In this Vectorworks tutorial, Brandon PT Davis—Theatrical Scenic Designer—introduces the basics of Renderworks Textures, a vital part of creating realistic 3D scenic models. Whether you’re building architectural scenery, props, or detailed surfaces, textures give life to your designs.

The tutorial begins by distinguishing between OpenGL (now known as Shaded in newer versions) and Final Quality Renderworks, explaining how different rendering modes affect texture appearance and performance. Brandon demonstrates how to apply textures to 3D objects and modify how they are mapped using the Object Info Palette, including:

• Map Types: Plane, Auto-align Plane, Sphere, Cylinder, and Perimeter

• Scale, Offset, and Rotation: Adjust to fit texture images to the object accurately

• Face-Specific Texturing: Apply different textures to individual faces of a 3D shape

Brandon then dives into editing built-in textures by accessing the Resource Manager:

• Modify parameters like color shaders, reflectivity, transparency, and bump maps

• See how changes like mirror reflectivity and blurriness impact light behavior on surfaces

• Learn how increasing bump values adds surface depth without additional modeling

He also walks through creating a custom texture using an imported image file (e.g., marble), and adjusts its reflectivity and scale to create a polished, believable surface. Spotlight lighting is introduced to emphasize how materials behave under different conditions.

Pro Tips:

• Use Final Quality Renderworks for presentations

• Use Shaded/OpenGL for modeling speed

• Keep bump and reflectivity subtle for realism

• Always test textures under lighting conditions

This is a foundational walkthrough for designers ready to add visual depth to their 3D Vectorworks models.