Real-life texture sources and references used in GTA San Andreas

[Mehaniq]

As we all know, textures in GTA San Andreas, as in other games, were created using real photos by game developers or stock/public domain photos, but reduced in size. I want to find some sources of these photos using Google Street View or any other sites. I would be glad to have any help in this my hobby. I'll give you a few examples that are likely to interest you.

Also I have Discord server with many results and finds than in this topic and Youtube channel where I post videos about some of this stuff.

Edited September 7, 2023 by Mehaniq

[Mehaniq]

 

As you can see, in the basement of an abandoned AC tower, we can see photographs of old sports planes. I searched for these photos on the Internet and found out that these are not random photos, but historically important pictures, among which you can find large-sized frames on Google. Pictures show Granville Gee-Bee aircraft from 30s

 

des_airfieldhus.txd - plane_photos1
from gta3.img

 

This guys on photos is Russell Boardman (1898-1933) and Lee Gehlbach (1902-1975) And planes is Gee Bee Model Z and Gee Bee Model R 

Resources:
https://rchouston.com/golden-age-air-racing-history.html
http://www.donhollway.com/doolittle-geebee/7-11.html
http://www.hungryhillweb.com/geebee-photos.html
http://goldenageofaviation.org/picture.html
http://donhollway.com/doolittle-geebee/

Edited July 16, 2021 by Mehaniq

[CynicalMexican]

This will be a great thread as:

1. We can get an idea of how GTA SA was created and how it created textures (which appeared to be a crude process)

 

2. This will be of great use to future projects such as RoSA who attempt to recreate this textures

 

I'll see if I can go through LA business records online and Google Street View.

[Mehaniq]

I want to show you "98с & swapmeet" banner located at 718 S Broadway, Los Angeles. In the game, he is found in Los Flores both above the store and stretched between high-rise buildings. I believe that the left part of banner was rolled up a long time ago, and the author of the texture photographed it in this condition. For all the years of the banner's existence, all its folds have stably remained in place, which is noticeable both on the texture in the game (? -2004) and on screenshots from Google maps (2008-2009). By 2011, the banner had disappeared... But after a dozen years it could have been put up for auction as one of the unique items, photos of which were seen by millions of players during the GTA San Andreas walkthrough.

 

And source of this texture:

2008-2009 Google maps screenshots:

 

And in 2011 this place without banner:

 

Special thanks to CynicalMexican for pointing this item out on Google maps.

[Mehaniq]

"Conchita Market Y Carniceria" we can see on East Beach zone close to Los Flores. And source of it is 3432 N Broadway, Los Angeles and this is exactly the store, the sign of which used as the source for this texture.

 

Real-life banners been in good condition up to 2007:

 

 

In 2012 we can see 2/3 damaged banners on both sides:

 

In 2014, the store changed its banner design:

[Rhoda]

I think my favourite (and most bizarre) example of a real texture being used is this one found on a shop called Juguetes Regalos, and it can be found in East Beach, Los Santos. The texture is clearer on PC for obvious reasons, but it is present in the PS2 version too, albeit at a lower resolution.

 

 

Eagle-eyed fans of the franchise will notice an appearance of Ash Ketchum from Pokémon on the left hand side, with this being the exact image used. I have always found this interesting because the apparent setting of the game predates the Pokémon anime by about six years. There is also an appearance by Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Squirtle, but these are less distinguishable and the exact images used aren't as clear.

[Mehaniq]

On 7/17/2021 at 7:22 PM, Rhoda said:

I think my favourite (and most bizarre) example of a real texture being used is this one found on a shop called Jugeuetes Regalos, and it can be found in East Beach, Los Santos. The texture is clearer on PC for obvious reasons, but it is present in the PS2 version too, albeit at a lower resolution.

I explore this banner and, according to my observations, I conclude that this is not a banner sign, but a graffiti drawing applied to the wall by an amateur artist. Therefore, I believe that it is not possible to find the source material for each character. It was very neatly drawn only Ash. Pikachu has minor inaccuracies and there is no such position in popular images from the Internet, so I will show what is most similar to his drawing. Squirtle also differs from the original, which I believe to be correct. As for Mickey and Minnie Mouse, I did not find the source material for their portraits at all, but they remind me of the old style of their portraits during the period of the historical appearance of these characters.

I showed these characters on my YouTube video from February 17, 2021, but I am still upset that I could not find this wall art in Google maps. And there is absolutely no guarantee that this drawing was preserved until the period when the first shooting of Google maps panoramas was performed.

Text on this painting is " Toys, gifts, phone cards, bus tickets"
 

Thanks for your participation in this topic.

