Textures

• See UV coordinates in Blender for how to draw your UV coordinates
• See Model system for how to apply your texture to your game model

Overview

• png format
• Total ships assets should be no more than 10 MB
• Pick dimensions that are powers of 2. 1024 x 1024 is a safe bet for average sized models
• They do not have to be square, rectangles are fine
• Set compression to maximum
• Remove alpha channel if you aren't using it to speed up rendering
• Disable interlacing
• A texture should cover the whole model where possible, rather than using separate textures for each mesh. Except...
  • If you are using an alpha channel for transparency, make that part into a separate mesh and texture. See Transparency
• Use separate textures for diffuse, specular and glow (only diffuse is mandatory)

Recommended free software

• GIMP - raster drawing editor. Along the lines of Photoshop
• Krita - an alternative raster drawer. Often recommended for its brush system.
• Inkscape - vector drawing. If you want to draw geometric shapes, instead of freehand lines and paint smudges, you're looking for vector
• LibreCAD - 2D technical drawing package, useful for quickly sketching outlines

Materials

• See Licensing for discussion of which materials you can use
• For simplicity, just pick anything available under CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC-BYv3, PD or CC0.

License compatible

Links to resources with textures which are license compatible for inclusion with the core game.

• http://opengameart.org/textures/all
• http://www.burningwell.org/gallery2/v/textures/
• http://freegamedev.net/wiki/Free_resources
• http://www.public-domain-image.com/textures-and-patterns-public-domain-images-pictures/
• http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/ - some Public Domain, not all
• http://www.imageafter.com/
• http://www.photos-public-domain.com/category/textures-other/

License incompatible

Textures that are still free to use, but are not suitable for inclusion with the core game.

• http://www.cgtextures.com/