Making Roblox Decals: What Most People Get Wrong About Custom Textures

You've probably seen those hyper-realistic cafe walls or the weirdly specific memes plastered on billboards in Bloxburg and wondered how they got there. It’s not magic. Honestly, figuring out how to make Roblox decal files is one of those things that seems intimidating until you realize it’s basically just uploading a picture to the internet. But there's a catch. If you mess up the dimensions or accidentally trigger the moderation bots, your account could end up with a warning faster than you can say "Oof."

Most players think you need a degree in Photoshop to make something look decent. You don't. Whether you're trying to add a family photo to your virtual house or create custom UI elements for a game you're developing, the process is surprisingly straightforward if you follow the right workflow.

The Reality of How to Make Roblox Decal Assets Without Getting Banned

Roblox is notoriously strict. Because the platform is built for kids, their automated moderation system is like a hawk on caffeine. If you try to upload a decal with a QR code, a Discord link, or even a slightly "suggestive" anime face, it's going to get nuked.

The first thing you need to do is pick your image. If you’re making it from scratch, use something like Canva, Photopea (which is basically free web-based Photoshop), or even MS Paint if you're feeling old-school. Just keep the file size under 20MB. Roblox prefers PNG, JPG, TGA, or BMP. Seriously, stick to PNG if you want transparency. If you want a circular logo but upload a JPG, you’re going to have a white box around your art, and it'll look amateur.

Dimensions and Pixels Matter

Don't overthink the resolution. Roblox scales everything down anyway. A standard 1024x1024 pixels is the sweet spot. If you go much higher, you're just wasting bandwidth; if you go lower, like 256x256, it might look like a pixelated mess on a large wall.

Step-by-Step: From Your Desktop to the Creator Dashboard

Things changed recently with the "Creator Hub" update. It used to be that you went to the "Develop" tab on the main site, but now everything lives in a separate ecosystem.

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1. Head over to the Roblox Creator Dashboard. You can find this at create.roblox.com.
2. Look at the left-hand sidebar. You’ll see a tab labeled Development Items. Click that.
3. Click on Decals.
4. Hit the big Upload Asset button.
5. This is where you pick your file. Give it a name that isn't "image123." Moderation actually looks at the names too. If you name a decal "Scary Ghost," it’s more likely to pass than something labeled with a string of random numbers that looks like a hidden code.
6. Click Upload.

Now, you wait. It usually takes anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours for the moderators (and their AI) to approve it. While it’s pending, you’ll see a little clock icon or a "N/A" image. Don't panic. It's just in the waiting room.

Why Your Decal ID Isn't Working

This is the part that trips everyone up. You upload the image, you see it in your inventory, you grab the ID from the URL, paste it into Roblox Studio, and... nothing. The part stays gray.

Here is the secret: The Decal ID and the Image ID are two different things.

When you upload a decal, Roblox creates a "Decal" object which contains the actual image asset. If you use the Decal ID on a part in Studio, it usually works because Studio is smart enough to convert it. But if you’re using it in a script or a specific game GUI, you need the Image ID.

To get the real Image ID, go to your inventory in the Creator Hub, click on the decal, and look at the URL. If that doesn't work, the "pro" way is to open Roblox Studio, find the "Toolbox," go to "My Images," and right-click the asset to select "Copy Asset ID." This gives you the direct reference to the texture itself, bypassing the container. It saves so much headache.

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Advanced Tips for Pro-Level Textures

If you’re trying to make things look "aesthetic," stop using flat colors.

Real walls have grit. Real wood has grain. When you are learning how to make Roblox decal textures for builds, try searching for "seamless textures" on sites like Polyhaven or even just Google Images. A seamless texture allows you to tile the image across a massive wall without those ugly lines where the picture ends and starts again.

Transparency and "Ghosting"

Ever wanted to make a window with some dirt on it? Or a decal that looks like a decal—like a sticker on a car? Use a PNG with varying levels of opacity. In a program like GIMP or Photoshop, you can set your brush to 50% opacity. When you upload that as a decal, the "see-through" parts stay see-through in-game. It adds a level of depth that most players just ignore.

Avoiding the Ban Hammer: A Checklist

I’ve seen people lose decade-old accounts because they uploaded a shirt or a decal that had a tiny piece of text the AI didn't like.

• No Personal Info: Don't put your face, your school's name, or your city in a decal.
• No Off-Site Links: No Twitter handles (unless you’re a verified dev), no Discord invites, no Snapchat.
• Copyright is Tricky: Generally, Roblox doesn't care about a Nike logo until Nike tells them to care. But if you're trying to build a serious game, stay away from big brand logos. They can be DMCA'd later, leaving your game full of "Content Deleted" gray boxes.
• The "Red" Rule: Avoid anything that looks like realistic blood. Keep it "cartoony" if you absolutely have to have it.

What if it gets rejected?

If your decal gets "Content Deleted," do not just try to upload it again with a different name. That’s a fast track to a ban. Usually, it means something in the image triggered a flag. Try changing the colors, removing text, or blurring specific parts before attempting a re-upload. Honestly, sometimes the bot just has a bad day.

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Moving From Decals to Textures

Wait, there’s a difference? Yeah.

Decals are like stickers; you place them on a surface, and they stretch to fit. Textures are different. In Roblox Studio, if you use a Texture object instead of a Decal object, you can control the "StudsPerTile." This means you can make a brick pattern look small and detailed or huge and chunky.

If you're serious about game design, you'll start with a decal upload, but you'll apply it as a Texture. It’s the difference between a game that looks like a 2010 hobby project and a 2026 front-page hit.

Practical Next Steps for Your First Decal

1. Open a free editor like Photopea and create a canvas that is 1024x1024.
2. Design your art, but keep all the important stuff away from the very edges to avoid "bleeding" or accidental cropping.
3. Export as a PNG to preserve any transparent backgrounds.
4. Upload via the Creator Dashboard under the "Development Items" section.
5. Once approved, copy the Asset ID by right-clicking the image in the Roblox Studio Toolbox.
6. Apply it to your parts and adjust the Transparency or Color3 properties in the Properties window to fine-tune how it looks in your game's lighting.

By following this workflow, you bypass the common errors that lead to pixelation or moderation flags. Focus on high-contrast designs if the decal is meant to be read from a distance, and always double-check your spelling on any text—nothing ruins a custom build like a typo that's permanently baked into your texture.