AI 3D Texturing Blog
Guides for beginners and indie devs: how AI paints a 3D model, what UVs and PBR maps are, how to write prompts that work, and how to get colour onto a 3D print.
Try it on your own model
Upload a GLB, OBJ, FBX, STL or PLY file (or pick a sample), describe the look, and let AI paint it from every side.
Open the AI 3D Texturing StudioWhat is AI texturing? A plain-English guide for beginners
AI texturing paints the surface of a 3D model from a text prompt. Learn what it is, how it works, what it is good and bad at, and how to try it on your model.
8 min read
How projection texturing works: from camera views to a UV texture
How projection texturing works: render a view, paint it with AI, project it onto the mesh, bake it into the UV texture. Seams, occlusion and blending explained.
7 min read
Text-to-texture prompts that work (with examples)
How to write text-to-texture prompts for 3D models: describe the surface, not the shape, name materials and colours per part, skip lighting words. Examples.
6 min read
Texture resolution guide: 512, 1K, 2K, 4K or 8K?
Which texture resolution to use (512 to 8K) by asset and platform, including Roblox and VR, why sizes are powers of two, the VRAM maths, and how to go higher.
11 min read
UV unwrapping explained (and why it matters for AI texturing)
UV unwrapping explained simply: what UVs are, why seams and islands exist, what texel density means, and what UV problems do to AI texturing, with fixes.
6 min read
PBR maps explained: albedo, normal, roughness, metallic and AO
PBR maps explained for beginners: what albedo, normal, roughness, metallic and ambient occlusion maps do, how a GLB stores them, and how AI textures fit in.
6 min read
Bump vs normal vs displacement map
Bump vs normal vs displacement maps in one table: what each stores, whether it changes geometry and silhouette, cost, when to use each and how to make them.
9 min read
AI texturing vs hand painting: an honest comparison
An honest comparison of AI texturing and hand painting in Substance Painter or Blender: speed, control, quality, cost and skills, plus a hybrid workflow.
6 min read
Free AI 3D texturing tools in 2026: an honest guide
Free and low-cost ways to texture your own 3D model with AI in 2026: browser studios, Blender add-ons and desktop apps, with hardware needs and licences.
6 min read
OBJ vs FBX: what is the difference, and which should you use?
OBJ vs FBX compared: static vs animated, MTL vs embedded textures, what Unity, Unreal, Blender and Roblox prefer, file size, and what converting loses.
8 min read
How to add colour to an STL file (and print it in colour)
STL files cannot store colour. Learn why, which formats can (3MF, OBJ, PLY, GLB), and 4 ways to add it: slicer painting, part splitting, textures, full colour.
5 min read
What is texture baking? A plain-English guide for 3D beginners
What texture baking is in 3D: high-poly to low-poly normal maps, ambient occlusion, lighting into colour, procedural to image, and how AI texturing bakes camera views into a UV texture.
7 min read
3MF vs STL: which file format should you use for 3D printing?
3MF vs STL compared: what each file stores, units, colour, print settings, file size, slicer support, when STL is still fine, and how to convert.
9 min read
Which 3D model format keeps textures? GLB, OBJ, FBX, STL and 3MF compared
Which 3D model format keeps textures? How GLB, GLTF, OBJ + MTL, FBX, STL, PLY and 3MF store colour and texture maps, GLB vs OBJ, GLB vs FBX, and which to pick.
7 min read
What is a texture atlas? One image, many pieces
What a texture atlas is, why games and 3D models pack textures into one image, how a UV atlas for a 3D model works, what a texture atlas generator does, and how to avoid bleeding at the edges.
6 min read
How to upscale textures
How to upscale game and 3D textures 2x or 4x without breaking them: the method per map type, seamless edges, normal maps, DDS files and power-of-two sizes.
10 min read
How to remove baked lighting from textures (and why AI textures have it)
Why AI-made and scanned textures carry shadows, what albedo is, how texture delighting works, free delighting tools, and what our in-browser Remove lighting can and cannot fix.
6 min read
What is a normal map?
What a normal map is, how its RGB channels store surface direction, why it looks blue, tangent vs object space, OpenGL vs DirectX, and bump vs displacement.
6 min read
What is a GLB file? (and how it differs from glTF)
A GLB file is a 3D model in glTF 2.0’s binary format. What a GLB holds, how the file is built, GLB vs glTF compared in a table, and how to open or edit a GLB.
5 min read
STL vs OBJ: what is the difference, and which should you use?
STL vs OBJ compared: what each file stores, colour, textures and UVs, triangles vs polygons, units, which to use for 3D printing, and what converting changes.
5 min read
UDIM naming convention: tile numbers, file names and Unreal import
UDIM = 1001 + u + 10 × v. A tile table from 1001 to 1020, the file name patterns for Unreal, Blender, Houdini, RenderMan, Mari, Mudbox and ZBrush, and why UDIM imports fail.
8 min read
What is a DDS file?
A .dds file is a DirectDraw Surface texture used by games. What is inside (BC1-BC7 compression, mipmaps, cube maps), where you meet it, and how to open or convert a DDS for free.
6 min read
Blender textures: free sources and how to connect each map
Where to get free textures for Blender (Poly Haven, ambientCG, our library) and how to plug each map into the Principled BSDF: sRGB vs Non-Color, the Normal Map node and displacement.
6 min read
Free Blender assets: where to get them and what the licence says
Free models, materials, HDRIs and textures for Blender from Poly Haven, ambientCG, Kenney, Blendkit (BlenderKit), Blender Studio, Quaternius, Sketchfab and more, with the licence each site states.
6 min read