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I'm currently testing out Unity 3D and one of the things I can not figure out, is how to create textures that are what I would describe as "Soft Gradient".

Here is an image of what I would describe the textures as "Soft Gradient" enter image description here If you look at the top of the hexagons (the grass). you can see that its not just one color, its a texture that is a "Soft Gradient".

Currently, this is what I have, enter image description here

Does anyone have tips or can help my understand how to make my hexagon pillars look similar to the ones in the picture?

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The gradients in the screenshot provided are probably not achieved by texturing in a different manner. It appears that the scene in the screenshot is making use of Global Illumination. This results in soft ambient shadows (Ambient Occlusion) where there are dense clusters of trees, holes, crevices, corners, etc. This is due to less ambient light being able to reach/escape these areas. If you happen to be using them, both Unity and Unreal have built-in GI options.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ So, you are saying the materials on those objects are most likely one solid color, then with the correct lighting it will render as if it had the texture? Looking at the tiles that don't have trees, the grass seems to still have light spots and dark spots. Does Global Illumination cause this? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jan 28, 2019 at 5:31
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    \$\begingroup\$ @GaryHoliday I do not spot any areas on the grass that seem to have a color variation that isn't from lighting. So yes, I believe with the correct lighting setup you'll see a similar image. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jan 28, 2019 at 5:43
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    \$\begingroup\$ @GaryHoliday note that the grass surface isn't flat — it's slightly wavy, so that means the light is hitting different parts at sharper or more glancing angles, which also produces variation in brightness. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jan 28, 2019 at 13:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ @DMGregory What about the dirt pillars? Those seem to be flat, but yet are not one solid color. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jan 28, 2019 at 16:24
  • \$\begingroup\$ I can't tell if it's JPEG compression artifacts, or if they have a subtle noise texture on them, spread over a wide area so there's not much high-frequency detail. It's worth a try if you find it improves the look. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jan 28, 2019 at 16:33

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