Texel density is why one prop looks crisp and the next one looks smeared. Calculate pixels per meter, compare against a target, or work backwards to the texture size the asset actually needs. All math happens in this tab.
Forward mode: enter texture size, UV coverage, and real-world area to get the density and a target verdict. Reverse mode: enter the target density and asset size to get a power-of-two texture recommendation. A decently packed prop usually lands around 50-70% UV coverage; check with the UV grid texture.
Pixels of texture per meter of world surface. The math: an asset with surface area A m^2, textured by a RxR texture of which it uses C% of the UV space, has density R x sqrt(C) / sqrt(A) px/m. Two assets at the same density look equally sharp side by side; a mismatch reads instantly as "cheap prop next to hero prop" - even players who can't name it, see it.
| Context | Typical target | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile | 128-256 px/m | Memory floor rules everything |
| VR | 512 px/m | Heads get close to walls; blur breaks presence |
| Console/PC environment | 512-1024 px/m | 1024 the common modern baseline |
| Hero / first-person items | 2048+ px/m | It fills the screen; spend here |
| Distant/background | halve the baseline | Nobody visits the mountains |
The number matters less than everyone hitting the same number per tier. Publish the target (this page is linkable with your values in the URL - settings persist), give artists the checker texture so density mismatches show as differently-sized squares in the viewport, and audit with the asset health dashboard. When memory forces cuts, cut a whole tier together - everything drops in step, and the consistency survives the diet.
Static page; the arithmetic runs in this tab and nothing is transmitted anywhere.
The Technical Artist