Map a 2D or 3D texture to a material

When you map a 2D or 3D texture to an object, you connect it to an attribute of the object’s material. Textures map to geometry based on the object’s UV texture coordinates. For more information about texture mapping, see Texture mapping.

To connect a texture to a material using the Attribute Editor

1. Select your material in the Hypershade. In the material Attribute Editor, click the map button beside the attribute that you want to connect a texture to. The Create Shading Node window appears.
2. Select a texture from the Create Shading Node window.

   If you are selecting a 2D texture, right-click the texture and select a mapping method (Create texture (create normally), Create as projection, Create as stencil). If you do not select a mapping method, the default method (Create texture) is used.

   If you are selecting the File texture, map to the image file by clicking the browse icon beside the Image Name attribute.

   Note: A icon indicates that a texture has been mapped to an attribute.
Tip: Select Window > Viewport from the Hypershade menu and dock the viewport panel in the Hypershade to see the shading of your object update from within one editor.

To connect a texture to a material in the Hypershade work area

1. Press Tab and enter the type of your node. If you are creating a 2D texture, the mapping method for the texture is indicated beside its name (for example, file [Stencil]).

   Alternatively, you can drag and drop the texture from the Create tab into the work area.

2. Middle mouse or left mouse-drag to create connection lines between your texture node and your material node.

In this example, a Fractal texture is created and mapped to the transparency of the material.

If you are working in Mac OS X, 2D textures must be used as projections when they are placed on volumetric objects.