 

If you pay attention to the distance between the legs of the character, you can make an accurate conclusion that these are amateur drawings, in which inaccuracies are possible.

 

Edited July 17, 2021 by Mehaniq

[Duhillestpunk]

I’m glad thread exists as there are lots of real life textures used in this game as well as many other GTAs.
 

I don’t have a screenshot of it and this isn’t a real life business but in San Fierro, the windows on the Vank Off Hotel in the financial district has a person seen in the reflection taking a picture of the window.

 

Edit: Found out buildings name.

Edited July 18, 2021 by Duhillestpunk

[Mehaniq]

I found a door to a building at 820 S Broadway, Los Angeles. I am 100% sure that this is not a mistake, but the appearance of the door has undergone changes every year and in present time this door is full of advertising posters, and its frame has been repainted in black
downtown1_las.txd and civic07_lan.txd in gta3.img
image: odddoor1_LAn

 

This door was depicted in Google Maps since June, 2008 but by coincidence, in all panoramic shots, the van blocks the view of this door.

 

 

Door has green frame (?-2014)

In 2016 door frame was repainted in black and some characters on "Broadway" door been covered such as 820 number.

 

 

Nowadays, this door has a different appearance due to the use of advertising signs.

 

[Mehaniq]

San Francisco Dragon Gate (Bush St, Grant Ave, San Francisco) was most likely used as a texture source for a similar structure in Chinatown, San Fierro. Some parts of the arch lack texture, and the top decoration does not have an alpha channel that should have separated the shape from the background, which is why we see a black background.

 

all images that are contained within this file:

sfv_vicetmp2.txd from gta3.img

 

And real-life screenshots from Google street view (2008-2021)

[Blaze]

I don't have the exact source pictures but down to me being an absolute delinquent in my younger years I recognized a fair bit of graffiti in game

 

 

tek33 bc, myth, fang, eine tpg - all london based graffiti writers. some of the blue tags are repoz from philadelphia.

 

the little character/symbol with tpg next to it is Eine's which dates to the 90s, he now does typography under his real name Ben Eine.

 

[Mehaniq]

On 7/18/2021 at 3:32 PM, sombrA said:

I don't have the exact source pictures but down to me being an absolute delinquent in my younger years I recognized a fair bit of graffiti in game

Thanks for your info
I also did graffiti drawings (2008-2013) but limited myself only to the boundaries of my city. I tried to study the tags that are shown on various textures from the game, but I did not find anything irrefutable other than a writer with a nickname (Mader). The texture with his tag is also present in GTA Vice City and, possibly, in Vice City stories. Now I will demonstrate my observations and if you know more - please share.

 

And this is photos from instagram and different websites:

And also I have screens with colorful pieces on cargo trains but I'm not sure that this is not a coincidence of the author's names, because these drawings date from the current time. There is also a difference in the font of the tag. It may be that the author has improved his writing style to this day, but I am more inclined to the option that these are different artists with the same signature.

 

 

[Blaze]

Definitely a few different people writing the same name. First one is Mader RDS from NY, early/mid 90s. The tags after are all skinny caps and look alot more like the newer hipster graff trends of antistyle/etc. The first 2 train pieces are the same guy on commuter s-bahn trains in Hanover, the freight piece is definitely US based, maybe LA.

 

Looking at the flare of the R in the last shutter pic, it's relatively the same as the one in game so chances are it's Mader from NY. Chances are that tag is long gone and you'll never get the exact same picture, but I can say with 99% certainty it's him.

 

 

definitely the same. despite looking similar theres also very small nuances that give it away - the way the M bends in, starting the A from midway down the right leg of the M, the skewing of the top of the E, the connect between E/R and the flare off the R.

Edited July 18, 2021 by sombrA

[Mehaniq]

I need help from people who have researched panoramas from Google or know how to do an experienced search in it. Recently I stumbled upon a 98c Dollar Max store which seemed to me to be the same one that was used in the game, but with a changed name so as not to violate the patent of a real business. But on closer inspection, I was disappointed when I noticed that the texture was different from the original. And later I found out that there are many such stores in Los Angeles. Some of them have already closed, and some have adapted the design to the modern trend, and now there are no huge numbers 98 on the walls. But Google Street View provides an opportunity to look at them in 2007-2010, when the old design was relevant.

I have found many shops but only one of them looks genuine. If you come across the right store with an absolutely accurate texture of the picture - notify me, I will be very grateful for that.

