What is a texture atlas?

In computer graphic programming, the texture atlas is a two -dimensional (2D) image with multiple textures or more images on the main image that can be extracted and used by the main application to save sources that would otherwise be used to load and maintain each individual image or texture. In three -dimensional (3D) computer graphics, the texture atlas differs slightly in that it contains the whole image designed for a textured on a given 3D object, but this image is sometimes arranged in a confusing and distorted way, with the individual faces of each polygon in the 3D model. Some programming languages, graphics libraries and even hardware have a certain number of system overheads associated with the use of a single picture. Combination of multiple images into one sheet or atlas of texture allows the program to reduce overhead costs at the expense of additional computer code and possible processing time to attract the atlas of the Dopovrchy atlas that require them.

When using in 3D computer graphics, the texture atlas is the result of a process known as UVW mapping. The UVW letters are not an abbreviation, but there are links to texture coordinates and are used to prevent confusion with standard X, Y and Z coordinates that are used for scene geometry. If the 3D model uses UVW mapping, then each polygon is first flattened to create a 2D image, each polygon remaining associated with its neighboring polygons. The resulting texture atlas - all polygons of the 3D model of the specified apartment, a process sometimes called unpacking - then can be used as a template to ensure precisely placed images on different surfaces of the object.

In 2D applications, the Atlas of Textures can save system resources and time spent by loading the image and increase the rendering speed on reducing the amount of work that the graphics card must do to quickly change images. For a graphical user interface (GUI) you can use a 2D texture atlas in which each of theImages for the button on the same image, in the grid pattern. In this way, whenever it is necessary to draw the image of the button on the screen, the subsection of a larger image can be drawn instead of first moving the location of the memory or to load the individual texture into the graphical memory.

One complication when using Attura Atlas is the amount of accuracy necessary if the atlas is manually. For an application that uses tiles for a full 32 pixels, the atlas must have each tile aligned exactly with the additions of 32 pixels, which can be very time consuming and tiring. Many times, programmers use some type of commercial software to take a dose of individual images and atlas construction procedure to remove the need to calculate the pixels into the painting program.