AI Texturing: UV Unwrap and PBR Maps in the Same Run
Texturing is a property of generation here, not a separate service: switch it on and the pipeline unwraps UVs and bakes the PBR maps before you export.
How texturing fits into a generation
The pipeline runs geometry, then UV unwrap, then texture baking, then finalising — in that order. Texturing is not applied to an existing mesh in a separate session; it is a stage of the same job, which is why a textured generation costs about 4 credits more than an untextured one and takes correspondingly longer.
HD texture raises the baking resolution on top of that, adding another 4 credits. In a comparison run these additions apply to the quoted total; that total is allocated across the resulting tasks.
The maps you get
Base colour
the albedo map: what the surface looks like without lighting. This is the map that carries the prompt's material description.
Normal
surface direction per texel, which is how flat-shaded geometry reads as having grain, rivets or fabric weave without extra triangles.
Roughness
how glossy each area is. One map separates polished metal from matte ceramic in the same model.
Metalness
which areas behave as metal, so a wooden handle and a steel blade can share one material.
When to texture and when not to
| Situation | Texture on? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Shape comparison run | Off | you are judging silhouette and topology; texturing hides both |
| Web or game asset | On | GLB carries the maps with the mesh, so the asset arrives complete |
| 3D print | Off | STL has no texture channel at all; you are paying for data that gets discarded |
| Resin print with colour | On, or 3MF | 3MF keeps colour so a multi-material printer can use it |
| Hand-authoring the material later | Off | you only need clean UVs, which untextured output still provides |
Judging a texture before you trust it
Switch the viewport to UV checker: stretched islands show as smeared squares and overlapping ones show as the same pattern appearing twice. Then switch to unlit to see base colour without shading, and to roughness or normal to check the maps are carrying real information rather than flat noise.
The honest limitation: retexturing an arbitrary existing mesh — upload a model, describe a new material, get new maps — is not what this stage does today. Texturing runs as part of a generation, on geometry produced in that same job.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does texturing cost extra?
Yes. A standard generation is about 10 credits; texturing adds about 4 and HD texture another 4. These additions apply to the full comparison quote, which is allocated across tasks.
Which maps are produced?
Base colour, normal, roughness and metalness — the four that a standard PBR material needs. They are written alongside the mesh and packed into GLB and glTF exports.
Can I upload my own model and retexture it?
Not today. Texturing runs as a stage of a generation job on geometry produced in the same run. Retexturing an arbitrary uploaded mesh is not a capability of this stage.
Do textures survive an STL export?
No. STL carries geometry only — no colour, no texture, no material. If the colour is the point of the export, use 3MF for printing or GLB for a viewer.
How do I check UVs are usable?
Switch the viewport to UV checker and look for stretched or overlapping islands. The checker exposes both before you spend time authoring anything on top of the maps.
Can I skip texturing on a print-bound model?
Yes, and you probably should. Turn texturing off for models headed to a slicer: the maps are discarded by the STL format, so the credits buy nothing you can use.