Painting 3D models in Blender

[acs]

In order to make the 3D models more attractive, we need to "dress" them, adding materials to the model.We can do it creating a texture paint for the 3D models (a 2D image painted into Blender, or other painting tool like GIMP or Krita, using UV coordinates that will cover the 3D model).

[acs]

The way to do it in Blender is:

• Create the 3D model
• Create the 2D UV mapping (unwrapping 3D to a 2D image) using the Smart UV Project option and its default values
• Add a texture to the 3D model of Image type (this image will be the image including the UV model)
• Paint in this image using the Texture Paint view
• Create a new material for the 3D models, use the UV image created as the Base color image

[acs]

When painting you can use the symmetric tool to paint at the same time both sides (x mirror) or/and front/back (y mirror). And it is really funny to paint model using this approach.

And it is pretty quick to add a new Texture Image Layer to start experimenting from scratch without loosing your current texture paint. So funny to play with and it will be pretty useful for the workshop!

[acs]

Let's review this process because it is not so intuitive.

We have two views in Blender involved in painting and texturing 3d models:

• UV Editing
• Texture Paint

And also related to it is Shading, but this is for adding materials in a more advanced way.

Painting a 3d model us just adding a material (basically the texture for it) where we can paint. But let's explore the process

[acs]

The simplest way to start painting a 3D model is:

• Create the model
• Go to Texture paint view
• Add a new texture Base Color
• Press in "+ Add Simple UVs"
• The 3D model will appear as black and you can start painting