This photorealistic seamless 3D PBR texture at 8K resolution captures the intricate surface of a shadowed altostratus cloud mass, characterized by its dense, layered composition typical of mid-altitude weather fronts. The material composition emulates the organic complexity of cloud layers, where fine water vapor particles act as the base substrate, suspended in a semi-transparent matrix that creates moderate volume and opacity. This natural aggregation results in soft-edged blending and subtle shadowing effects that define the cloud’s depth and layering. In PBR channels, the BaseColor/Albedo map presents balanced gray scale tones reflecting the cloud’s overcast nature, while the Normal map simulates the delicate undulations and volume variations of the cloud surface. The Roughness channel is tuned to a moderate level, replicating the diffused, matte finish typical of cloud masses, with no metallic properties indicated in the Metallic map. Ambient Occlusion enhances the perception of layered density and shadow interplay, and the Height/Displacement map further accentuates the volumetric feel by providing depth cues for parallax effects and realistic shading.
Designed for seamless tiling, this 8K texture is optimized for use in advanced 3D environments, including Blender, Unreal Engine, and Unity, where high-resolution detail and physically accurate shading are essential. The neutral lighting setup embedded in the texture ensures compatibility across various scene lighting conditions, making it ideal for environmental rendering, atmospheric simulations, and realistic sky texture replacements. The layered altostratus clouds depicted here accurately convey natural cloud evolution and dissipation patterns, bringing nuanced realism to weather-driven scenes and overcast conditions. This texture’s high fidelity and natural volume make it an excellent choice for artists and developers aiming to enhance skyboxes or volumetric cloud simulations with a credible, shadowed cloud surface.
For practical application, it is recommended to adjust the UV scale to ensure the cloud mass maintains its natural proportions without stretching, and to fine-tune roughness values depending on the desired atmospheric density—lower roughness for brighter, thinner clouds or higher for denser, shadowed formations. The Height/Displacement map can be leveraged for parallax mapping to add subtle depth and immersion in first-person or aerial views. This shadowed altostratus layered cloud surface texture combines scientific accuracy and artistic flexibility, providing a versatile solution for realistic sky environments in modern 3D workflows.
How to Use These Seamless PBR Textures in Blender
This guide shows how to connect a full PBR texture set to Principled BSDF in Blender (Cycles or Eevee). Works with any of our seamless textures free download, including PBR PNG materials for Blender / Unreal / Unity.
What’s inside the download
*_albedo.png — Base Color (sRGB)*_normal.png — Normal map (Non-Color)*_roughness.png — Roughness (Non-Color)*_metallic.png — Metallic (Non-Color)*_ao.png — Ambient Occlusion (Non-Color)*_height.png — Height / Displacement (Non-Color)*_ORM.png — Packed map (R=AO, G=Roughness, B=Metallic, Non-Color)
Quick start (Node Wrangler, 30 seconds)
- Enable the addon: Edit → Preferences → Add-ons → Node Wrangler.
- Create a material and select the Principled BSDF node.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + T and select the maps
albedo, normal, roughness, metallic (skip height and ORM for now) → Open.
The addon wires Base Color, Normal (with a Normal Map node), Roughness, and Metallic automatically.
- Add AO and Height using the “Manual wiring” steps below (5 and 6).
Manual wiring (full control)
- Create a material (Material Properties → New) and open the Shader Editor.
- Add an Image Texture node for each map. Set Color Space:
- Albedo → sRGB
- AO, Roughness, Metallic, Normal, Height, ORM → Non-Color
- Connect to Principled BSDF:
albedo → Base Colorroughness → Roughnessmetallic → Metallic (for wood this often stays near 0)normal → Normal Map node (Type: Tangent Space) → Normal of Principled.
If details look “inverted”, enable Invert Y on the Normal Map node.
- Ambient Occlusion (AO):
- Add a MixRGB (or Mix Color) node in mode Multiply.
- Input A =
albedo, Input B = ao, Factor = 1.0.
- Output of Mix → Base Color of Principled (replaces the direct albedo connection).
- Height / Displacement:
Cycles — true displacement
- Material Properties → Settings → Displacement: Displacement and Bump.
- Add a Displacement node: connect
height → Height, set Midlevel = 0.5, Scale = 0.02–0.08 (tune to taste).
- Output of Displacement → Material Output → Displacement.
- Add geometry density (e.g., Subdivision Surface) so displacement has polygons to work with.
Eevee (or lightweight Cycles) — bump only
- Add a Bump node:
height → Height.
- Set Strength = 0.2–0.5, Distance = 0.05–0.1, and connect Normal output to Principled’s Normal.
Using the packed ORM texture (optional)
Instead of separate AO/Roughness/Metallic maps you can use the single *_ORM.png:
- Add one Image Texture (Non-Color) → Separate RGB (or Separate Color).
- R (red) → AO (use it in the Multiply node with albedo as above).
- G (green) → Roughness of Principled.
- B (blue) → Metallic of Principled.
UVs & seamless tiling
- These textures are seamless. If your mesh has no UVs, go to UV Editing → Smart UV Project.
- For scale/repeat, add Texture Coordinate (UV) → Mapping and plug it into all texture nodes.
Increase Mapping → Scale (e.g., 2/2/2) to tile more densely.
Recommended starter values
- Normal Map Strength: 0.5–1.0
- Bump Strength: ~0.3
- Displacement Scale (Cycles): ~0.03
Common pitfalls
- Wrong Color Space (normals/roughness/etc. must be Non-Color).
- “Inverted” details → enable Invert Y on the Normal Map node.
- Over-strong relief → lower Displacement Scale or Bump Strength.
Example: Download Wood Textures and instantly apply parquet or rustic planks inside Blender for architectural visualization.
To add the downloaded texture, go to Add — Texture — Image Texture.
Add a node and click the Open button.
Select the required texture on your hard drive and connect Color to Base Color.
