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How to make textures
When we are working in the digital world, be it in an architecture project, a 3D industrial design of an object or element, or simply creating a virtual environment, creating textures infinity will be a must for a realistic finish.
Although the 3D modeling and design programs; drawings with Autocad, Revit, 3ds Max, etc. You already have a database for texturing materials and objects, many times we end up with the tedious Illustrator, Photoshop or Sketchup for make a textured pattern that we will finally use in the project.
At this point, we directly lose a lot of time! And actually, there is pattern making programs infinite and various online tools that are free, quick to create texturing and simple to use. An example of textures created in less than a minute without Photoshop …
So let's see how to create textures very quickly …
Create textures for architecture and 3D models
Directly and without fooling around, the best program for create texture online for architecture and 3D objects is the one hosted on Architextures.
Simple, without the need for registration to download an image created with high resolution and with the possibility of making a thousand combinations of materials used in the construction and modeling of parts.
From materials with wood textures, drawings of pavements and floors, wefts of bricks and pavers, synthetic grass, with metal or stone material, a thousand combinations, a marvel for architectural projects!
We can change patterns of drawings, increase or decrease columns and rows, create a finished width and height, apply the material we want, adjustments in the relief and distortion of the image, color, with and without borders, in short, tileable textures for our projects.
We can make many combinations of adjustments on the infinite textures of the materials in a fast way, and as long as it is for personal use and for teaching, it is totally free (For commercial use, we already have to go to the Pro account and register on the platform ).
An interactive tool for designers where we can create high-quality textures in seconds using the wide variety of patterns and parameters it has.
We can access the online software to create patterns from Architextures. And thanks to the architect and creator of the platform, Ryan Canning, who allows us to download the images as a texture map, a bump map or a CAD raster in a simple way.
Do not forget that texture is a fundamental quality of the surface of the bodies in their appearance external (Remember the theme of natural light), we informs what material they are made of. We drink from being able to identify objects thanks to digital textures, so be careful with the final designs and you can increase the quality of an image in our article on photo optimization.
The texture informs what material the objects and surfaces are made of, don't forget it!
And we come to the key point, free libraries …
Textures gallery
There's a lot texture libraries on the internet aimed at art, but most of them; or they are with disappointing designs, or they are not free if we are looking for quality or you have to download a file that possibly has a virus. The best free textures for our artistic projects can be found at:
- They call it «the Pinterest of color», it is the Colrd website, it is a social network of designers where what matters is color, but also patterns and textures with a thousand shapes and drawings. There are a huge number of frames to download and of good quality. With geometric textures free without frame as beautiful as:
- Another network of designers that creates textures for free images and of good quality, it is the TopTal platform. There is a huge amount of images with patterns to download (It is downloaded in a compressed pack format and without registration) and it shows that there are good designers behind it.
- We know that many designers mount textures with Photoshop, and that many others use the Adobe Stock library that we can consult HERE, which is mostly paid. But, we can filter by «free», put in the search engine «textures«, «pattern«, «textures»(Try with English words) and mark vectors as in the image below to find perfect patterns, backgrounds and photographs.
As a note, for make a realistic texture with Adobe, there is a tool called Adobe Substance, what is a professional 3D texture software in whose application you can paint a texture in a 3D model in real time and many other crazy things (It is only so that you know it, given its price).
How to Create a Noise Color Texture
Sometimes we need to visualize surfaces of a single color but that have noisy textures (dot distortion), make a simple background pattern or retouch using a variety of colors and tones.
From the Noise Texture Generator application you can make seamless textures and set dimensions, as well as opacity and density. You can preview the tile-shaped texture and download it instantly. It's that simple and effective!
Remember that we have an extensive article on color in architecture and interior design where we also show some useful tools for day-to-day work.
And there is still more, it is time to play with the icons …
Create texture patterns
Although on the Internet there are many resources to do geometric texture patterns, abstract, simple, complicated, etc, most are paid with a trial trial for a few days. But still, there are some totally free.
- We have to go to Patterninja in order to create patterns for free and quickly. The tool is very simple, when you enter, on the right hand side you have the settings panel; color, image library, layers, pattern parameters, upload an image from our computer or when we finish, we can download the image in PNG or SVG.
Although the application does not have an extensive library of images to combine, one of the important advantages is that we can upload our own image and retouch it according to our needs.
- From the GeoPattern application it is another tool to generate patterns abstract tiles writing letters randomly and without repeating. Create colorful SVG patterns that can be saved and used for design or the web.
- If you are looking for a simple pattern and quickly download the image in PNG. Directly use the online version of Patternify. Although it is a generator of tileable textures in CSS, it is very useful to generate simple geometries and download the figure (Remember that it is played between colors, symmetry and marking of four with the mouse).
- From a more professional perspective and with a well-assembled online application to create a texture with quality for our photography or artistic projects, you have to enter Repper to see some functions. Although it is a paid tool (it is cheap monthly), we have a trial period of 14 days where we can upload images and create our work of art by testing the multiple effects that it provides us, surely you want to try it!
As a complement to other applications in the same vein as the latter. With hundreds of icons and objects, we have Magic Pattern Design Y Flaticon which is even capable of generate patterns automatically and ready to download.
Tips for creating textures
The purpose of a texture is to help identify objects and materials as well as create emotions. It helps us to perceive depth, volume (relief) and space (three-dimensionality) without giving us the feeling of having borders or frames. In the Photography and the digital art, they are more than used …
Although we are used - from an architectural perspective - to visualize 3D surfaces, texturing and repeating patterns for volume It is also widely used in the field of graphic design, be it web or in advertising; cards, posters, etc. In the Photography and the digital art, they are more than used …
In short, in all kinds of graphics with such captivating examples as:
Remember our article about different portals with beautiful images totally free, there are good photographers who simply like to share their work.
Here visual perception is very important and some design professionals wisely use the Gestalt Laws (early 20th century movement in Germany) that define different principles of visual perception of design. Some tips on how to build a tileable texture from a design perspective it would be:
Although we can practice the texture free download In different webs as we have seen, we can also create our own forms with multiple applications. And don't miss our article on useful applications to work with architecture, engineering and design, they save us a lot of time on a day-to-day basis.
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