How to prepare pebble and small rock samples for rendering

What to upload

A swatch of the stones spread on the ground: a close, evenly lit image of the layer from above. Renders lay them where the ground is in your scene, such as a bed, a border or a dry creek, each stone a solid with its own shape: rounded or angular as your sample is, catching the light on top and casting a small shadow where it rests.

Pebbles aren't repeated into a tile. Renders vary the stones in color, size and shape the way your sample does, so no patch repeats in a visible grid.

A lifestyle image of the stones laid is optional. It shows renders how they behave in real light, and nothing else in it is copied.

The ideal sample

A patch of the real layer, as it lies once spread.

• One layer of stones filling the frame, with no bag, tray or edging showing.
• Close enough to see each stone's shape, wide enough to show a dozen or more.
• From straight above.
• Soft, even light, so each stone's shape shows without black gaps between them.
• Dry, unless you sell them for a polished or wet look. Wet river rock is darker and glossier than what arrives.
• True color, with no filter or edit.

Measurements

One number sets the scale: how big a stone is, read against the steps, edging and plants in the scene.

• Width, in inches: a typical stone, across.
• Sold as a range, such as 1 to 3 inches? Enter the middle: 2.
• Left blank, a stone is drawn about 1.5 inches across.
• Height and depth aren't used for pebbles, and nor is the pattern repeat.

Before you save

Check each sample:

• One layer filling the frame, each stone's shape clear.
• Straight from above, soft light, dry.
• The typical mix of sizes and colors, true color.
• Stone size entered, in inches.
• JPEG, PNG or WebP, 4.5 MB or less.