Introducing TexGraph: Procedural texture generation tool
Hello, this is the second time I come here, in the last 3 and a half years I has been investigating about developing authoring tools for textures, you may remember me from this old post https://polycount.com/discussion/164237/a-new-mesh-painting-tool-wip . Anyway, things evolved and I'm here to talk you about TexGraph, the tool where previous projects converged.
TexGraph is a procedural texture generation tool that let you create textures by connecting nodes in a graph. It is designed to be similar to other tools in the market but at the same time very simple and easy to use and extent by users. Take a look at the video and examples in itch.io page.
FREE DOWNLOAD FROM ITCH.IO HERE: https://galloscript.itch.io/texgraph
It’s main characteristic is that it works entirely on the GPU so the textures are generated in real-time even in production resolutions, depending on your GPU of course. TexGraph will automatically schedule the operations based on your GPU performance to prevent blocking the interaction with the interface.
This tool is implemented from scratch to be very thrifty with your system resources, the executable occupies just 1.12 MB in your disk (entire app with assets is ~122MB), and the memory used for operations should be less than 100MB of Ram while editing a regular graph.
What can TexGraph do?
Generate textures from a base noise, pattern or 2D geometry and apply operations by connecting nodes until you get the material you want.
Preview the result in a PBR viewport, it follows the UE4 metalness/roughness model, but the shader and channels can be customized to use other models.
Export the textures as PNG or TGA.
Save your graph as lightweight open format JSON file.
Create your own nodes with custom properties and shaders also in an open format JSON file.
Change the working resolution at any time to preview or edit your work in up to 4k.
Node editor features:
Multiselect by node or by dragging area to move or delete nodes,
Copy & Paste nodes,
- Undo / Redo is supported for all modifications in nodes properties and graph.
What is planned for the Future?
Import your own Meshes and Environment maps, actually you can copy and configure it manually in the application directory.
Export textures dialog to simplify the workflow.
Node Gallery and reference guide.
More built-in models for the PBR viewport.
More nodes …
Current Status
TexGraph 0.3.0 is in Beta stage, even tho, it is crafted with stability in mind. It requires a graphic card with OpenGL 4.3 support and still needs to be tested on most GPUs in the market, so depending on your graphic card the app will not run or viewport will not display correctly. It also have just a bunch of nodes to start, users can create their own nodes and collaborate by uploading to the public TexGraph repository, but more nodes are needed to be a productive tool.
I will publish more posts with future versions, any feedback is appreciated, thanks.
Replies
I think a lot of people out there who are upset about Substance Designer being bought by Adobe will be very interested in this as an alternative. You should promote it on 80.lv