3D Toolkit: Job Role Research: Texture Artist

Job Role Research: Texture Artist
Texturing Artists are artists who add textures to 3D assets: they add colour, roughness, reflection and other textural elements to finished models to make them ready for display in-game. Working off the style of the game, realistic or not, they map art over 3D models to add detail appropriate to their form and material (Screenskills 2025). This can create a sense of cohesion across the numerous models used in a game, as Texture Artists will work to a specific standard and style that is constant throughout the game, making objects seem realistic or stylised according to the company and project. 

Requirements and Pipeline
3D Texture Artists work in a manner that involves both the 2D and 3D pipelines, creating textures for 3D models that may be based on concept and production art created in the 2D pipeline. They may also work using photographic reference, especially if real-world objects or materials are being textured (Stefyn 2020), using visual research to form textural libraries that could be used across models of for a variety of different materials. Proficiency in texturing software such as Adobe Substance Painter and 3D modelling software such as Autodesk Maya is useful in expediting the texture creation pipeline, as understanding the processes of UV unwrapping, texture baking and rendering can assist in creating adequate textures that flow across a model and bear adequate detail (Stefyn 2020). A strong visual library is also of great use to a Texture Artist, as this ensure that they can quickly ascertain how specific textures should look on a model. This is also helpful when textures are being painted manually on to a model: some Texture Artists will use 2D drawing software such as Photoshop to create or edit detailed textures: they may use Photoshop to alter reference photos or scans of real-world textures or objects to create different designs, or may - especially for a simple or cartoonish style - paint directly over the UV unwrap to create textures (Invogames 2023).

Below is an example of a Normal Map. Normal Maps are created through the process of baking, which imparts the detail of a high-topology mesh onto a low-topology mesh. This is a crucial step in ensuring that detailed models do not negatively impact performance when rendered in-game, cutting out polygons erroneous to the model's animation or function whilst retaining a strong degree of high-topology detail. This shows how an understanding of the pipeline is critical in the success of a Texture Artist, as such maps can greatly increase the fidelity of a model's textures. 

Example of a Normal Map (OpenGL n.d)

Texture Artists require a variety of production skills due to the variety of materials they may work with or produce: painted textures may be used to create simple and stylised designs or high-detail designs with more organic distribution, such as in plants or skin (Befores & Afters 2023). Additionally, photographic scans may need to be altered or refined to fit the appearance of a material that the artist is working to create.

In other instances, Procedural textures may be used. These differ from drawn textures in that they are randomly-generated patterns guided by set parameters to draw forms across the model, useful for inorganic textures comprised of repeating shapes or materials, such as bricks, tiles or other materials largely geometric in nature (Befores & Afters 2023). 

After textures have been created, they can be applied to their appropriate 3D model for rendering in-game or animation if the model in question is animate. As such, the Texture Artist's role generally occurs after the production of a 3D Artist has begun, as they will be working on the finished models created by the 3D Artist. They may work using references from 2D Artists using material from the concept design phase, as this can assist in understanding how exactly the finished textures should look. As such, Texture Artists work strongly in the "Production" segment of the pipeline (Invogames 2023).  

Texture Artists in VFX
Texture Artists are also used in the VFX industry, with a similar position to that of the games art pipeline, applying art to 3D models in a manner that gives them life and makes them appear realistic or stylised, as is wished by the project and the company. Again, the skills used in this role are very similar to those seen in the games art pipeline, with similar proficiencies in texturing and modelling software necessary to ensure the function of such a role. These disciplines are similar to those seen in the games art pipeline: texturing software is used to create the physical textures used on models, with UV unwrapping ensuring that the textures are seamless and not warped (Garagefarm.net n.d). Texture artists in VFX may use both hand-drawn, photographic or procedural textures to create their designs (Befores & Afters 2023). Additionally, "render farms" distribute rendering computation across many machines (Befores & Afters 2023), allowing for higher resolution models and textures at the cost of increasing production expenses.

As such, Texture Artists are versatile in both games art and VFX, with the pipeline they work within applicable to games, film and tv as such (Garagefarm.net n.d). Their understanding of art and strong visual libraries are crucial in creating believable textures that assist towards the immersion and artistic expression seen within the projects they work on. 

Bibliography
Befores & Afters, 2023, From Flat to Fantastic: 3D Texturing in Modern Visual Effects [online]. Befores & Afters. Available at: https://beforesandafters.com/2023/03/16/from-flat-to-fantastic-3d-texturing-in-modern-visual-effects/ [Accessed 05 February 2025]

Garagefarm.NET, n.d, Texture artist in the VFX industry [online]. Garagefarm.NET. Available at: https://garagefarm.net/blog/texture-artist-crafting-materials [Accessed 05 February 2025]

Invogames, 2023, 3D Texturing in video games: a complete guide [online]. Invogames. Available at: https://invogames.com/blog/3-d-texturing-in-video-games-a-complete-guide/ [Accessed 05 February 2025]

LearnOpenGL, n, 3D Texturing in video games: a complete guide [online]. Invogames. Available at: https://invogames.com/blog/3-d-texturing-in-video-games-a-complete-guide/ [Accessed 05 February 2025]

LearnOpenGL, n.d. Example of a Normal Map [online]. Available via: https://learnopengl.com/Advanced-Lighting/Normal-Mapping [Accessed 05 February 2025]

Screenskills, 2025. Texturing Artist (also known as texture artist) in the games industry [online]. Screenskills. Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/games/art/texturing-artist/ [Accessed 05 February 2025]

Stefyn, 2022, What is 3D Texturing? [online]. Cgspectrum. Available at: https://www.cgspectrum.com/blog/what-is-3d-texturing/ [Accessed 05 February 2025]