How to Generate and Use PBR Textures

Image 1: A stone texture generated by Poly’s AI.

📌 Textures used: Poly Stone Texture Collection

Digital textures for 3D models are integral to the gaming and VFX (visual effects) industries, among others — and creating them used to require a special set of skills. But new technologies have made it possible to generate digital textures automatically using AI (artificial intelligence). In this blog post, we’ll explore the use and benefits of AI-generated digital textures.

Image 2: An autumn leaves texture generated by Poly’s AI.

📌 Textures used: Poly Leaves Texture Collection

Methods for Generating Digital Textures

There are two main types of digital textures used in 3D modeling: procedural and bitmapped. Procedural textures are created using mathematical algorithms, while bitmapped textures are basically 2D images that are applied to surfaces.

There are a few advantages to using procedural textures. First, they can be generated relatively quickly and easily. Second, they can be scaled up or down without affecting quality. Third, they can be edited directly in the code, which makes it easy to adjust or change them. However, they can sometimes lack the detail and realism of bitmapped textures.

Bitmapped textures, on the other hand, are based on actual images. These images can be photographs, paintings, or even scanned objects. The advantage of using bitmapped textures is that they often look more realistic than procedural textures. However, they can take longer to generate and can be more difficult to edit once they are created.

Image 3: A marble texture generated by Poly’s AI.

📌 Textures used: Poly Marble Texture Collection

Using AI to Generate Textures

Bitmapped textures are very popular and easy to use, but a lot depends on the quality of the image you start with. A good texture is one that’s realistic, natural, and high resolution. These textures are easily recognizable and look believable. Bad textures look fake or have out-of-place checkered patterns. A texture that looks fake can detract from the overall quality of a model and a design.

There are many ways to generate digital textures, but the most common way is to use an image-editing program like Photoshop. With this kind of app, you can create a variety of textures by manipulating pixels and layers, or you can use scanned images. However, this is a time-consuming process that requires some skill.

If you don’t feel like watching hours of tutorials and want to make sure you get good results without a lot of effort, you can turn to AI. With AI, you can outsource the work and gain easy access to high-quality textures in seconds. One tool for creating realistic and believable textures this way is Poly Infinity.

Image 4: A stone texture generated by Poly’s AI.

📌 Textures used: Poly Stone Texture Collection

Get Started with Poly Infinity

Poly Infinity’s AI generates high-resolution, fully customizable digital textures with just a text prompt, and you can use these textures on any model you choose: objects, people, and environments. They’re particularly well suited to models of natural objects such as rocks, trees, and water.

If you’re new to AI tools and you want to learn more about generating digital textures, you can try out Poly Infinity.

Image 5: A wood texture generated by Poly’s AI.

📌 Textures used: Poly Wood Texture Collection