Welcome to my Blender colour palette texture series where I will explain the whole process of creating a colour palette texture from scratch using Photoshop.
I will then explain how to import and use the colour palette texture in my choice of 3D modelling software, Blender.
Then to finish the series I will explain how to import the colour palette texture along with the model created in Blender into my favourite 3D game engine, Unity.
There are a couple of reasons to use a colour palette texture when creating 3D models, especially when your models will be used in mobile games.
One of the largest problems when it comes to creating 3D models for game development is the amount of draw calls required to render your model. The greater the amount of draw calls the more work a computer has to do.
The effect of this is a lower frame rate slowing game play down and limiting the amount of immersion that can be achieved. This is due to the limited amount of models that can be displayed at any one time.
Reason 1:
The first and foremost reason is to reduce the offensive draw calls which in turn increases the render frame rate for models that will be used in game development.
If you are able to create models that use the minimum amount of processing power then you’ll have an advantage when it comes to selling your models on a 3D marketplace like TurboSquid
Reason 2:
The second reason in my opinion is it simplifies the process of colouring 3D models.
There are no constant requirements to keep making different materials for each colour you wish to use. Once the colour has been created you then have to assign the created material to the area you wish to colour.
Using a colour palette texture allows you to just select the area to colour and then move the selected section in the UV map editor to your desired colour. This helps to cut time down and is visually simpler, more like drag and drop.
I explain the whole process in my Blender - How To Use The iCreatevo Colour Palette Texture article.
A textured colour palette is ideal for Low Poly Modelling because of the optimisation benefits offered, lowering the draw calls required to render a model in an application or game, allowing for faster frame rates to be achieved.
Lowering the draw calls per model allows for larger game levels to be created, improving the level of detail and immersion available to the developer.
This allows the models to be used for all possible platforms, but especially good for mobile gaming due to the limited power available.
Low poly modelling has its own unique style and following which was the reason I started my own 3D modelling journey, I basically fell in love with the art style.
All of my future 3D modelling projects will start out using the iCreatevo Colour Palette Texture template which you can create your self using the provided articles in this series.
If you don’t have the time, software or just want to support iCreatevo then I have you covered.
I have created the required Blender template scene setup ready to use my iCreatevo Colour Palette Texture, as I build the community I just don’t want to just ask for donations to keep the site going, I want to provide some form of value.
The colour palette texture will be available soon on GumRoad and normally priced at £10, but for the first 1000 supporters will be priced at £5 as an early supporter bonus.
Coming Soon: iCreatevo Colour Palette Texture
In this series my articles will be covering the creation, setup and use of the iCreatevo colour palette texture.
Select an image to read the article:
This page is where I will keep all of my ideas and other information around the subject of creativity.
