Choose between Poly Haven, ambientCG and Locker3d by the files and workflow your scene needs. Poly Haven and ambientCG publish source assets. Locker3d organizes surface materials and offers selected starters with documented source credit, direct downloads and Blender demonstrations. A material appearing here may come from one of those source libraries; the credit on its page tells you which.
This comparison uses three materials we downloaded, decoded and opened in Blender. The checks apply to those files and demonstrations. They do not establish which provider has the best entire library, and they do not validate every historical download in the Locker3d catalog.
What to check on each site
| Library | What you can look for | Example examined here | Licence information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poly Haven | Textures, HDRIs and models. Inspect the selected asset's download menu for maps and formats. | Worn Planks and Medieval Blocks 05, using official 1K image exports. | CC0 asset licence; webpage copy and example renders have separate terms. |
| ambientCG | Several asset types, including PBR materials, HDRIs and models. A plain photo texture is a different type from a PBR material. | Cardboard 001, using three PNG maps selected from its official 1K bundle. | CC0-1.0 asset licence, including the provider's material preview renders. |
| Locker3d | Surface categories, setup guides and selected checked downloads. Inspect each material page for the actual files and source. | The three starters below: maps ZIP, our packed Blender demo and an embedded GLB. | Source credit and licence are shown on the checked pages. Community submissions can carry different licences. |
Three files you can inspect now
Each starter below has three 1024 × 1024 maps: base color, OpenGL normal and roughness. The ZIP contains those images plus notes and source metadata. The Blender scene and GLB are separate downloads. These are selected starters, so the contents may differ from the complete upstream archive or a historical Drive folder.
Worn Planks
Original texture: Dimitrios Savva / Poly Haven. Maps ZIP: 7.4 MiB. Source tile: 1.4 × 1.4 m.
Open checked starterMedieval Blocks 05
Original texture: Rob Tuytel / Poly Haven. Maps ZIP: 4.5 MiB. Source tile: 2 × 2 m.
Open checked starterCardboard 001
Original texture: ambientCG. Maps ZIP: 7.1 MiB. Physical tile size unspecified.
Open checked starterMap names and scale are practical differences
In these Poly Haven exports, the color filenames use diff, the OpenGL normals use nor_gl and roughness uses rough. Cardboard 001 uses Color, NormalGL and Roughness. Confirm the role before connecting or renaming a file. A filename containing NormalDX is not the same normal convention as the supplied OpenGL map.
Our Blender demos connect base color as sRGB, roughness as Non-Color, and the Non-Color OpenGL normal through a Tangent-space Normal Map node. Metallic is 0. Follow the checked Blender setup to inspect those connections in an actual scene, or use the Spanish walkthrough.
The source records a 1.4 × 1.4 m tile for Worn Planks and 2 × 2 m for Medieval Blocks 05. Their individual demos use three repeats over 4.2 m and 6 m respectively. Cardboard 001 specifies no physical tile size, so its demonstration UVs are illustrative. A shared sphere size in a preview does not make the underlying surfaces equally scaled.
Keep the source with the download
Both providers' linked licence pages identify their assets as CC0 and allow commercial use without mandatory attribution. Keep the selected asset URL and licence notice beside your files so another artist can trace the source. Check the terms attached to other kinds of content: Poly Haven's page explicitly distinguishes its downloadable assets from website text and example renders, while ambientCG includes material previews in its asset licence.
Locker3d made the demonstration scenes and the renders shown here. The underlying textures remain credited to Dimitrios Savva / Poly Haven, Rob Tuytel / Poly Haven and ambientCG. For a community upload, read its displayed licence instead of assuming it follows the checked examples.
Choose a download for the next step
Choose the maps ZIP when you want to wire the shader yourself. Open our packed Blender demo to inspect its nodes, UVs and lighting. Use the embedded GLB when you want the demonstration geometry and images in one file. We reopened the demos and reimported the GLBs in Blender 5.0; other engines and versions were not verified in these checks.
All three starters are 1K. Higher-resolution source downloads and their contents vary by asset; inspect the provider's download menu. Use the texture budget calculator to compare memory and repeats, and the seamless checker to inspect visible repetition before increasing resolution.
Keep the creator, source URL, exact licence and supplied notices with your files using the Texture Source Notes builder. Export a SOURCES.txt record before leaving the page.
Frequently asked questions
Are Poly Haven, ambientCG and Locker3d the same source library?
No. Poly Haven and ambientCG publish their own source catalogs. Locker3d organizes materials and provides selected checked starters. The examples here identify their original providers and creators.
Can I use these checked textures commercially?
The source materials used in these three starters are published under CC0. The material pages include source and licence links. Check the displayed licence for a different file or a community submission.
Why do the 1K ZIP sizes differ?
Equal pixel dimensions do not imply equal file sizes. These starters contain different image data and file encodings: the two Poly Haven starters use JPEG base color and PNG normal and roughness, while the cardboard starter uses three PNG maps.
Will the GLB look exactly like the Blender render?
The supplied GLBs embed their demonstration geometry and images. Their final appearance depends on the lighting, renderer and color management where you open them. The checks here used Blender 5.0.