Texture application is a crucial aspect of 3D modeling and digital art design in Maya. Whether you're creating realistic environments, characters, or props, mastering texture application can take your creations to the next level. In this tutorial, we'll explore the various techniques and tools available in Maya for applying textures.

1. UV Mapping: Before applying textures, it's essential to properly layout the UVs of your 3D model. Maya provides several UV mapping tools such as automatic, projection, and manual techniques to efficiently unwrap the model's surface. Once the UVs are laid out, they can be exported for texturing in external software like Substance Painter or Photoshop.

2. Shader Editor: Maya's Hypershade editor allows artists to create and edit shaders for applying textures to 3D models. By utilizing nodes such as bump maps, normal maps, and displacement maps, you can add surface details, bumps, and crevices to your models. This tool also enables you to adjust material properties like reflectivity, roughness, and color.

3. Texturing: Maya offers various options for creating and loading textures onto 3D models. Artists can either use procedural textures within Maya or import custom image textures. With the 3D Paint Tool, you can directly paint textures onto the model's surface, providing flexibility and control over the final look.

4. Texture Placement and Tiling: Properly placing and tiling textures on 3D models is essential for achieving a cohesive and realistic look. Maya's Texture Placement node allows you to scale, rotate, and offset textures on the model's surface, ensuring the textures align correctly with the model's proportions.

5. Rendering: Once textures are applied to the 3D model, it's crucial to set up the render settings in Maya to showcase the textures accurately. Artists can utilize different rendering engines like Arnold or V-Ray to achieve high-quality renders, bringing out the details and nuances of the textures.

In conclusion, mastering texture application in Maya requires an understanding of UV mapping, shader editing, texturing, placement, and rendering. By experimenting with these techniques and tools, artists can elevate their 3D models and digital art designs to a professional level. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced artist, honing your texture application skills will undoubtedly enhance the visual quality of your creations in Maya.