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title: "The Hunted Refs"
canonical: "https://rmanwiki-27.pixar.com/space/RU/568557635/The%20Hunted%20Refs"
format: markdown
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![TextureRefs.jpg](media://fd312e0a-03d4-4181-b8e5-dd28a8d826ca)

### One of the most critical steps to take before you start to texture is to collect references.  

There are many good online sources of references, but don’t forget that one of the best is in the real world.  

If you can go out and take a photo of a material or prop, then I would suggest doing that first.  

Not only might you get better reference photos, but you’ll also get a ‘feel’ for the material itself.

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### Feel your materials

Run your fingers along them.  I do this everywhere I go.  I must look mad to other people, but if I’m sitting somewhere or walking along and see an interesting texture, I’ll ‘feel’ it.  

Is it smooth, or rough? If rough, how rough?

I’ll look closely at the bump.  Is it fine or large?  Sharp or smooth

All this will help you get your textures looking and ‘feeling’ more realistic.

You’ll also get a better look at how it reacts in the light.  Look at the material/object from various angles to see how it ‘shines' or doesn’t shine at various angles.  The more you can observe and consider a material, the closer you’ll be able to replicate it.

As I say, taking your own photos isn’t always possible, but give it a go first.

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### Texture Photography

There are many types of photographs you can take, ranging from albedo textures through to dust, scratches, smudges, streaks, and drips.  

If you’re taking diffuse textures, you’ll typically want them to be tileable and then hand-paint the textures onto your asset.

When taking photos for grunge map use, you’ll want this in black and white for hand-painted layer masks.

The Foundry has a great live session on capturing materials taught by Stuart Ashley, starting at 14.30

 


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### Create your own texture library

These days, it’s very easy to use preset materials, but imagine having your own texture/material library that was unique to you and your art.  

Not only will it make your assets and render stand out more, but you’ll also learn a lot more by creating your layered materials from scratch, in turn, making you a better shading artist.  

You’ll not learn much by quickly throwing on presets onto your assets, but you will learn and evolve your shading skills if you have to make them from scratch.

You may find the process of creating your own material library, whether it’s in Mari, Painter, or procedurally in RenderMan, to be a slower process than you are accustomed to. Still, once that material is made, you’ll be able to use it over and over again in the future, making tweaks as you go.

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Below are just a few references I’ve taken over the years that I felt were useful for my project

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![RenderManUniversity_logo_Small.png](media://c5eb3d24-76d5-478e-94d2-6b4a90d7e64a)