Plain Cardboard | Free PBR free download

. Formats: PNG . Free for personal & commercial use.

Preview — Plain Cardboard | Free PBR

IDplain-cardboard-free-pbr
Paper
PNG
Size1k (1024x1024px), 2k (2048x2048px), 4k (4096x4096px), 8k (8192x8192px)
sRGB

This high-quality seamless PBR texture accurately represents plain cardboard, a natural and organic material primarily composed of cellulose fibers derived from wood pulp. These fibrous elements are intricately bonded with starch-based adhesives, creating a sturdy yet lightweight substrate. The texture captures the subtle grain orientation and inherent porosity of the cardboard surface, revealing microfibers and tiny air pockets that contribute to its characteristic roughness and slight matte finish. Its untreated surface exhibits a warm, natural brown hue from unbleached fibers, with realistic variations in tone caused by uneven pigment distribution and minor weathering effects such as gentle creases and worn edges, all of which enhance the organic authenticity of the material.

In terms of PBR channels, the BaseColor (Albedo) map reflects the earthy, raw colors and natural color variation typical of untreated cardboard. The Normal map emphasizes the fine fibrous texture and subtle embossing created during manufacturing, giving depth to the surface details. The Roughness map highlights the matte, non-reflective quality of the substrate, showcasing diffuse light scattering with minimal glossiness, while the Metallic channel remains black, consistent with cardboard’s non-metallic nature. The Ambient Occlusion map enhances depth perception by accentuating crevices and fiber clusters, and the Height (Displacement) map captures the slight relief and layering of paper fibers, adding realism when used with parallax or tessellation effects.

Rendered at resolutions up to 8K, this texture is optimized for seamless integration in Blender, Unreal Engine, and Unity, ensuring crisp and detailed visuals even at close range. For practical application, adjusting the UV scale to match the typical dimensions of cardboard sheets significantly improves realism. Additionally, fine-tuning the roughness parameter can simulate various cardboard finishes, from raw and untreated to lightly coated surfaces, allowing for versatile use across packaging designs, product mockups, or environmental assets requiring authentic organic material representation.

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)

  1. Enable the addon: Edit → Preferences → Add-ons → Node Wrangler.
  2. Create a material and select the Principled BSDF node.
  3. 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.
  4. Add AO and Height using the “Manual wiring” steps below (5 and 6).

Manual wiring (full control)

  1. Create a material (Material Properties → New) and open the Shader Editor.
  2. Add an Image Texture node for each map. Set Color Space:
    • AlbedosRGB
    • AO, Roughness, Metallic, Normal, Height, ORMNon-Color
  3. Connect to Principled BSDF:
    • albedoBase Color
    • roughnessRoughness
    • metallicMetallic (for wood this often stays near 0)
    • normalNormal Map node (Type: Tangent Space) → Normal of Principled. If details look “inverted”, enable Invert Y on the Normal Map node.
  4. 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).
  5. Height / Displacement:
    Cycles — true displacement
    1. Material Properties → SettingsDisplacement: Displacement and Bump.
    2. Add a Displacement node: connect heightHeight, set Midlevel = 0.5, Scale = 0.02–0.08 (tune to taste).
    3. Output of Displacement → Material Output → Displacement.
    4. Add geometry density (e.g., Subdivision Surface) so displacement has polygons to work with.
    Eevee (or lightweight Cycles) — bump only
    1. Add a Bump node: heightHeight.
    2. 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:

  1. Add one Image Texture (Non-Color) → Separate RGB (or Separate Color).
  2. R (red) → AO (use it in the Multiply node with albedo as above).
  3. G (green) → Roughness of Principled.
  4. B (blue) → Metallic of Principled.

UVs & seamless tiling

  1. These textures are seamless. If your mesh has no UVs, go to UV EditingSmart UV Project.
  2. 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.


AITEXTURED Tools

Build, preview, and export seamless PBR materials. Generate full map sets from a single image, inspect them in a real-time WebGL viewer, and re-package maps for Unreal, Unity, and Blender—directly in your browser.