tolgaarslan

Most 3D software has third-party library plugins, but I noticed Unreal Engine lacked something similar. So, I decided to create one using my own assets! The library will continue to grow over time, making it easier for developers to access high-quality materials directly within Unreal Engine 5.

The library will continue to grow over time because I still creating new assets for my library. Also I want to add some features like bookmarks, 3D model support (250 models).

I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for other features to add. What would make this tool even more useful for you?

Hello HN,

I’m Tolga, one of the creators behind ShareTextures. Since 2018, my wife and I, have been dedicating our time to creating and sharing high-quality PBR textures and 3D models for free. What started as a passion project has grown into a community-supported platform that has enabled countless artists, game developers, and 3D enthusiasts to bring their projects to life.

Why Free? We believe in the power of accessibility and sharing. Back in 2018, we noticed a lack of freely available, high-quality materials. Our mission has been to fill that gap, and thanks to our patrons, we’ve been able to continue this work. We’re proud to have provided resources that have made a difference for so many in the creative industry.

What We’ve Achieved: Over 5 years of continuous content creation. A growing community of supporters who share our vision. A wide range of assets, from high-quality textures to more specialized models, available to everyone.

What’s Next? We’re not stopping here. Our focus now is on expanding our library with even more scanned assets, improving the quality of our existing collections, and exploring new ways to support the community. We’re also open to collaborations and always eager to hear from fellow creators.

If you’re interested in joining us or have any ideas, feel free to drop by our Discord or connect with us through our website. Let’s keep the spirit of creativity and sharing alive!

Thank you for your support and for making this journey so rewarding. We’re excited about what the future holds and look forward to continuing this adventure with all of you.

Love & Respect

Thanks for the explanation. I don't need to add anything to this reply :)

I also want to add; It's not like selling a physical product. Digital products usually need to be edited to fit your design. Person A still paid because they will always have customers who like their style & creations. We are not creating and sharing "Kitbash or Evermotion" level assets. These works require thousands of work hours and it's impossible to live sharing them free.

Yes, much open-source software is free, enabling more people to use and contribute to it. Paid options might offer extra perks. Personally, I appreciate the accessibility and collaborative spirit of open-source software. It fosters innovation and community involvement, which I value. For example, if you check ArtStation's or Unreal Engine's Learning sections, you will see free tutorials from real experts. This exemplifies the power of the internet.

That Virtual Room can easily created with Unreal Engine. I believe you can find some ready environments like this on Unreal Engine Marketplace.

I'm not planning to share them because they are so complicated and need to be edited and standardized one by one. I'm focused on creating scanned assets right now.

Even Adobe has a free platform. That's all I wanted to say

Polyhaven creates textures using only photogrammetry(scan). It's doubling their quality also, equipment, and human resources. I'm adding some scanned textures too but it's not my main focus.

Sorry to hear that. We don't have a developer on the team. Lennart (from AmbientCG) has great skills in development, and he perfected their website. We're hiring freelancers to update our website, but with limited resources. Still, we're always looking for ways to improve our website for our users.

We understand your concern, but we believe in the power of sharing and accessibility. We aim to support the community by offering free materials and 3D models. Our creations are simply tools to aid talented artists in creating their main products.There are unlimited options to create a digital asset. (style, design, year, condition, etc.) We can't create all of them.

Come to our discord and say hi. I'll love to discuss the idea

You can find our assets on BlenderKit.

My wife and I have been architects since 2013, and back in 2018, it was almost impossible to find high-quality free materials. Polyhaven (formerly Texture Haven) and AmbientCG (CC0Textures) mainly focused on more natural assets. We decided to give it a try, and within just two weeks, we reached 100 patrons. So, ShareTextures is funded by the patrons, and as a result of this support, we continue creating.

We have our website because we want to provide some advantages to our patrons. Additionally, it helps us promote our supporters, partners, etc.

Thanks. Substance Designer, Substance Painter, Metashape, Blender, Marmoset. We are mainly using these softwares. For the atlases we are using Details Capture from VFX Grace

I'm also working on Unreal Engine and creating my assets Unreal Engine Material versions on that. I'm hearing too much about Godot and I hope, I can find a way to make a game using my own assets.

IF you want to make it high-quality, there is a technic called photogrammetry. You need to take hundreds of photos under same light, without shadow or reflection. Then you create the 3D model of the facade using photogrammetry software like metashape or realitycapture. After you have the 3D model, you need to transfer 3D data to 2D texture. It's called baking. After baking is done you endup with basecolor(diffuse/color), height(displacement), normal and ao(ambient occlusion) maps.

If you are looking for a basic way, just take one clean photo(without visible shadows or reflections) There is method called Bitmap to material. Basically, you grayscale your image and using that grayscale data to create other maps like bump, roughness height etc. If you've experience in that area you can make them in Photoshop. Adobe Substance Sample(Substance Alchemist) has great abilities to generate using that method + AI.

To clear reflections you need circular polarization filters. You can also use cross-polarization method to clear all unwanted reflections. But It require addinational light source and linear polarization filter.

You can also use 3dassets.one It let's you search 3D assets based on the license or creator.

Atlases are a set of small elements grouped together in one asset. It's usually used for trees and terrain objects.

I've been creating for 6 years and adding new assets every couple of days. There are several technic to make them. You need a computer indeed but some creation methods don't require a camera. You can generate textures procedurally using software.