Malcolm Andrieshyn Covers What Texel Density is and How to Use it.

Creating UVs is an integral part of the 3D pipeline. The process itself leaves a lot of users with questions as to how to create and pack great UVs. Most people focus on “unwrapping” and tend to gloss over texel density. Getting the nice-looking unstretched squares is an essential part of the UV process, but so is creating a standard for texel density. What is a Texel though?

Lead Environment Artist for The Coalition Malcolm Andrieshyn spends a little time explaining what texels are an why it is an important concept to understand. The rest of the tutorial is packed with tips for how you can set correct density for your models and scenes in Maya.

When talking about Texels, it’s important to mention that there are tools out there that can assist with the calculations. One of them is the free Texel Density Advisor that can instantly determine the size of the object and its UV area, and then gives you the correct proportions.