Could anyone explain the basics of:
* Texture maps
* Bump maps
* Normal maps
In: Technology
A texture map is just an image that gets projected onto the object, telling the renderer how to colour it.
A bump map is a different image that is also projected onto the object, but instead of using its colour, it encodes data about how to deform the geometry of the object, which the renderer uses to display a more detailed shape than you get from just the polygons. A basic bump map might use a greyscale image, where whiter parts are rendered as sticking out more, and blacker areas as sunken in.
A normal map is another type of bump map, but uses more colours to encode a “surface normal” – basically a value saying which direction in 3d space the face should be pointing. Again, the renderer uses this to alter the geometry of the shape, by shifting the angle of the face at different points based on the map.
Latest Answers