https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5833bd87579fb3cc08e86017/t/5898a1179de4bb1d503f0590/1486397910353/?format=750w
We've just released another wood collection including five seamless, high-res cabin wall materials!
Check out this new fence type with three variations :)
We've also added a sweet cutting board with the side edges included and more!
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5833bd87579fb3cc08e86017/t/58915f298419c227313170fa/1485922186899/?format=750w
Can you believe one month has already passed since the start of 2017? Boy does time fly.
In the past month we've seen some stunning works of art by the Poliigon community, and so as per usual, here's our favourite renders:
by Alex Jeorg. Simple but beautiful! Love that smudged glass texture!
by Ikan Otnemrop. Nice use of volumetric lighting! Really nice setting.
by Nicolas Martinez. Cool idea! Nice texturing on the phone (a little heavy, but still nice!)
by Miguel Rojo. Very clean, and easily readable image. The wood and lamp texturing is great :)
by Nick Brunner. Nice use of photoscanned grounds! The grass peaking through the rocks is a nice touch :)
by Rigveda Wankhade. Beautiful lighting and decor! It's minimalistic, but with enough detail that it doesn't feel boring. Overall a great looking render.
Congrats Rigveda! You've won a 12-month Gold Subscription to Poliigon!
Step 1: Create an artwork that uses at least 60% Poliigon textures. Any subject is fine!
Step 2: Post your artwork to ArtStation, with the words "Textures from Poliigon.com" somewhere in the description.
Step 3: Wait until the end of the month, to see if you've been chosen as the best render! One winner will be selected every month.
May the best artist win! :)
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5833bd87579fb3cc08e86017/t/5875c7e6579fb383c4e217a4/1484800374699/?format=750w
Lighting is a big deal.
It can mean the difference between an image that feels unnatural, and one that feels alive and welcoming:
But unfortunately, most outdoor lighting setups look pretty terrible.
The most common approach to outdoor lighting is to use a sun lamp and a blue environment light. Which is a step in the right direction, but it's too simple. Because - as with many things in CG - the real world is much more chaotic.
A sky isn't just blue. Thanks to clouds, and the physics of light, it's a million different shades of blue, white and yellow. All with differing amounts of saturation and value.
Run an eyedropper over a photo of a sky and you'll see what I mean:
That's a huge amount of variance for something most of us perceive as "blue"!
When your sky lacks this detail, it impacts not only the lighting but also the reflections.
And since all objects are reflective, a solid blue color looks pretty laughable in a reflection:
Simply put, without a real sky, you're missing out on glorious detail in the reflections and the lighting.
So how can we get all this extra complexity in our renders?
HDRs are a completely different approach to lighting. Instead of using lamps, it uses a single image to light the scene that looks like this:
And while it looks like a standard photo, it actually contains valuable light information (captured in multiple exposure ranges) that your rendering engine can use to create light:
(Remember: this is without any lamps whatsover! It's controlled entirely by a single HDR image.)
They show up in reflections too:
HDRs are the most photorealistic lighting solution, because there's no fakery. It's taking an exact lighting profile captured in the real world, and bringing it into your 3d software.
That's the reason they're used by hollywood and most architectural renderers.
But unfortunately HDR Skies aren't cheap. They typically range from $10-30 each online, which means a modest collection of just 10 Skies would cost $100-300.
Until now!
As of today, Poliigon now has HDR Skies available to all existing and future members. There are 40 HDRs so far with plans to add more in the future.
And all are available at a whopping 15,000 x 7,500 and 12 EVS :)
Enjoy!
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5833bd87579fb3cc08e86017/t/5876e484f7e0ab302974e8be/1484186819892/max-detourniere-tower-8-comp.jpg?format=750w
The Poliigon community finished 2016 off with some stunning renders. So as per usual, here's a recap of the best renders made with Poliigon textures, from December 2016.
Beautiful! Lovely use of the displacement map to create some hard ridges in the brick face. I like the dynamic camera angle too. Adds a lot of interest.
Beautiful! Lovely use of the displacement map to create some hard ridges in the brick face. I like the dynamic camera angle too. Adds a lot of interest.
Never before has a keyboard looked so cinematic! The fingerprint overlays really help this look photorealistic. Fantastic work!
Fantastic scene! Everything from the interior design to the lighting is incredible. I really like your use of textures to make the room feel modern, but natural. Just beautiful!
