Brick and wall textures decide whether an exterior still looks like a building or like a box with a photo glued on. Brick has a module. Plaster has a grain. Mortar has a width. If those numbers are wrong, no amount of greenery will save the facade.

Brick modules and mortar

Start from a real brick. Many running-bond bricks sit near 6.5 × 21.5 cm plus a 1 cm joint—confirm the region you are matching. Albedo must show brick color and mortar color as surface colors, not as a sunlit photo. Roughness is usually higher in mortar. The normal map is the joint depth. Metalness stays 0. Pull a PBR set from Locker3d wall textures (CC0: what you can do) instead of a single JPEG. Count brick courses between slab lines; if you only fit four courses in a 3 m story, the scale is fantasy.

Stone and rubble walls

Rubble and stacked stone need irregular modules. Use stone when the wall is not brick. Keep unit sizes in a range a mason could lift. A normal map with deep voids helps; a height map is optional for hero gates. Mix a little ground dust at the plinth so the wall meets the site. Do not tile a 1 m rubble pattern across a 40 m elevation without openings or buttresses.

Plaster and painted facades

Smooth render is still a PBR material: albedo in a believable paint range, roughness high enough to avoid plastic, a subtle normal for orange-peel or trowel. Hairline cracks belong in normal and roughness, not as black marker lines in albedo. Painted brick (limewash) is a dielectric layer on brick—keep metalness at 0 and let roughness show the remaining grit. Pair calm plaster with concrete bases or metal flashings so the elevation has a material hierarchy.

Exterior scale and camera distance

Street cameras forgive 2K tiles if the module is right. Hero entrance cameras need denser texels or a second unique trim. Mipmapping will hide 8K on a distant block, so do not “future-proof” every wall at 8K. Match neighboring floor terraces and steps so grout and brick do not fight. Map roles: PBR textures guide.

Breaking repetition

  • Place windows, downpipes, and shadows before you blame the texture.
  • Offset UVs per wing, not per brick (random per-brick UV is chaos).
  • Add a soft dirt multiply in mortar only.
  • Change roughness more than albedo when you want “age.”

Free CC0 walls on Locker3d

Browse wall and stone for masonry, plus wood cladding. Blender setup: how to apply PBR textures in Blender. Beginners: PBR textures for beginners. More facade notes: blog.

Frequently asked questions

What size should a brick be in a PBR wall texture?

A common modular brick face is about 6–7 cm tall and 21–24 cm long, plus mortar. If bricks look like tiles the size of windows, shrink UVs. Count courses between floor levels as a check.

How do I stop brick walls from looking like a repeating stamp?

Use a real module, hide repeats with openings and shadows, vary roughness slightly, and avoid a camera that stares flat at a huge blank wall. A second dirt layer in mortar helps more than a new 8K download.

Are Locker3d wall textures CC0 for commercial exteriors?

Yes. Locker3d wall and related stone or concrete packs are CC0. You can use them in client facades and games without attribution.