TRIM TEXTURE TUTORIAL - ENVIRONMENT ART 101

Free 4 Part Tutorial Series on making trim sheets:
Part 1 - • Planning & Creating Tr...
Part 2 - • Sculpting Trim Sheets ...
Part 3 - • Trim Sheets in Substan...
Part 4 - • Quick and Easy Trim Sh...
Free UE4 lighting presets + Tutorial : • UNREAL ENGINE 4 LIGHTI...
Get the example texture and mesh files from this tutorial: gumroad.com/polygonacademy
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Using Trim textures is an essential skill for any environment or asset artist. You can use a small library of detailed trim sheets to quickly add detail and create modular kits, while keeping your memory budget under control. This is an extremely common practice in game development.
Links to the examples shown at the end:
God of war trim texture - Cliff Schonewill www.artstation.com/artwork/XZ2L0
Destiny 2 tank - Ethan Scheu www.artstation.com/artwork/b4mZE

[@PolygonAcademy]

Link to the trims/meshes and my lighting presets: gumroad.com/polygonacademy

[@adamplechaty]

Bought it just now and going to reverse engineer the example pack to learn more about this. Would love to know how exactly you did the ornate pieces in that sheet. Thanks again!

[@PolygonAcademy]

@@adamplechaty thanks so much for the support! the ornate pieces were literally just using jonas ronnegards ornate brushes pack, just search for JRO tools on gumroad, and they are super useful brushes for zbrush, and then i just turned wrap mode one while using them to get it to tile properly ;) hope that helps!

[@philipgilbert3772]

Have you done any tutorials on how to make the water shown in that level? Mine never really looks as nice as that even with a fresnal. Or even made any on Gumroad that we can purchase to use? Water has always been my weak spot.

[@jasonvoor9257]

What was really confusing for me back when I started working with games and engines, was the MAJOR difference between a trim / atlas texture and a lightmap texture. The short version, which I came to understand the hard way is - trim/atlas textures CAN have UV islands overlapped, lightmap textures CANNOT. In your 3D modelling program, you should have TWO sets of textures - on channel 1 (which will be channel 0 in UE4) you have your UV islands mapped according to your texture, overlapping or not, and on channel 2 (which will be channel 1 in UE4), you have your UV islands spread across the whole texture (0,1 space) with some gap between the different islands (people recommend 3px, I can't say for sure, because I seem to always have problems regardless of how much px gap I leave). They MUST NOT overlap, or otherwise you'll get visual artifacts after baking. Another thing I learned the hard way - if you manual unfold, all the sharp edges in your model (edges > 45°) should have seems.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Jason Voor yea exactly, multiple uv channels is the way to go, you can reuse the second uv set for unique grime masks, tiling detail normal maps etc as well :)

[@manollobango]

I also wanted to mention this because when I started modelling last year I begun to use this workflow first but then I had the lighting issues in UE4 because of overlapping UVs. I don't understand why this possible issue isn't broached in this video as it seems to be very important when using this workflow. Beginners need to be teached about the pros and the cons of using this technique.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Manollo Bango nowdays unreal should automatically make a clean uv2 for your lightmaps on import, but i know what you mean, so many people asked about this that its gonna be the entire subject of my next video ;)

[@manollobango]

​@@PolygonAcademy Okay, nice to hear. Like I said before, last year I had issues within UE4 because of overlapping UVs and I didn't touch the engine since then because I focused more into modelling instead. However, I don't think that all your viewers are using UE4 but Unity and I don't know how the latter does handle this.

[@rounukrock]

@@manollobango I believe you can create the Second UV channel well in advance in your modeling software, rather than relying on the automated process of some engine. This way you are the one that's driving the result of how the lightmap Uvs are distributed, depending on the size of the Lightmap you choose. Also I believe most of the people in the Game Industry or learning the game pipeline, will eventually know about the need to create a separate UV channel for the same.