 

As you can see - the drawing contains an inscription in Spanish, but during my search for stores - all the inscriptions were in English or there was no inscription. The red numbers 98 are framed with black outline and there is also a yellow shadow from the inscription. You should also pay attention to the strip that runs horizontally along the entire texture at the level of the bottom of the cents symbol. There is also a yellow thick line above all drawings. In the middle of the number 9, there is a small patch of peeling paint on the red fill. There is also a bit of darkening inside the number 8 in the bottom hole. But the most remarkable thing is the red text on the logo, which is a rarity among all stores of this type.

Best one is shop on 5401 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles

 

 

It stays alive up to 2007 year. In 2008 it been proposed for lease.

 

From 2009 to 2013, religious events were announced at this store.

 

 

In 2014 skate shop opens here in this building.

 

I think that's it. Only Hispanic inscription disappeared by time passed (2004 game release - 2007 first year in "Street view" on this road

And now i want to show wrong ones what I found today:

[Mehaniq]

Retro TV I found in B-Dup's crack palace (second house). Model: Phillips 29PT910B and photo source stolen from this website. This conclusion can be made due to the fact that the background color of the TV is the same, and it is also a very rare TV and I have not found any other photos of it on the Internet. The game designer simply erased the watermarks (or download full version after registration), straightened out the shape of the TV and painted the display a little, which you can see if you compare the texture from the TXD file with the original image for the site.

bdupshifi.txd - Bdup2_TV
from gta_int.img archive

 

[Blaze]

It's worth noting that (from what I've found anyway) Rockstar started modifying buildings/signs, even when using pictures of real buildings. GTA3 had an abundance of real life counterparts, but by the time Vice City rolled around I noticed significantly less, or they'd be modified with slightly different names/fake phone numbers and this trend continues in SA, as a lot of buildings/signs use the 555 phone prefix which is a Hollywood trope for fake phone numbers.

 

Uni-Tel did exist in Los Angeles, and had 3 addresses but no amount of googling or street view can find a solid counterpart.

 

https://opendatalacity.com/business/0000152019-0001-5#overview

 

If you're trying to find real life counterparts, I think you'll have better luck finding unique businesses in game as opposed to generic ones. For example:

 

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by sombrA

[GhettoJesus]

On 7/18/2021 at 7:20 PM, Mehaniq said:

Retro TV I found in B-Dup's crack palace (second house)

On the topic of that. The first house contains a Sony VCR (I think it's a VCR) and you can clearly read the SONY label. Might be worth checking to see if you can track down the exact model. Also his first house has a different TV, I am not sure whether it's a real brand because the label is very blurry but you might be able to work it out. Also there are some newspaper on his table in the first house iirc. That might be something real too.

[Mehaniq]

On 18.07.2021 at 20:37, sombrA said:

https://opendatalacity.com/business/0000152019-0001-5#overview

I went to your link and found Chapman market, but it is too late and on first years of shooting there are empty shops without banners or signs. But i try to find photos on google search and wins f**king jackpot
see it 
Unfortunately, this website is broken and unaccessible. But now I know about location of this textures on 100%

[Blaze]

I already checked that site with no results, just the one image you can already see there. What's really interesting is that the Unitel 221 West 8th street address leads to Chapman Market, and this is also in the game:

 

 

Earlier I alluded to Rockstar fiddling with textures presumably for copyright reasons, and I think this is a prime example for it. Same street address as Unitel, however it looks like whatever sign they've taken a picture of here has been swapped around to say manchap instead of Chapman.

 

I found similar results in the Vice City gamefiles here:

 

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by sombrA

[Blaze]

Also in fitting with the earlier discussion, I found a few more tags from real life writers; Chino BYI from NY and Zomby (small red tag right side) from London.

 

 

 

[Mehaniq]

On 7/18/2021 at 8:37 PM, sombrA said:

If you're trying to find real life counterparts, I think you'll have better luck finding unique businesses in game as opposed to generic ones. For example:

I explore Tiki Theatre few days ago and found strange fact. There are NO inscription "Live Naked Girls" on ALL panoramas during all Google Street View shooting. And "Live nude show" sign disappeared too

furniture_lae2.txd - strpclb4_LAe
from gta3.img

 

Since 2007 Letters T and K become clean and white again:

 

 

In 2008 concrete red wall transforms to small red slab wall:
 

 

Strange graffiti design after "Adult" word since 2014:

 

 

In 2016 Tiki Theater change design of main banner

 

 

 

[Blaze]

Going off this screenshot it looks like it was clearly painted over for some odd reason.

 

[Mehaniq]

On 7/18/2021 at 11:50 PM, sombrA said:

Also in fitting with the earlier discussion, I found a few more tags from real life writers; Chino BYI from NY and Zomby (small red tag right side) from London.

It is likely that these people made a certain stage in the history of the development of graffiti culture. Of course, this is not as popular as pioneers like Dondi and Taki183, but I think that at one time they set the direction thanks to which drawing walls is relevant to this day. It would be interesting to know if such use of a photo with a real artist's tag is considered a violation of copyright?

