• atocci@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      The image on the left is called a “normal map”. The weird colors are used to tell a game engine how lighting is meant to interact with a flat texture. It can create shadow and highlights on flat surfaces to mimic a 3D look without needing to use a higher detail model.

      By combining the cobblestone texture in the caption with the normal map on the left, the game engine can create the realistically lit cobblestone street on the right out of just a flat plane.