Textures

In visual arts, a texture is any kind of surface detail, both visual and tactile. In Maya, you create surface detail with textures connected to the material of objects as texture maps. Materials define the basic substance of an object, and textures add detail. See Common surface material attributes and Common surface material Specular Shading attributes.

Factors beyond basic color, transparency, and shine (see below) that determine the appearance of an object’s surface include:

• Surface relief. See Surface relief for more information.
• Whether or not the surface casts or catches reflections. See True reflections for more information.

  (Objects typically reflect backgrounds or environments. See About backgrounds for more information.)

• Atmosphere. See Fog, smoke, dust, and silt.

You can also bake illumination and color to a texture that you can later apply to objects in a scene. See Baking illumination and color.

Related topics

• Texture mapping
• Map a 2D or 3D texture