[@JagaimoLoco]

Man, I'm confounded. I begged instructors to discuss this kind of stuff during classes earlier this year and they just glossed past it. It's equal parts essential and useful as hell! Thanks so much dude

[@PolygonAcademy]

thanks so much! I constantly keep hearing instructors are not teaching this technique which is appalling/mindblowing to me haha. glad the video helped!

[@MatthewMarquit]

Notable Time-stamps: 0:00 - Introduction 3:31 - Within Unreal / explanation & example of trim textures 6:15 - Within Substance Painter / explanation & example of trim textures 6:59 - 3ds Max & Zbrush geometry creation for trim sheet (Sped-up) 7:36 - Further explanation of trim textures 12:24 - How the unwrap affects trim textures (Circular Floor) 19:25 - Modeling tips for trim textures (Pillar & Curved Wall) 27:02 - Using trim textures on small objects (Pottery) 31:36 - Balancing high and low detail within trim textures 33:10 - More examples of professional trim texture usage 35:43 - Conclusion / Wrap-up

[@WarrenMarshallBiz]

Gold, man, GOLD! Well done.

[@PolygonAcademy]

thanks dude! that means a lot coming from you, love your channel :)

[@leihejun844]

it's all mortar and concrete, there was no gold. Vases were brass

[@MerryMac1000]

I have no idea how many hours of my life I have spent looking for EXACTLY this information!!! THANK YOU!!!! Why is this so seldom touched on in tutorials when it's so important?!?!?!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Effete Denizen haha i have no idea you are not the first to say this, and it blows my mind it’s not being taught more 🙃

[@MerryMac1000]

@@PolygonAcademy At my college and again at uni you had to show your UVs, anything outside the 0/1 area and you'd fail =/ They insisted everything HAD to be inside the area. Are you making any more modular kit tutorials? I feel like I've shed several years of ingrained bad advice!

[@DanyGates0693]

Ohhh yes man, this content is like pure gold!!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Art of Dani Baena thanks dude! I think the real winner this week is you though homie! Congrats on the job 🔥🔥🔥

[@DanyGates0693]

Believe it or not, without your article about motivation I don't know If I would've been able to finish the project I was working on at the time. I kind of needed that fresh dose of reality right on my face hahaha so big thanks for that!!

[@rancheraosborne]

@@DanyGates0693 Congrats on the job mate, I also accepted a job a week ago, starting as a junior 3d artist!!

[@DanyGates0693]

That's fantastic! Let's go for it! thanks

[@playonce4186]

wow this is what i was wondering all the time" how do those big buildings have such a high texel density?" this video explained it perfectly!

[@yoohasz4767]

Tim! So thankful for this!

[@brdklt]

It's like Jesus talking to disciples! You're the man!

[@PolygonAcademy]

hhahaha shhhh it'll go to my head! thanks for watching :)

[@leihejun844]

I had the exact same feeling Edit: god of UV sent him for our blessing.

[@lockenessmotorsports818]

Yes you legend been waiting for ages to learn this

[@CaltropArt]

Hell Yeah Tim, been waiting for this! Thanks! and keep it up!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Callum Thomas cheers dude! I know a ton of you guys were waiting on this one ;)

[@jeffwu5765]

Love all of your videos,Happy to see more!!!Really helps a LOOOOOOOTTTTTT!and many thanks for making those super quality content.

[@ahatcho138]

Thank you for your time and this tutorial. My utmost gratitude to you!

[@jopemeofficial]

For someone who's just getting started in asset creation / texturing, I'm very glad that I came across your channel. Your videos are really insightful! Thanks, man! 😊👌🏾💯

[@jopemeofficial]

My totally unrelated question remains but here it goes: Bro, were you a professional fighter? 😊

[@felixlarsson4205]

this is completely GOLD! it made everything click for me, thanks!

[@etienneduberger186]

"Think out of the box!" Bravo!

[@ConceptualVision]

Great presentation. Always happy to see when these things are presented with clarity and insight ... need more from you.

