One of my early questions when I started using X3D was how to go about texturing shapes. Was there some resource site where i could download textures? Did i need to figure out how to create texture using graphics software? In short, what were the rules.

After searching around, it seems the answer to my questions was there was no one way to approach it. So I decided I would start out using real life photos. In an age where every phone seemingly has a camera, we are surrounded by textures from the time we wake up until the time we go to sleep.

Texturing Project

Since I have my camera with me most of the day, I figured there would be opportunities to capture textures. But I didn't want to just randomly shoot anything, so I tried to work a few basic rules:

First, if I knew I'd be somewhere inside, walls, floors and uncovered surfaces would be the targets.

Secondly, if I knew I'd be walking along outside, I tried to find things of interest.

Thirdly, no shallow depth-of-field/bokeh for anything.

Early on, it was hit or miss. I found plenty items I thought would make a great texture for a particular shape only for things not work out. Other times I would find textures I thought would be good for something later on, only to have later on not arrive.

Fortunately, I did have a nice list of successes.

Lessons Learned

Despite my efforts to plot a path forward, trial and error is sometimes the best teacher. So here are few things I learned from my project:

1. Have a lighting plan

Formal photography rules will tell you that you should work in good light in order to get the best photos. No harsh contrast, shoot at the golden hour, the list goes on.

The problem with this approach is that textures are not photography. Textures are whatever you make them in order to fit into whatever you're making. That doesn't mean light plays no part in textures. Just that light might play a different part than normal.

If you plan to capture a certain type of light, understand how it will look and interact with X3D lighting models. A reflective surface with a large specular highlight might wash out as a texture when placed under a spotlight.

2. Capture the texture in its most edit-able form

Make sure that what you capture can be edited later. For example, if you shoot a metal surface, be sure you don't capture a reflection as well. Sometimes reflections may be hard to pick up through the EVF. They're pretty easy pick up in a photo editor.

3. Don't be afraid to break habits.

Standard photography has been an on-again, off-again hobby for the past couple of years. I also create my own logos and icons as necessary. During that time, I've developed my own process for editing for both forms of images. When starting this project, I knew I'd do a lot of editing since textures would rarely be used as shot. However, I assumed I'd be drawing from my photographic editing skills.

That might or might not be the best way forward.

A case in point was my attempt to capture a smooth cement wall. The wall had slightly different tones of gray. Parts of the wall also had small crack lines. No single shot was working out as I wanted, however, so I decided to merge multiple images as layers just to see what would happen. What I wound up making was a cement texture I couldn't get simply by editing a single image. Even though I liked the end result, I never did use the texture. But I learned a good lesson from the experience.

Task Complete

The path to creating textures has an endless number of possibilities. It's been one of the more pleasant surprises in my X3D journey. Whatever you decide to do, hopefully, you have a few more tips to help you along.