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title: "Textures"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/PHX4MAYA/125862209/Textures"
format: markdown
---
This page contains information about Chaos Phoenix textures.

## **Overview**

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Phoenix provides several textures for use in simulations and rendering, which can be created from the Hypershade window in Maya.


## **Grid Textures**

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The [Grid Texture](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125731978) 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/PHX4MAYA/pages/125996126) and [Smoke](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125637963), 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.

> Macro (ui-text-box)
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> Note that the [Grid Texture 2D](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125699552) is a simplified version of the Grid Texture.

## **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/PHX4MAYA/pages/125961067) - A realistic, non-cyclic procedural texture for representing an ocean surface.
- [Foam Texture](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125764787) - 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/PHX4MAYA/pages/125830144) to shade foam.

## **Particle Texture**

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The [Particle Texture](https://docs-chaos.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PHX4MAYA/pages/125961145) 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/PHX4MAYA/pages/126255727/Rendering#Surface) to turn the particles into a **3D mesh**, which creates additional flexibility for shading particles to achieve more advanced effects.