[Blaze]

It's all a bit subjective and dependent on the era really isn't it; Dondi, Taki, Seen, Zephyr, Blade etc all absolutely instrumental to the progression of the culture, with the benefit of paint being easy to steal, unlimited time in yards etc. Then you get someone like Cap who didn't give a f*ck about being the best or painting the prettiest sh*t, just straight bombing the f*ck out of everything, and then that translates to people like Chino, Skuf, JA, Desa, Kez5 RIP, etc, and then it goes overseas and you have Oker, Zomby, Fuel, Drax, Robbo etc taking the groundwork and turning it into their own thing.

 

For example you have an absolutely classic Dondi wholecar;

 

 

and then you have London:

 

 

 

Same artform, completely different styles and those styles go on to influence another generation.

 

As for copyright, I have no idea but I'd assume it falls into public domain. Besides, I doubt anyone is lining up to admit it's their work

 

 

 

[Mehaniq]

Dollar Discount painting on Ganton wall in same block with LS Gym has texture from 5464 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles close to Tiki Theater. Advertisement has fresh colors and bright blue outline in game (?-2004) but "Dollar" word partly stained in white paint.

"Ariel" name transforms to "Erial"

ganton01_lae2.txd - comptsign7_LAe
from gta3.img
 

 

In 2016 painting been removed to whole white wall:
 

 

On present time there are another business on this place:

 

 

 

[Mehaniq]

"Restaurant" with "jewelry shoes clothing" on black banner from "Market" location (LS) is business placed somewhere near 716 S Broadway, Los Angeles and all panoramas shows only second part of banner. I think, this business become non-actual during 2008 or early. 
mainlcawn.txd or melrose03_lawn.txd - downtsign13_LA
from gta3.img

 

In 2011 all advertisement banners been removed:

 

 

View in 2021:

 

 

Edited July 19, 2021 by Mehaniq

[Mehaniq]

Same story with Marinello school of beauty from 718 S Broadway, Los Angeles what we can see in GTA San Andreas in Market and Temple zones. But name of business changed to "Nellinelle"

 

mainlcawn.txd melrose03_lawn.txd cunte_gas01.txd - downtsign13_LA

from gta3.img
 

 

Real-life view since 2008:

 

 

During 2011 banner removed with all others:

 

 

[Mehaniq]

On same place also located "City Burgers" sign (716 S Broadway, Los Angeles) what we can see on Idlewood, LS in game with different name "Sity Burgers". Number under the text been deleted and only 1 character replaced from C to S.

 

glenpark1x_lae.txd - downtsign12_LA
from gta3.img

 

In 2011 all banners been removed:

 

 

[Mehaniq]

On 7/18/2021 at 11:50 PM, sombrA said:

Also in fitting with the earlier discussion, I found a few more tags from real life writers; Chino BYI from NY and Zomby (small red tag right side) from London.

Do you know anything about these guys?

[Mehaniq]

A tricky situation with the pawnshop behind the Johnson's house. As it turned out, it consists of several textures, the originals of which are at a long distance from each other.
The visual interior of the pawnshop store front is located at 720 S. Broadway, Los Angeles and in real life it's a jewelry store "Guadalajara" horizontally inverted photo, and the banner on top with the spanish inscription "Casa de empeño" on a black background is part of the banner from the real pawnshop at 4437 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles.

Interestingly, in the game we can see the "Guadalajara" interior used for other stores, and we can also see the "Guadalajara" banner, which has a completely different interior under it. Such a combination of textures adds variety for a person who plays this game a lot. Texture editors changes some characters on banner and in game we can see "Gualadajara" inscription and 220 S. Broadway

txd files:

mainlcawn.txd

downtown3_las.txd

civic06_lan.txd

lashops93_las2.txd

lae2newtempbx.txd

lashops1b_las2.txd

lasground_las2.txd

images:

downtshop1_LAn
sanpedpawn2c
downtsign3_LA

from gta3.img

 

 

I made screenshots to show you all possibilities of this textures usage

1. Johnson's house Pawn Shop.

 

2. Phrase without store front

 

3. Store front with true Guadalajara banner from S.Broadway and also Banner with different store front in same place

 

Real life demonstration

2008:

 

2009:

 

 

2011: Shop interior changed but same old banner

 

 

2014: Absolutely new banner design

 

 

Pawn Shop with "Casa de empeño" text exists on Google street view since 2008:

 

 

2011: New yellow banner on 2nd floor
 

 

2020: Pawn shop works to present time but right part of store front been blocked.