Applying Image Textures

Imagine decorating a tiny wooden chest with patterned wrapping paper. Blender needs three pieces of information before that pattern can appear on the 3D model:

We will use the Principled BSDF shader introduced in Lesson 07. You only need one extra node: Image Texture.

These three original PNG images are included right inside The Enchanted Workshop website. Save them to an easy-to-find folder on your computer—perhaps Documents / Blender Projects / Enchanted Chest / Textures.

Wood Planks

For the chest body · 1254 × 1254 PNG

Download Wood Texture ↓

Amethyst Fabric

For the chest lid · 1254 × 1254 PNG

Download Purple Texture ↓

Antique Brass

For an optional lock plate · 1254 × 1254 PNG

Download Brass Texture ↓

If your browser opens a picture instead of downloading it, right-click it and choose Save image as…. Use the original PNG files, not screenshots of the swatches.

Let's start with the Chest Body. Open your practice file from Lesson 08. If you don't have it, make a fresh body now: select the default cube, rename it Chest Body, scale with SX1.5Enter, SY0.9Enter, SZ0.6Enter, then press Ctrl+A → Scale. Its default UVs can work for this first test; Lesson 08 shows how to mark seams and unwrap more carefully.

1. In Object Mode, click the chest body so it is the selected mesh. Choose the Shading workspace at the top of Blender.
2. In Material Properties or the Shader Editor, choose the body's material. Click New if it has none; name it Chest Wood. The Shader Editor should show Principled BSDF connected to Material Output.
3. Move your cursor over the Shader Editor and press Shift+A. Use Search, type Image Texture, and place that node to the left of Principled BSDF. You can also use the Add menu.
4. Click Open on the Image Texture node and find lesson09-wood-planks-v192.png on your computer.
5. Drag a connection from the Image Texture node's yellow Color output to the Principled BSDF node's yellow Base Color input. Leave the Image Texture's Vector input unconnected for now; it will use the mesh's active UV map.
6. In the 3D Viewport, switch to Material Preview (the third shading sphere at the top-right of the viewport, or Z then Material Preview). Your body should show wooden boards.

Look exactly where to click

Interface illustrations are simplified Blender-style guides; actual Blender 5.2 panels can vary slightly with window size and selected objects.

Imagine your wooden boards look crooked, too big, or too small. You usually don't need to resize the 3D model—you can change the UV islands.

1. Select Chest Body and switch to the UV Editing workspace. Press Tab to enter Edit Mode and A to select its geometry.
2. In the UV Editor's image dropdown, choose lesson09-wood-planks-v192.png to see the texture beneath the UV outlines. (This image selection is just for editing; the material node from Step 03 is what displays it on the 3D object.)
3. Move the pointer over the UV Editor, then select an island by hovering and pressing L. Use G to move, R to rotate, and S to scale its UVs.
4. Try R 90 Enter to turn one island if the wood runs the wrong way. Keep checking the 3D Viewport in Material Preview.
5. If you want the image pattern to repeat, keep the Image Texture node's Extension as Repeat and move/scale UV coordinates beyond the 0–1 image square when needed. For a uniquely painted texture atlas, keep islands within their intended areas instead.

The picture stays still. Your UV islands move.

The overlaid UV lines in this illustration show the idea. In Blender, the actual UV outlines will match your mesh. Try rotating one island until the plank direction looks natural.

Textures may look stretched if an island is very narrow or oddly proportioned compared with its face. Return to Lesson 08 if you need to unwrap again.

Now we'll combine the technique with the two-part chest from Lesson 08. Our learning model is intentionally simple; the richly curved chest in the banner is an illustration of what you could create later.

1. Open the project. Choose File → Open and load Enchanted Chest UV Practice.blend from Lesson 08. If you created only the body earlier, add a second cube with Shift+A → Mesh → Cube, rename it Chest Lid, scale it SX1.55Enter, SY0.95Enter, SZ0.18Enter, move it with GZ0.78Enter, and apply scale via Ctrl+A → Scale.
2. Wood body. Select Chest Body. Use the Chest Wood material from Step 03 (or make it now) and connect lesson09-wood-planks-v192.png via Image Texture → Base Color.
3. Purple lid. Select Chest Lid in Object Mode. In the Shading workspace create a new material for this object named Amethyst Lid. Add an Image Texture node, open lesson09-amethyst-fabric-v192.png, and connect its Color output to Principled BSDF → Base Color. Set Metallic to 0.0 and Roughness to around 0.45 for a fabric-like finish.
4. Optional brass plate. In Object Mode add Shift+A → Mesh → Cube and rename it Gold Lockplate. With the chest still centered at the origin, scale it approximately SX0.16Enter, SY0.04Enter, SZ0.21Enter. Move it to the front with GY-0.93Enter, then slightly up with GZ0.1Enter. You can adjust its placement by eye. Apply the scale.
5. Give the plate a finish. Create a new material named Antique Brass, connect lesson09-antique-brass-v192.png to Base Color, and set Metallic to about 1.0 and Roughness to around 0.28. Leave the cube's initial UVs for this tiny detail or unwrap it again if its pattern is distorted.
6. Inspect your treasure. Return to Material Preview, orbit the view, and check that the wood, purple pattern, and brass detail appear on the correct objects. Use the UV Editor to correct any image direction or stretching.

By default, Blender can refer to texture images on your computer. If you move the project or share it, those paths may break. Packing embeds eligible image files into your .blend project.

1. Make sure every Image Texture node is pointing to a file that really exists.
2. From Blender's top menu choose File → External Data → Pack Resources.
3. Choose File → Save As and name the project Enchanted Chest Textured.blend.
4. Reopen the saved file once to confirm that the wood, amethyst and brass images still show up.