[@pillow_39]

exactly what i was needed! thank you so much for your videos!

[@Walkion]

God damn, finally someone that is explaining clearly how you make and use those trim sheets. I never found anyone really taking the time to explain that correctly before, what a shame really. Thank you so much for what you do, its really cool, i'm gonna help support you in return for that, you just made yourself a fan!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Walkion wow thanks so much for the awesome feedback, glad to serve up that hot fresh cg content for you :) appreciate the support 🔥🔥

[@bluemosquedesign]

OUTSTANDING SERIES OF DEMOS, THANKS!

[@PolygonAcademy]

thanks so much :)

[@Trait74]

Incredibly helpful tutorial, thank you!

[@SuperDeano1000]

Happy to see a number of new and great videos, Tim! Can't wait to get involved again.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Dean Stevens glad to be back at it! Thanks for tuning in again!

[@Mannaggia90]

This is awesome, can't wait to try it!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Mannaggia90 thanks, glad it helped!

[@BunnyBun11]

I created my first trim sheet with this tutorial! Thank you so much! This is an amazing tool!

[@damastine]

With this tut on Dec 22' I started remodel thinking of unwrapping and creating models from simple trim sheet. 1 texture gives many, many variations of a mesh. And for method of this tut, it's nothing extra, no digress, just essentials in a pill, easy to follow. More such vids.

[@roobeerrrtt1633]

Incredibly useful, thank you

[@3DArt4Games]

Its amazing what you can do with a trim sheet, lovely work mate!

[@elliotarmstrong615]

I have started learning environment art the last few weeks. I appreciate you explaining the reason and theory behind why its such an important skill to have. I haven't worked in the industry so memory constraints aren't an issue on my small personal projects. I will definitely learn more about trim sheets! Thanks you for sharing!

[@alextoesk4573]

Tim you are basically carrying out my videogame bachelors final project lol. Thank you again for this amazing tutorial and thank you for teaching us how the actual games are being done

[@PolygonAcademy]

Alex Toesk haha thanks for watching, glad to hear its helping you out!

[@idontknow8898]

Excellent video! Thank you!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Stephen Seress-Smith you’re welcome :)

[@olik.885]

Awesome Video! Thank you so much for sharing this valuable lesson!

[@harrysanders818]

AmaZinG! Have been waiting for this! Ultracool you did it.

[@harrysanders818]

Man, I'm so thankful for this. You basically eliminated all the uncertainties I had about the Trim sheet workflow in one video.

[@nicolashernanhoyosrodrigue4696]

Thanks for the Lesson! Great knowledge for us!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Nicolas Hernan Hoyos Rodriguez you’re welcome :)

[@alexandrevenne7]

Thanks for taking the time to do those Tim. It helps a whole lot !!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Alexandre Venne happy to hear it :) thanks for watching

[@Dianaranda123]

I really have to give this a try.

[@jod4411]

Im gonna binge learn all of your video, thanks a lot my dude

[@Neiljinn]

Wow. This is a lifesaver!!!

[@PolygonAcademy]

thanks so much :) happy to hear the tutorial helped you out!

[@AvarFeralfang]

Insanely useful stuff my man! Clear, concise & to the point I love it!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Ronald Kyle Butler cheers! I appreciate the love, thanks for watching dude!

[@PrimordialStrange]

I would like to take a moment and thank you for how helpful your tutorials have been. Thank you and good health to you sir. 👍

[@Cliamp]

Awesome, just awesome! Can't wait for your course!

[@PolygonAcademy]

cheers, I hope to have it out by summer Ideally haha. Its gonna be a big one, hours of content showing way more in depth making of and process, not just high level theory like these vids.

[@Cliamp]

@@PolygonAcademy Even better, Its really good for a self-thought artist just to catch up on what they missed. Sometimes even so simple concepts are not so obvious until somebody shows it in a similar way you do. Thanks for that, and you already have one visitor for that course! :)

[@PolygonAcademy]

@@Cliamp thanks dude!

