diff --git a/tools/IconForge/render.py b/tools/IconForge/render.py
index 6c454b5a..2dbb8527 100644
--- a/tools/IconForge/render.py
+++ b/tools/IconForge/render.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 """Software rasterizer for the exported mosswart mesh.
 
-Loads the JSON dumped by tools/MosswartArt, textures dumped by tools/IconExtract,
-and renders a lit, shaded, supersampled image. Deliberately simple: z-buffer,
+Loads the geometry and textures dumped by tools/MosswartArt into work/, and
+renders a lit, shaded, supersampled image. Deliberately simple: z-buffer,
 perspective camera, Lambert key/fill/rim + Blinn specular for wet skin.
 """
 import json, glob, os, math
@@ -9,8 +9,9 @@ import numpy as np
 from PIL import Image
 
 HERE = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
-ROOT = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(HERE, "..", ".."))
-TEXDIR = os.path.join(ROOT, "tools", "IconExtract", "bin", "Release", "net10.0", "out")
+# Default matches where tools/MosswartArt writes its texture dump. forge.py
+# overrides this when --work points elsewhere.
+TEXDIR = os.path.join(HERE, "work", "textures")
 
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------- data loading
@@ -19,6 +20,10 @@ def load_textures(ids):
     for tid in ids:
         hits = glob.glob(os.path.join(TEXDIR, tid + "_*.png"))
         if not hits:
+            # Say so: a partial texture set renders some parts flat grey, which
+            # is easy to mistake for a lighting problem rather than a missing
+            # extraction step.
+            print(f"  WARNING: no texture found for {tid} in {TEXDIR}")
             continue
         im = Image.open(hits[0]).convert("RGBA")
         out[tid] = np.asarray(im, dtype=np.float32) / 255.0