Edit Texture Tool
The Edit Texture tool lets you see the output of a texture operator directly in the viewport. Many operator parameters can be driven by a texture map - where hair grows, how strong an effect is, how long strands are - and this tool shows you exactly what a map looks like on the surface the hair grows from.
Visualizing a texture
Select a texture operator - a Texture Image operator loaded from a file, or a procedural Noise Texture operator - and the Edit Texture tool activates automatically, switching the viewport to the texture visualization mode: only the distribution mesh is displayed, with the selected texture shown on it. The Tool Properties panel also shows the texture itself as a flat image. Both update live as the texture changes, so tuning a procedural texture's parameters gives immediate feedback on the surface the hair grows from.
Selecting another texture operator retargets the visualization to it, and selecting any other operator (or another tool) returns the viewport to the normal display.
Related
- Paint Texture Tool - paint on texture maps directly in the viewport.
- Editing Operator Properties - assign a map to an operator parameter.
- Generate Strand Data Operator - turn a map into a strand channel.