[@LucasRodrigues-nu5qd]

Thank you very much for your time creating this content!

[@PolygonAcademy]

cheers! thanks for watching :)

[@Just__Jamieg33k]

I have only recently heard about the concept of Trim Sheets and this is mind blowing. I am very much self taught and do the whole beginner thing of unique unwrapping everything I do, sometimes sharing a UV map across several things that may not need too much detail. This will be a game changer. I can't wait to play with that.

[@PolygonAcademy]

awesome glad it helped! i have a 4 part tutorial on creating and uv'ing trim sheets on my channel if you havent seen it. I am also self taught so love to hear others going down that route as well! pays off in the end if you stick with it :) thanks for watching

[@gox9510]

I just started in the game industry... Man you just save my life, doing 100 assets per week was a real pain until i saw this video. Thank you very much!

[@Video.Game.Company]

I've been waiting for someone to make a useful in-depth tutorial on trim sheets for awhile now. This is a game changer, thank you so much Tim!

[@PolygonAcademy]

awesome, glad to hear you enjoyed it! you are super welcome!

[@alexanderpintolobo9801]

This was genuine gold! I have been struggling with this for the past week especially the UVing aspect and this helped clarify some of my issues, thank you!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Alexander Pinto Lobo glad it helped!

[@alexcarr5439]

This was so helpful! I'm just learning trim sheets - thank you so much for all the explanation, detail, and ideas!

[@apo6199]

This is real gold! I rarely see some tut talking about trim sheet. Your tut really helped a lot! Please do more like this!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Polygon thanks for the feedback, more to come ;)

[@nandoquintao]

Dude, your production quality is incredible! I am loving following your videos, man! Cheers!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Fernando Lacerda thanks! It takes a while to make a vid but glad everyone enjoys them :)

[@tyrelwooddy5443]

Absolutely love your videos man really helpful keep it up!

[@PolygonAcademy]

thanks Tyrel!

[@berca76]

almost 20 years in game industry as a 2D/3D enviro artist. I went from this type of trim texturing to unique UVs and now I'm getting back again. It's nice to refresh memory :-) Great tutorial btw. Keep up great work! ;-)

[@PolygonAcademy]

berca76 thanks! Yea its just a great tool thats relevant from the ps1 days all the way till now haha. Thanks for watching

[@hypersapien]

First time I've seen one of your videos, and you've earned my subscription. I appreciate the level of detail you go into while still keeping it concise and clear.

[@PolygonAcademy]

thanks! I appreciate it :)

[@ruslanabalakov1947]

it's so simple and brilliant. Thank you very much for the lesson. I watch it and understand how it would be possible to do with my large-sized assets.

[@icedriver2207]

This is probably the best trim sheet video I have ever seen

[@PolygonAcademy]

Icedriver thanks!

[@ArtemM3D]

Thank you, Tim!

[@PolygonAcademy]

you're welcome!

[@arthurman2594]

Thank you. Great job!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Arthur Man welcome! Thanks for watching :)

[@JoshuaReyes]

Awesome tutorial! Thanks for going so in depth on this topic, great work!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Casul Scrub my pleasure! This is essential environment art knowledge :) gotta share it out there haha

[@ispaissedano5381]

Thank you so much Tim, really nice video, pure gold.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Ispais Sedano thanks Ispais!

[@xaviernadera7187]

Awesome tutorial really help me well !! thank you!!

[@PolygonAcademy]

you're welcome, thanks for watching :)

[@achmadmuslich5671]

OH MY GOD... You did listen to our request. Love this

[@schouffy]

Thanks for the tutorial. Your explanations are crystal clear and you're so helpful.

[@PolygonAcademy]

schouffy cheers :) you’re welcome 👍

[@kirilzangagolev3401]

I can't wait for an indepth series on environments! I am trying to figure out some advanced techniques like blending designer materials, texturing buildings with tiling textures and all the techniques for texturing larger objects. It seems very hard to do with a unique unwrap and I think your series will help immensely.

