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3DAI

Texel Density Calculator

What is texel density? Texel density is how many texture pixels (texels) cover one unit of a 3D surface, usually written in pixels per metre (px/m) or pixels per centimetre (px/cm). A 1024 px texture stretched over a 1 m wall gives 1024 px/m; stretch it over 2 m and it drops to 512 px/m, so the surface looks twice as blurry.

Free · no signup · models stay in your browser

Texture + size → texel density

Surface size (what the texture covers)
x

How much of the 0-1 UV square the surface uses. 100% if the texture maps onto it once, edge to edge; an unwrap with gaps between its islands uses less.

1,024 px/m

10.24 px/cm · 312 px/ft · one pixel ≈ 0.98 mm

Target density → texture size

Presets are rough examples from the Maxon Cinema 4D manual, not a standard. Use your project's own number if it has one.

Surface size (what the texture covers)
x

How much of the 0-1 UV square the surface uses. 100% if the texture maps onto it once, edge to edge; an unwrap with gaps between its islands uses less.

2048 x 2048 px

Exactly 2,048 px is needed; 2048 px gives 512 px/m (5.12 px/cm).

Check the texel density of a 3D model

Drop a model to measure every mesh from its real surface area and UV area. Outliers against the median (or your target above) are flagged.

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The texel density formula

For one surface that a texture covers once:

texel density (px/m) = texture size (px) ÷ surface size (m)

For a real model, where UV islands use only part of the texture:

texel density = texture size × √(UV area ÷ surface area)

UV area is the share of the 0-1 UV square the faces use (1 = all of it) and surface area is in square metres. Example: a 2048 px texture whose UVs use 50% of the square, on 2 m² of surface, gives 2048 × √(0.5 ÷ 2) = 1024 px/m. Divide by 100 for px/cm. The reverse, texture size = target × √(surface area ÷ UV area), is what the calculator rounds up to a power of two.

Why consistent texel density matters

Players never see a texture on its own; they see it next to everything else. If a crate has 1024 px/m and the wall behind it 256 px/m, the wall looks blurry even though its texture is fine. Keeping every asset near one number makes a scene look evenly detailed.

It also spends texture memory where it shows. A small prop with far more pixels per metre than its neighbours uses memory that large, close-up surfaces need. Pick a target for the camera distance of your game, then check each model against it, which is what the model check above does.

Power-of-two texture sizes

Game textures are usually 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096 or 8192 px on a side. Unreal Engine's texture docs recommend power-of-two sizes and note that some GPUs do not support textures above 8192 px. Width and height don't have to match: 2048 x 1024 is still power of two on both sides and suits long surfaces.

Because sizes double, density jumps in steps: going from 2048 to 4096 doubles px/m. That is why the calculator rounds the exact size up and shows the density you actually get, and why the model check treats 2x away from the median as an outlier.

Preset targets (1024, 512, 256 px/m) follow the rough examples in the Maxon Cinema 4D manual. They are not a standard; studios set their own.

How to use the texel density calculator

  1. 1

    Enter a texture and a size

    Pick the texture resolution and the size of the surface it covers. The density shows in px/m and px/cm as you type.

  2. 2

    Or start from a target

    Enter the density your project aims for and the surface size. You get the exact pixels needed and the power-of-two texture that reaches it.

  3. 3

    Check a whole model

    Drop a GLB, GLTF, OBJ, FBX or STL. Every mesh gets its own density from its real surface area and UV area, and outliers are flagged.

Frequently Asked Questions

Divide the texture pixels by the surface size they cover. For a whole model: density = texture size x the square root of (UV area / surface area), where UV area is the share of the 0-1 UV square the faces use and surface area is in square metres. A 2048 px texture whose UVs fill the whole square on a 4 m2 surface gives 2048 x sqrt(1/4) = 1024 px/m.
There is no single standard; pick one number for your project and keep every asset close to it. The Cinema 4D manual gives rough examples of 10.24 px/cm (1024 px/m) for first-person games, 5.12 px/cm (512 px/m) for third-person and 2.56 px/cm (256 px/m) or less for top-down, because the closer the camera gets, the more pixels a surface needs.
Only the unit. 1024 px/m is 10.24 px/cm, because a metre has 100 centimetres. Blender add-ons often show px/m; Cinema 4D shows px/cm. The calculator shows both.
When two objects sit side by side and one has twice the pixels per metre, the other looks blurry next to it, even if both textures are sharp on their own. A consistent density makes the whole scene look like it has the same level of detail, and stops small props wasting texture memory that big surfaces need.
Game engines prefer texture sizes such as 512, 1024, 2048 and 4096. Unreal Engine's texture docs recommend power-of-two sizes and note that some GPUs do not support textures above 8192 px. Rounding up keeps you at or above your target; the result also shows the density you actually get at that size.
No. The model opens in your browser. For each mesh we add up the area of its triangles in 3D and in UV space and use the texture size from the file (or the size you set). Meshes more than about 1.4x off the median are marked, and 2x or more is flagged as an outlier.
Texel density needs a UV map, so meshes without one show "No usable UVs". Unwrap the model first (our free UV unwrap tool does it in the browser), then check it again.
Use a bigger texture, give the low parts more UV space, or split the model across more texture sets. If you only have the small texture, an AI texture upscaler can make a 2x or 4x version so the same UVs get more pixels per metre.