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title: "Textures"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/PHX4MAX/124394618/Textures"
format: markdown
---
This section covers Chaos Phoenix textures.

## **Overview**

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Phoenix provides several textures for use in simulations and rendering, which can be created from the Material Editor in 3ds Max.

 

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UI Path: ||Material Editor window|| > **Material/Map Browser** > **Maps** > **PhoenixFD**


## **Grid Texture**

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The [Grid Texture](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAX/pages/125278859) reads from the simulation’s **Grid Channels** to generate a procedural texture, which can then be used to shade the simulation wherever colors are needed.

The Grid Texture can be used with the **volume shader** to color or modulate the opacity of [Fire](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAX/pages/124629510) and [Smoke](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAX/pages/125056277), using any of the supported Grid Channels (Smoke, Speed, RGB, etc.).

It can also be plugged into the texture slots of a material, and used to shade the meshes of simulated liquids that were exported with an **RGB Grid Channel**. In addition, it can be used as a blending mask, where the grid texture can read the RGB color of a simulator, which can then be used as a blending factor between two different materials.


## **Water Textures**

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Water textures are used with water effects to make them look more realistic.

- [Ocean Texture](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAX/pages/125310953) - A realistic, non-cyclic procedural texture for representing an ocean surface.
- [Foam Texture](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAX/pages/124659621) - Used with the Ocean Texture to create the effect of foam on cresting waves.

> Macro (ui-text-box)
> 
> Note that you can also use a [Particle Shader](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAX/pages/124627003) to shade foam.

## **Particle Texture**

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The [Particle Texture](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAX/pages/124395136) can be used to read particles and color their positions.

When used to read **WetMap** **particles**, the Particle Texture can help to emulate wet surfaces. This is because it can act as a mask to blend between two materials, for example, a wet material and a dry surface material. As a result, geometry covered by WetMap particles can appear wet, and the rest of the geometry can appear dry.

The Particle Texture can also shade a **Particle’s color** based on its **Age** or **Speed**, so that you can change the Particle’s color over time, based on the behavior of those Particle Channels.

The Particle Texture can even be used as a **[Surface Channel texture](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAX/pages/124662515/Liquid+Rendering#SurfChannel)** to turn the particles into a** 3D mesh**, which creates additional flexibility for shading particles to achieve more advanced effects.