Last week was really full of hard work for us. The response to Smashing Texture Contest was impressive and overwhelming. We have received over 740 e-mails from over 600 participants, resulting in far more than 2000 photos. The result, however, is not just literally zillion of textures, but truly brilliant textures you can use in your private and professional projects for free. Thanks to all participants — without Smashing readers this texture gallery wouldn’t be possible.

What came out of it?

A variety of interesting, exotic or creative textures from all around the globe. Wood, stone, metal, nature, ice, sand, fabric, paper, glass, fire, food and plastic textures. A large number of daily routine things observed from a completely new perspective.

This one is going to be big. Smashing Magazine’s readers have created a quite smashing texture gallery:

• Wood, Bark
• Stone, Walls, Brick
• Metal, Rust, Industrial
• Nature, Flowers, Plants
• Water, Ice, Drops, Liquids
• Sand, Earth
• Fabric
• Paper
• Glass
• Fire, Ashes
• Food
• Plastic
• Misc

Some entries couldn’t be processed, for instance because no name was provided, no files have been attached or empty files have been sent. Entries without descriptions or files had pretty bad chances of getting published in the textures gallery.

What can you do with it?

You can use all textures we present in the gallery for both private and commercial projects for free, without any restrictions whatsoever. However, you are not allowed to offer these files for download; please respect the interestes of over 300 participants of our contest. Please also consider the license information attached to the .zip-archives you download from our server. When it comes to usage of textures, different photographers may have different opinions and intentions.

Since we have received numerous textures, it was just impossible to present all of them in one post. It would also be unfair to present only few of them. Therefore we have categorized all entries and sorted them in 12 categories. It took some time but the result is quite impressive.

Smashing texture photographer at work: photo by Lucia Vega Miranda

The file size of .zip-archives is between 1 and 15 Mb (depending on image resolution) which makes over 700 Mb space storage. This is also a reason why we have decided to not offer all textures in one single archive. It is very likely that due to huge amount of data and manual work some links contain errors — please inform us about them. And sorry for inconvenience.

Winner

Finally, probably the most important information. The winner of Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens was determined randomly from all valid entries we’ve received. The winner is not related to Smashing Magazine in any way.

And the winner is… Linda Estes. Congratulatons, Linda! We should have already contacted you.

Editors’s Pick - 30 Brilliant Textures

Haris Ferizovic Beach towels. This photo was taken last summer at Croatian coast in city of Orebic. Download

Daniel Hosie This photograph is of a interesting wood pole in Frankenmuth Michigan. Download

Zilda Borges Collage of torn paper. Download

Paul Weingartz Light trails Download

Ljubica Rapaic Macro of a dandelion. The shot was taken with Canon EOS 400D / Canon EF-S18-55mm. Download

Andronicus Riyono A beautiful piece of Indonesian Batik. Download

Paulo Ordoveza This is a closeup of a Barong Tagalog, the formal national costume of the Philippines. The barong is a thin, transparent overlayer made from a sheer mesh of pineapple-based fibers, embroidered with elegant designs, usually leafy plants and ethnic patterns. I wore this particular barong for my wedding, one year ago this June. Download

Istvan Vasil Download

Anees When we went to a trip in coonoor, karnataka we visited a fancy store. The shot is an inside view of a lamp shade which was hanging there. Download

Tom Karels & Ryan Beals Download

Olivia Kjellander Hook Download

Michael Smith The inside of an old Adidas sandal. Download

Ng Ay Hoon a.k.a Jas This photo is took in my house’s garden. It is a table with chess board textures. Download

Kyle Gillen Well, sometimes inspiration is just at your fingertips Download

Mariella Johns Smith The palm of a hand. Download

Priscilla Louzada de Sena Metal gate written by lots of young people. Download

Tiago Hillesheim Roof of British Museum, in London. Download

Angelie Baral Lights above an escalator in Paris Download

Toh Photo of a young banana leaf taken in Martinique Download

Krissy Bertram Picture of spiked punch, blue berries and strawberries Download

Bogdan Günther Download

Jim Ferguson This image is of a rusted out tank at an abandoned mill. Download

Jenn Rodriguez Rusty car on the beach at Fort Funson, San Francisco. Download

Angelie Baral Detail of a redwood sawed section Download

Mihaela Stoica Water in an aluminium pot. Download

Ljubica Rapaic I was working on a design projects with some ink and watercolors, and I took photos of a glass with water in which I washed my brushes. The shot was taken with Canon EOS 400D / Canon EF-S18-55mm. Download

Jonas Ersland A shocking-red container-ship. Download

Craig Sefton Cracking Download

Maria Davydenko Dangar Island sandstone Download

Jamie Winder Taken in Bangkok, Thailand with a 7.2MP Sony Cybershot. Depicts old oil cans, left in an alley. Download