates. Texturing can include color (diffuse or albedo), reflectivity or specularity, roughness or metallicity, height or displacement, normal maps, and ambient occlusion.

Textures come in two main forms: image textures, which are bitmap files, and procedural textures, generated by algorithms without explicit image data. Image textures are often combined with maps that define how light interacts with a surface. In modern workflows, physically based rendering (PBR) uses maps such as base color, metallic, roughness, normal, and ambient occlusion to produce realistic material responses under different lighting conditions.

Textures are managed through pipelines that include UV unwrapping, texture tiling, and the creation of texture atlases to reduce draw calls. Resolution, filtering, and mipmapping affect how textures look at different distances and viewing angles. Artists also bake high-detail information from a sculpted model into normal or displacement maps for performance-friendly rendering.

Common tools include 3D modeling and texturing packages that support painting and baking textures, such as Blender, Maya, Substance Painter, and Mari. Teksturing is essential in games, film, architectural visualization, and product previews to convey material realism and visual richness.