Introduction to Decals in FiveM Development

/ Main / By

When creating immersive FiveM servers, decals are a powerful tool for adding detail, realism, and interactivity to the game world. Decals are textures or images applied to surfaces in GTA V, such as walls, floors, vehicles, and other objects. They can represent graffiti, blood, tire marks, bullet holes, or custom signage, enhancing the visual storytelling of your server.

In this post, we’ll cover:

  • What decals are in FiveM
  • How to create and apply decals with scripts
  • Common use cases for decals
  • Best practices for working with decals

What Are Decals in FiveM?

In GTA V and FiveM, decals are essentially textures placed on surfaces in the game world. Unlike props or peds, decals don’t have collision—they’re purely visual. Decals can be dynamic (spawned during gameplay) or static (part of the map or custom interiors).

Types of decals include:

  • Bullet holes and blood splatters
  • Tire skid marks
  • Graffiti and logos
  • Custom textures for vehicles or buildings

By using decals, you can make your server feel alive and interactive, reacting to player actions in real time.

Creating and Applying Decals

FiveM provides native functions to create and manage decals in client-side scripts. The main function is CreateDecal, which allows you to place a decal at a specific location with custom properties.

Example: Creating a Bullet Hole Decal

local decal = CreateDecal(
    "BulletHole",        -- Decal type
    vector3(200.0, -900.0, 31.0),  -- Coordinates
    vector3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0),       -- Rotation
    1.0,                   -- Width
    1.0,                   -- Height
    1.0,                   -- Scale
    1.0,                   -- Fade in/out
    true                   -- Texture flag
)

This code creates a bullet hole decal at a specified location. You can customize the decal type, position, rotation, size, and transparency.

Removing Decals

Decals can be removed with functions like RemoveDecalsFromObject or RemoveDecalsFromEntity, depending on how you applied them. This ensures your server doesn’t become cluttered with excessive textures over time.

Common Use Cases for Decals

Decals are versatile and can be used in multiple ways:

  1. Combat Effects – Blood splatters, bullet holes, and explosion marks during fights or PvP events.
  2. Vehicle Interactions – Tire skid marks, oil spills, and scratches for realistic driving experiences.
  3. Environmental Storytelling – Graffiti on walls, posters, or signs to give areas personality and immersion.
  4. Custom Servers – Branding, mission indicators, or interactive map textures for roleplay or custom game modes.

By combining decals with events and ped or vehicle interactions, you can create a dynamic and reactive game world.

Best Practices for Decals

  1. Optimize performance – Too many decals can reduce FPS, especially on busy servers. Remove old decals when they’re no longer needed.
  2. Use relevant textures – Match decals to the server environment for immersion.
  3. Coordinate with gameplay – Only spawn decals in ways that make sense to the player (e.g., bullet holes only appear after shots are fired).
  4. Combine with effects – Pair decals with particle effects, animations, or sounds for realistic feedback.

FiveM Development Course

Decals are a simple but powerful way to add realism and interactivity to your FiveM server. By learning how to spawn, customize, and remove decals, you can create environments that react dynamically to player actions and enhance immersion.

In the Learn FiveM Development course, you’ll work with decals in hands-on projects—adding combat effects, graffiti, and environmental details—so you gain practical experience and understand how to implement them effectively in a live server environment.

Scroll to Top