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How do you add textures to Maya objects?

Published in Maya Texturing Workflow 2 mins read

One way to quickly add textures to Maya objects is by selecting the texture files and allowing Maya or a specific tool/script to categorize them based on their naming convention, automatically applying them to your selected objects.

Applying Textures Using Naming Conventions

As demonstrated in some workflows, a streamlined method involves preparing your texture files with specific names. When you select these files and use a texture application tool or script, it reads the filenames to understand what type of texture each file represents (e.g., base color, metallic, roughness, normal).

Here's the basic idea:

  1. Select Objects: Choose the Maya object(s) you want to texture.
  2. Select Texture Files: Select the relevant texture image files from your computer's file browser.
  3. Apply Textures: Utilize a function in Maya (or a plugin/script designed for this) that takes the selected objects and selected texture files.
  4. Automatic Categorization: The function examines the filenames of your textures. Based on keywords found in the names, it identifies the map type.
  5. Automatic Connection: The function then creates the necessary material and connects the appropriate texture file to the corresponding attribute on the material (like base color, metalness, roughness, normal map, etc.), and finally assigns the material to your selected object(s).

Importance of Naming Conventions

For this quick method to work, the naming of your texture files is crucial. The tool needs to recognize the map type from the filename. According to the reference, common required words in the filenames for categorization can include:

  • base color
  • metallic
  • roughness
  • normal

By including these terms (or variations recognized by the specific tool being used) in your texture filenames (e.g., MyObject_BaseColor.png, MyObject_Metallic.png, MyObject_Roughness.png, MyObject_Normal.png), you enable the automatic process to correctly identify and apply them to their respective material attributes.

This approach bypasses the need to manually create a material, open the Hypershade or Node Editor, create file nodes, browse for each texture file individually, and then connect them one by one to the material attributes. Instead, selecting multiple texture files and the object(s) allows the system to process them collectively based on their descriptive names.