Baking Material to Texture in Blender

  1. Switch to Cycles Render Engine:
    Change the render engine to Cycles. You can do this in the top bar next to the “Help” menu.
  2. Create a New Image for Baking:
    In the “UV Editing” workspace, go to Image > New Image.
    Set the dimensions for the new image (e.g., 2048×2048).
    This will be the texture where the material will be baked.
  3. Assign the New Image to Material:
    In the “Materials” tab of the “Properties” panel, find the material you want to bake.
    Under the “Surface” section, click on the dot next to the “Color” field.
    Select the new image you created. This associates the material with the image.
  4. Switch to the “Shader Editor” Workspace:
    Change the workspace to “Shader Editor.”
    Here you can see the nodes that make up your material.
  5. Create a Baking Node Setup:
    Add a new “Image Texture” node and connect it to the “Surface” output.
    Set the new image as the source for the “Image Texture” node.
  6. Switch to “Render” Tab:
    Go to the “Render” tab in the “Properties” panel.
  7. Bake the Material:
    Scroll down to the “Bake” section.
    Select “Diffuse” or “Combined” depending on your material.
    Click on the “Bake” button.
  8. Save the Baked Texture:
    After baking, save the baked texture image (Image > Save As Image).
  9. Export the 3D Model as .DAE:
    Go back to the “Layout” workspace.
    Export the 3D model as a .DAE file (File > Export > Collada (.dae)).