UDIMs

UDIMs, short for U-Dimension textures, are a convention for organizing texture maps in a tiled UV space. They enable artists to cover complex or high-resolution surfaces by using multiple image files, each representing a 1x1 tile in the overall UV layout. This approach allows for large or highly detailed textures without creating a single enormous image.

Tiles are identified by four-digit UDIM numbers such as 1001, 1002, 1003, 1011, and so on. The numbers map to positions in a grid used by the UV layout, with the first tile typically representing the origin of the grid and subsequent tiles corresponding to adjacent sections in U and V. The important practical point is that a model’s UVs can span many tiles, and each tile is loaded as part of the overall texture set. Different software packages may present the exact mapping in their own terminology, but the concept remains the same: a set of tile images that together form a seamless texture.

In production workflows, UDIMs allow texture artists to work with smaller images while maintaining high detail across large objects. Most modern render engines and DCC tools support UDIMs, including popular packages such as Arnold, Renderman, V-Ray, Cycles, Maya, Houdini, and Blender. File naming typically follows a base texture name augmented with the UDIM number, for example texture_1001.exr, texture_1002.exr, and so forth. Rendering systems then assemble the tiles into a continuous texture according to each tile’s UV placement. While widely supported, some tools and pipelines rely on tile-based texturing conventions different from UDIM, so compatibility checks are advisable.