[@mr_sniper8162]

Awesome as always man!!! Can't wait to watch your full AAA environment tutorial, as a self-taught environment artist your tips and videos really helps me alot. Thank you

[@PolygonAcademy]

Mr_SniPeR cheers, appreciate the love! Thanks for taking the time to watch :)

[@melodyrosepalmer3381]

You just showed me the light. Thank you so much, it's so incredible it's almost MENTAL 😮😮😮

[@anthonyr4843]

Amazing tutorial man. Been following you since your Artstation challenge. Love more content like this.

[@PolygonAcademy]

Anthony R cheers! I really appreciate it :) thanks!

[@SoraNashimi]

Really looking forward to an in depth Environment Art series.

[@PolygonAcademy]

SoraNashimi yea its gonna be fun to make, summer 2019 hopefully!

[@TimKaminski]

Thanks for putting these tutorials together, they are extremely helpful, and have a lot of eye opening tips throughout! Keep up the awesomeness :)

[@PolygonAcademy]

thanks man, I am a huge fan of your work :) always smashing that like button on artstation each time you post haha.

[@legendofpersia]

thank you so much! this can add value to props I make and sell in markets. again, thank you!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Yea you can get more done in less time which hopefully = more profit :)

[@Sha6955]

Thank you so much Tim !! This is another art/life changing tutorial from you. You have just answered so many questions I had and that were holding me back for a looong time, and you did it in 37 minutes and 13 second: you're the best!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Charlotte MacKie happy to hear that :)

[@cyd_hunter99]

So much of this video was answering questions I've had for months but could never even figure out how to ask to begin with. Thanks so much for this video!

[@PolygonAcademy]

You’re welcome :) thanks for taking the time to watch!

[@xMikomiChanx]

My god, I didn't know anything about trim sheets until today and I just completed a 4 year honours degree in games art. It was never mentioned. But I have an art test for a job due in 2 days, and they request that you use trim sheets, and I was like, use WHAT? Thank god for this video. Hopefully I can make something presentable and I don't look like a doofus ^^;; Thank you!!!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Awesome! Glad this came in handy! I have a more in depth 4 part series on my channel as well. Good luck on the art test 💪

[@xylonirgium]

I'm so happy I found your channel. As a 3d student just getting into environment art I can't wait for the Environment Art series.

[@PolygonAcademy]

thats what I like to hear! glad you are able to get some tips outta the video :) thanks for watching and taking the time to comment

[@notjaydanbhooshan93]

Thanks Tim! Ive been looking for a recent trim sheet tutorial!! Really inspired by your videos and advice!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Love seeing comments like this :) use that knowledge to become a badass artist!

[@NiteshKumar-qf2nt]

Awesome Tim & Thanks for The knowledge :)

[@PolygonAcademy]

Nitesh Kumar thanks for watching :)

[@FreakinLobstah]

Great lesson, thank you!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Lobsta you’re welcome :)

[@rancheraosborne]

I am very glad that you listen to your community, you are the best teacher I ever had. I wish you the best possible luck in your life and career because you deserve it. Thank you again.

[@PolygonAcademy]

thanks so much, that is an insanely motivating comment :)

[@MatrixRex05]

This is what I was missing. Thanks alot for this advance game environment tutorials.

[@PolygonAcademy]

You’re welcome :)

[@damiandevic1015]

Amazing tutorial man, Thank you!!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Damian Devic welcome!

[@56bobo56]

Man, you are amazing. I've learned so much from your tutorials, it's insane. Especially right now when I am applying for an env artist at game studios, this is pure gold. Thank you!

[@PolygonAcademy]

you're welcome bud! glad it helps :D

[@GorblinRat]

So useful, thanks!

[@normalweird3675]

This is the first time I've really understood what trim sheets are and how to use them, thanks for making these videos!!

