Hello!
I am looking to create branch like objects and want them to to actually be textured, since they will be printed and not just rendered. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around how to actually do this.
thanks in advance for your help.
Hello - displacement mapping is probably a key ingedient, but without more info, I can’t think of anything more to suggest.
-Pascal
Thanks @pascal! 
This is what I am trying to achieve.
as pascal mentioned displacement mapping will be your friend here (unless you want to jump into a sculpting program like zbrush or 3dcoat)
Once you have your displacemtn showing correctly, in rendered view, you will run the extractrendermesh command which will make a “real” mesh you can export and print.
the key to success is testing your part and your printer as this in not an exact science workflow…
you’ll want to try displacing at a few different heights and then printing test parts to see if your detail is deep enough IRL. Often what looks perfect on screen is too shallow IRL…and needs to be pumped up a bit. but only with a few test prints can you be sure how your parts will print on your equipment.
Thank you @theoutside!