Computer Graphics Through OpenGL, 2nd Edition

Chapter 12

Texture

We continue to explore methods to attire objects and enhance realism, which we began in the last chapter with color and light. The topic of this chapter is texturing. Textures are a vital part of the wardrobe available to designers. Texturing makes it possible to create lifelike scenes at acceptable costs. It’s an enormously important technique in modern-day CG. We’ll examine how texturing is implemented in OpenGL and various aspects of texturing in practice. Textures can be combined, as well, with color and light to good effect, as we’ll see.

We cover the basics of loading and applying textures in Section 12.1, as well as the so-called texture map that specifies how a texture is painted onto an object. Sections 12.2 ...