[@PolygonAcademy]

you're welcome, big trim sheet 4 part series coming out this week as well showing more techniques.

[@robertmoats1890]

This is the first time I've seen one of your videos, so figured I should comment. Your videos are definitely at a professional level, yet they come across as friendly and informal. You communicate like a normal guy that's trying to teach his friends how to do something, and it works very well. Well done!

[@PolygonAcademy]

cheers dude! that was the goal so glad it comes across like that :) thanks for stopping by and watching!

[@fu_films1479]

thanks immensely for this vid, you clarified a lot of the confusion I was facing trying to understand trim sheets. The UVing aspect now makes total sense. great stuff!

[@PolygonAcademy]

FU_Films awesome to hear! Yea the uv/texture use part was confusing to me for so long

[@bandoli66]

Great video!! Thanks!

[@PolygonAcademy]

bandoli66 no problemo :) thanks for taking the time to watch and comment!

[@magnusran]

Your videos are soooo good! I need moooree

[@PolygonAcademy]

hahah thanks so much, definitely got more to come soon ;)

[@PascalAchermann]

amazing thanks so much for sharing! i have done the trim sheet directlky in Unity with the internal Polygon Modeller and UV Layout.

[@Sarapapa666]

Omg that was such a useful video!! I know it’s a bit old but the knowledge in there is still so incredibly relevant (and I think will always be). Thank you sir for making this! I’m one of these aspiring environment artists who thought you had to uniquely unwrap everything and was starting to wonder how anyone could make environments at such speed lol. I was intimidated by trim sheets but man looking at this it actually is 10 times easier and faster than actually uniquely unwrapping and texturing meshes.

[@migi847]

Thank you so much bro, this is so helpful.

[@notpumkin]

Very informative. I rarely ever used trims for stuff even tho when making maps in older engines out of bsps it was mostly the only way of doing it. Never thought it's so versatile for props. Thanks!

[@PolygonAcademy]

cheers, thanks for watching :) 4 way tiling textures are more common for texturing bsp, trims you need to manipulate the uvs to bend to do your bidding :D

[@adamplechaty]

Coming back to this video again and again just to get that trim workflow down pat! And looking forward to that vertex blending video you advertised! .)

[@PolygonAcademy]

dope! yea will be covering tiling textures and vert blending soon!

[@JavadRezaii]

What the awesome idea

[@vincentaubry3027]

Thank you very much for your videos, awesome content !

[@PolygonAcademy]

You’re welcome, thanks for watching!

[@mahen9394]

Excellent tut. Thanks Sharing

[@GLaDOSpony]

thank you so much, this was amazing!! suddenly i'm less afraid of environment art, i'd love more videos like this on quick tricks - thanks!

[@PolygonAcademy]

revoltless i love seeing feedback like this! Very happy to hear it helped you out. Ill be sure to make more vids like this soon :) thanks for watching 👍

[@mdsanima]

Awesome tutorial! Thank you so much! Keep going!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Visual Blender you’re welcome, thanks for watching :)

[@onjofilms]

Thanks man, you unloaded your years of experience here and it was extremely interesting and helpful. Thanks.

[@PolygonAcademy]

cheers! i love hearing comments like this, glad it was useful :)

[@ogarga666]

I think you don't realize how valuable these lessons are. Thank you so much!

[@PolygonAcademy]

Gabriel Garga thanks for the great feedback, makes me happy to know you are enjoying the vids :)

[@cmarkham]

Very informative dude! Thank you so much for posting these! Keep em coming!

[@PolygonAcademy]

will do, thanks for tuning in :D

[@Shpuld]

super high quality content indeed, thanks a ton for these

[@PolygonAcademy]

Cheers :) thanks for watching

[@robertshaer6603]

Awesome tutorials mate - been watching a few of yours today and really enjoy your content and the way in which you present it.

[@PolygonAcademy]

cheers! thanks so much, happy to hear that :D