So congrats! As the winner, you've received a full 12 months Gold subscription to Poliigon :D
At the end of every month, we round up all the images and feature our favorites here. The best image will be awarded a full 12 month Gold subscription to Poliigon.
May the best artist win! :)
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5833bd87579fb3cc08e86017/t/58522a5e893fc0c888793998/1482370810641/
Wood is a popular choice for architects, as it's both visually interesting and an easy way to breathe life into the decor.
Wood is a popular choice for architects, as it's both visually interesting and an easy way to breathe life into the decor.
But when it comes to texturing, wood flooring suffers from the same problem as marble: it's very difficult to capture, and as a result most texture sites have a very limited range.
Unlike concrete or bricks (that are readily available in public spaces) wooden flooring can only be found inside finished interiors. And unless you want to break into dozens of homes, it's unlikely you'll find suitable flooring to photograph.
As a result, most texture sites have a very limited range of interior wooden flooring available.
So instead of giving up, we proactively created them from scratch. We took dozens of photo references then recreated them using Substance Designer.
And after 50 man hours, we're pleased to present this pack of wood that's identical to photo textures.
Here are all 28 of the new wood flooring textures:
For each texture type we created 3 types of wood: light, medium and dark:
And since we had full control of the arrangement, we went an extra step and created unique wood patterns like diagonal parquets and diamonds, that are very difficult to find online:
These are perfect for architectural use, as well as scene building.
Here's how our in-house artist (Guilherme Henrique) used the new texture collection:
These wood textures are now available, to all Poliigon members. Enjoy!
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5833bd87579fb3cc08e86017/t/584e38906a4963e616c6f4a3/1481521355963/?format=750w
In a recent survey, many of you asked for scene "Breakdowns" to see how textures are used in larger scenes.
In a recent survey, many of you asked for scene "Breakdowns" to see how textures are used in larger scenes.
So as a trial run, here's the first scene breakdown on a Bathroom made in Blender:
Textures:
Marble65 - Wall
Marble62 - Countertop
Marble59 - Floor
RainDropsComplex - Shower screen
BackDropGreenLeafLarge002 - Tree backdrop
Textures:
Textures:
If you'd like to see the full workflow on how this Bathroom was created, check out the full tutorial below:
What's did you think of this breakdown idea? Would you like to see more? I'm really curious to hear your thoughts, so please post in the comments below.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5833bd87579fb3cc08e86017/t/583fab732994cae6abca9eb1/1480573593343/?format=750w
Another month has passed, so it's time to look back on what the Poliigon community accomplished!
Another month has passed, so it's time to look back on what the Poliigon community accomplished!
The top renders on ArtStation, using Poliigon textures are as follows...
Created by Timm Schwarze
Created by Iván Zabalza González (also the winner of last months!)
Created by André Mueller
Created by Piero Di Chito
The render of the month prize goes to Charlie Pradeau!
Created by Charlie Pradeau
A simple scene, but done extremely well. You've made clothespin's both realistic and aesthetically pleasing! Brilliant work!
For your efforts, you've won a 12 month Gold subscription to Poliigon! :)
Want to win a year's subscription to Poliigon and be featured here next month?
Just post your render on ArtStation with the words "Textures from Poliigon.com" somewhere in the description. At the end of the month, we'll go through all the entries and award the best image a 12 month Gold subscription to Poliigon! :)
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5833bd87579fb3cc08e86017/t/58351b1ae58c6223fd72526f/1479876117374/?format=750w
Good marble textures are surprisingly hard to find online.
Good marble textures are surprisingly hard to find online.
They're either tiny in real world size (20x20cm slab anyone?) or riddled with highlights.
But there's a reason for this: marble is actually very challenging to capture.
Marble is heavy and therefore expensive to transport, which means even in the real world most are cut into small pieces. It's also highly reflective, which means photographing it without highlights is nearly impossible.
So rather than photographing them, we tried something different: we collected dozens of photo references and then made them by hand using Substance Designer.
It was a challenge that took 86 man hours to complete, but we're pleased to present this new collection of the best marble textures available online!
Initially we were skeptical that procedural textures could match the quality of photographed ones. But after weeks of fine tuning by our team, we were amazed that they looked identical to photo equivalents. Even zoomed in at 100%.
You can download these new marble materials now!
Look forward to seeing your gorgeous marble scenes!
