Visualization and Animation Technology (Texture Mapping)

Texture Mapping

Texture Mapping is to apply a 2D picture to the surface of the object. The picture is called a Texture.

Advantages:

1. Texture mapping adds significant visual details to the image without the need for modelling more complex geometry.
2. This makes modelling and rendering much faster while providing the rendered image with great photorealism.

Disadvantages:

1. The mapped images related to one specific viewpoint (the point where the picture was captured) and the provided photorealism is diminishes when viewpoint changes. In this case the original image is compressed, stretched and possibly distorted.
2. When the mapped image is seen from close distance the represented geometries and reliefs are seen flat.

Flat Mapping & Wrap Mapping

In Flat Mapping the texture is mapped to a flat surface. Use for flat surface, such as polygons.

In Wrap Mapping the texture is mapped to a round or curved surface, such as a cylinder.

Environment Mapping

In Environment Mapping the texture appied is an image of an environment. This results in giving the object a glossy / reflecting appearance. It is suitable to simulate highly specular surface.

Bump Mapping

In Bump Mapping the texture appied responds to the direction of light as bumps do, so creating a roughness effect.

How to generate a virtual bump in Bump Mapping?

A virtual bump can therefore be represented if the applied texture has been generated such as to respond to the direction of light in the same way the light would respond to an equivalent real geometry shape.

The typical way is to vary the direction of the surface normal according to the geometry / bump one wishes to simulate.