If you’ve ever come across a 3D model of a certain object that is supposed to represent a real-life object and noticed that both look very similar in terms of material and tertiary details? If you have you might have wondered how this was possible. Well, there is a term known as 3D texturing and it’s quite popular in animation. You might have heard the term before but not got any information that would explain what it is. Well, today we aim to provide you a brief explanation of what 3D texturing in animation production is.
3D Texturing in Animation
Generally, any object created in 3D modeling has a gray color by default. In 3D texturing, 2D images are used to add colors and surface attributes to the 3D models/objects. The main purpose of 3D texturing in animation is to make the model/objects surface and color resemble the real-life object it aims to look like. For example, if the 3D model is to represent the sun, the job of the texture artist is to make sure the 3D model has the same color as the sun along with the same surface properties. Therefore, 3D texturing comes into play and helps texture artists do so. Typically, 3D texturing aims to showcase three main properties of every surface in a 3D environment;
Material
One of the main objectives of 3D texturing in animation is to show viewers what material the object is made of just by viewing it. Therefore, the texture artists use 3D texturing to give the object a sense of the material used and give a clear indication of what the material is and show how it clearly resembles the real life object.
Light effects
We’re aware of how every object comprises certain properties when exposed to light. In 3D texturing, another objective is to give the 3D model the same light effects as the real-world counterpart. 3D texturing in animation aims to create a spot on resemblance of how the 3D models react to light effects the same as the real-life object.
Tertiary details
3D texturing in animation production helps assist animators by providing a solution when it comes to creating small details such as wrinkles, scars, cracks, bumps, etc. Various types of textures and texture mapping can and is used to make a 3D model look exactly as the real-life counterpart.
